Top 10 heavyweights of all time

Marciano didn’t make my list because, despite his 49-0 record, he was too small in the H2Hs.
He might have stood a chance against Frazier but he’d be too outgunned against Lewis, Klitschko etc and would be outboxed from range against the likes of Ali & Holmes

 

1-Tyson ( 1985-1989 )
2- Larry Holmes
3-George Foreman
4- Rocky Marciano
5- Cassius Clay/m ali
6-Riddick Bowe/Holyfield
8-Joe Louis
9- Joe Frazier
10- Gene Tunney

 

Fury might be a shapeshifter....

 

10. Gene Tunney
Beat every man he ever fought, including greats Harry Greb and Jack Dempsey.

9. Harry Wills
I was once a huge Jack Dempsey fan, and according to the Mauler he wanted to fight Wills, but objectively, Wills has the better record, and was the real champ of their era. The color line was such a shame.

8. WladKlit
Two time champ with 23 defenses. Yup, if garbage defenses like those of Wilder's count, then so do Wladdy's WBO reign. The prime losses hurt, as well as the weak comp, and I could see him being lower on a lot of lists.

7. Evander Holyfield
Would be higher, as he beat the second most number of greats behind Ali, but he is a bit diminished in my mind with the "Evan Fields" controversy. We really don't know how good he was, but it is a shame to leave him of entirely, so I will say seven with an asterix. Could be a bit higher, or much lower.

6. Joe Frazier
Winner of the fight of the century. Love the man.

5. George Foreman
Two-time champ with some great wins, and the entire mystique of the comeback. Lineal champ in BOTH of boxing's golden eras. Ponder that!

4. Lennox Lewis
Presided over the second golden era of boxing, beat every man he ever fought, beat Tyson, Holyfield, and Vitklit, and scared Bowe into making a coward of himself.

3. Rocky Marciano
The "0." Haters can hate, and somewhere in that big boxing ring in the sky, the Rock is laughing. Also, highest knockout percentage with 88%. Call out all the asterixs you want.

2. Joe Louis
25 defenses. Someday it will be broken, but 25 UNDISPUTED defenses will never be broken. Had the war not happened, it might have been more, as he fought dozens, even hundreds of exhibitions.

1. Muhammad Ali
Beat the most great, near great, and just damned good fighters. Patterson, Liston, Norton, Foreman, Frazier, and his second tier wins would be a great and noble reign for most.

 

1. Ali
2. Louis
3. Holyfield
4. Holmes
5. Foreman
6. Lewis
7. Wlad
8. Frazier
9. Marciano
10. Liston

 

That’s a great list and well reasoned too.
I disagree with some because of the H2H judging eg no way does Marciano beat Lewis H2H, but if you haven’t used that as part of your criteria then your list is good.

 

There is no head to head component on my list. If you do it by head to head, low-tier fighters from today will beat champions of the past.

Fighters are judged by me on what they accomplished in their time.

 

You gave all the correct reasons. It was not Lennox fault. Man was a legend. However the fact still remains that even if Tyson was kept from Lewis, through no fault of Lewis, he didn’t face Tyson anywhere remotely near prime. That takes away (through no fault of Lennox) from his overall career. Same deal with Bowe. Just looking at his career dispassionately is difficult but needed if you want to understand where I’m coming from.

Perhaps this is a better way to phrase it: How much better would Lennox Lewis career look if he destroyed a prime or closer to prime Tyson? A prime Holyfield and Bowe? It would be viewed much better. What if in his last fight, he knocked Vitali out in round four, instead of losing those early rounds on the cards?

Once again it’s not Lennox fault and no one has to agree but looking without emotion at his career I always felt he could have been top three had he come on the scene just a few years earlier. Just my opinion.

 

You are right about MT. The drug abuse and the long lay off definitely keeps him out of the top 10..........WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!!!

 

1. Muhammad Ali
2. Joe Louis
3. Evander Holyfield
4. Rocky Marciano
5. Wladimir Klitschko
6. Lennox Lewis
7. Larry Holmes
8. Mike Tyson
9. George Foreman
10. Floyd Patterson

 

Fury would drink and snort Mike under the table then make him his girlfriend

 

Is that with or without the "special" gloves?

 

I get where you’re coming from but I won’t look at stats and records dispassionately because that doesn’t give you the true answer. You have to consider the context and the reasoning behind why Tyson & Bowe avoided Lewis and why Holyfield didn’t face Lewis earlier ( he was genuinely tied up with big fights rather than avoiding him). Then there’s the eye test, what we see and what we saw from Lewis, that’s subjective but he’s widely regarded as the best since Ali so many people’s subjective view of Lewis puts him at the top.

 

These two over Holmes?

Tunney has no place above Charles. Of Dempsey. Or even Spinks.

 

Ali
Louis
Lennox
Holmes
Holyfield
Foreman
Frazier
Tyson
Wlad
Marciano