Top 30 All-Time Heavyweights. Where to Begin.

DJ, just to help give you more names to consider that may have slipped through the net, about a year ago we conducted a 'greatest heavyweight contender' list on Classic where posters fired in whom they believed should belong on the list. There were some that might make you furl your brow, and we argued their validity. But ultimately, we respected everyone's picks and comprised one large list of contenders. The champions are clearly known to you and your family (Man, I wish my family was as avid as that) but the contenders can be a bit of a quandary. Nevertheless, for what it's worth. Here are the names we came up with (chronological order).

-Peter Jackson
-Peter Maher
-Tom Sharkey
-Sam Langford
-Sam McVey
-Joe Goddard
-Joe Jeanette
-Luther McCarty
-Gunboat Smith
-Fred Fulton
-Billy Miske
-Harry Wills
-George Godfrey
-Larry Gains
-Walter Neusel
-Ernie Schaaf
-Johnny Risko
-Tommy Loughran
-Paul Cavalier
-Bob Pastor
-Lou Nova
-Tommy Farr
-Paulino Uzcudun
-Jimmy Bivins
-Melio Bettina
-Billy Conn
-Elmer Ray
-Joey Maxim
-Rex Layne
-Clarence Henry
-Archie Moore
-Nino Valdes
-Bob Baker
-Hein Ten Hoff
-Heinz Neuhaus
-Hurricane Jackson
-Zora Folley
-Eddie Machen
-Cleveland Williams
-Harold Johnson
-Henry Cooper
-George Chuvalo
-Oscar Bonavena
-Karl Mildenberger
-Jerry Quarry
-Gregorio Peralta
-Ron Lyle
-Earnie Shavers
-Joe Bugner
-Jimmy Young
-Gerry Cooney
-Renaldo Snipes
-Carl Williams
-Razor Ruddock
-David Tua
-Ike Ibeabuchi
-Andrew Golota
-Zeljko Mavrovic
-Axel Schulz
-Fres Oquendo
-Odlanier Solis
-Tony Thompson
-Luis Ortiz
-Dillian White

Food for thought while comprising your list. Good luck.

 

Klitschko’s Best wins

Larry Donald
Herbie Hide
Corrie Sanders
Danny Williams
Kirk Johnson
Juan Carlos Gomez
Kevin Johnson
Tomasz Adamek
Dereck Chisora
Chris Arreola
Samuel Peter
Odlanier Solis

Byrd’s best wins

Jameel Mccline
David Tua
Davaryl Williamson
Evander Holyfield(faded)
Fres Oquendo
Jimmy Thunder

and Vitali was thoroughly dominating Byrd before Vitali retired with shoulder injury I wouldn’t call that one of Byrds best performances.Byrd wasn’t able to compete with Wladimir Klitschko in either fight.Could you honestly see Vitali struggling With Mccline the way Byrd did.I rest my case.

 

Here's my top 50 list from about ten plus years ago... I haven't really revisited it, to see what changes I'd make.

https://www.boxingforum24.com/threa...-top-50-heavyweights-of-all-time-list.294107/

 

Your top 10 is the same as mine. Perfect ranking.

 

Vitali has more 'good' wins, because he was around longer but most of those wins aren't impressive at all. Gomez acomplished nothing at heavyweight; Danny Williams was a nobody; Kevin Johnson was a gatekeeper; Chisora is a gatekeeper; and Solis shouldn't even be a win. Byrd's win over Phil Jackson is on this sort of level, arguably better than any of these.

Tua, Vitali, McCline, Oquendo and Old Holyfield make a better resume IMO.

Vitali wasn't 'thoroughly dominating' Byrd. He barely even up. Byrd took the fight on a week's notice and in the early goings tried multiple different styles and strategies before finding one which worked. Once he'd found it, he started to take over before Vitali quit. Even in those early rounds, it was fairly nip and tuck as both had trouble landing. Vitali outworked Byrd early, but let it slip late and had he not quit, he wasn't gonna win the fight. Even still, he quit. That win alone trumps any of Vitali's, and there's no reason to just write it off.

I don't see what Byrd's fights with Wlad have to do with anything, given how much better Wlad was than Vitali and how Vitali never fought anyone even close to as good as him bar an old Lewis, who made his face look like paper mache.

 

Would add Tony Tucker, of course Alexander Powetkin, Tommy Burns, Jake Killrain, Georges Carpentier, Jerry Quary, Sam McVea, Ray Mercer, Joey Jeanette, Michael Dokes, Ruslan Tschagajew, Jack Burke, Pierre Charles, Herbie Hide, Chris Byrd, Gerry Coetzee, Henry Akinwande, Harry Matthews, Andrew Golota, Don Cockell, Zejlko Mavrovic and Young Stribling among others.

 

Not to forget Vaughn Bean (who was competitive with Michael Moorer and went 12 rounds against younger Holyfield) and Orlin Norris.