Top 32 heavyweights of all time...fight

So here is my list. I have gone for the early gloved era to now and tried to add a mix of the top fighters from each generation.


1- James J Jeffries. Maybe an all time legend and comes in place of James J Corbett due to the wins over Bob Fitzsimmons, Corbett and Tom Sharkey. At 6' 2" and over 200 pounds prime weight he has the size and power and skill to mix with the best.

2- Jack Johnson. Read "Unforgivable Blackness", great grea fighter. Beat an old Jefferies, Jim Flynn, middleweight Stanly Ketchel. Well built and defensive schooled. Another fighter at 6 foot plus with a knock out punch.

3- Jack Dempsey. Maybe one of the top 10 heavyweights of all time.Beat the giant Jess Willard, the "Manassa Mauler" also held a good win over European champion Georges Carpentier. Great offensive skills, ability to mix up combinations with brute power. Should have beaten Tunney.

4- Gene Tunney. Rated by many at hte time and over a long period after his career as the best fighter ever. Lost only once in his proffessional career to Harry Greb at light heavy. Great thinking boxer, seemed to always know how to pick apart an opponent. Beat Dempsey twice and Carpentier.

5- Max Baer. Maybe one of the best boxers never to reach his true potential. Huge right hand punch with very good boxing skill only let down by a lack of focus outside the ring. His destruction over Primo Carnera is a classic bout but lost cinderella man J J Braddock. Lost to Joe Louis.

 

6- Joe Louis. All time great fighter. Rated among the likes of Ali and Marciano for skill, power and durability. 6' and half he defeated all comers and apart from a shocker against Schmeling he ruled the division for a long time, Maybe the most dominate champion of all time retiring undefeated before an un wise return against Ezzard Charles and Marciano.

7- Jersey Joe Walcott. Held the tag of oldest man to hold the heavy weight title until George Forman win in 1994, this is maybe more of a showing of Joe Louis ability but Walcott still had enough fight in him to beat the best of the rest. Very good punch and a tactical expert Walcott was an avoided fighter.

8- Ezzard Charles. Best known for his performance against Marciano in 1952 where he took Rocky to a points decision, Ezzard lost but showed the world his true ability. Very good amature career and beat Jouis in his return. Fought Jersey Joe four times sharing he wins 2-2. Unfortunate to come between the careers of Jou Louis and Rocky Marciano.

9- Rocky Marciano. The "Brockton Blockbuster" is a legend of the sport. Although short for an heavy weight Rocky had an un measured amount of power. The fact that he fought many good fighters and retired undeafted shows his real quality. 43 ko's from 49 wins.

10- Ingemar Johansson. Maybe Europe's greatest ever heavyweight up until Lennox Lewis. Huge punch and often durable, Ingemar beat all European opposition including Henry Cooper. Played the playboy role outside the ring but really knew how to fight inside the ring. Won the world title from Floyd Patterson destroying the American in three rounds with seven knock downs. Ingemar lost the return and a third fight but won back his Euro belt.

 

11- Floyd Patterson. First Olympic games gold medallist to win the world heavy weight championship as a pro. Youngest champion at the time and also the first man to regain the belt. Patterson was not a big heavy weight, he still stood 6 foot but had a smaller frame than alot of his opponents. Floyd was very good technically but was destroyed by Liston.

12- Muhammad Ali. Maybe the greatest heavy weight of all time (soon find out). 6' 4" with skill, power and a chin Ali held all the tools to be an ATG. I'll ignore the outside the ring business which made him an icon and comment that even without his personality he was "the greatest".

13- Sonny Liston. 6' 1" and well built Sonny was thought to be unbeatable untill he met Ali. Liston was a fighter other boxers feared. Destoyed Patterson twice in two very short memorable fights but held an inglorious reputation for his defeat to Ali. Liston did not fight as much as his contemparies and only had 34 fights over the first 9 years of his career.

14- Joe Frazier. Help make the heavy weight division flurish in its glory years. Frazier had many special fights against the likes of George Chuvalo, Oscar Bonavena and a destruction of Jimmy Ellis gained him the heavyweight title. More great fights with Ali and Foreman. Also beat Buster Mathis for the WBC belt, Mathis had been the only fighter to defeat Frazier during the amatures.

15- George Foreman.