Top HW Finishers.

Louis
Tyson
Dempsey
Marciano
Foreman
Lewis

Louis & Tyson can virtually be flipped, but I gave it to Louis who has class act timely finishes when needed. You really have to bracket the different versions of the Foreman, which makes him tricky to gauge. Lewis could put you away, but really was way too passive at times. In fact, if we're talking about finishing men who a fighter hurt than Lewis has to be the worse. When Lewis was in the mood, he could be as good as anyone, though (Briggs, Grant, Golota, Ruddock). At his worse (Tyson, Tua, Makrovic, Holyfield). I feel at his best I could have him at 4th, and maybe should have him above Foreman but because of his mentality I can't. Dempsey's explosion and legend suggest he was a killer finisher. His Firpo & Willard fights are enough on just film to place him as highly.

Marciano was actually a rather overrated finisher when it came to hurting an opponent and then taking him out. He had Charles numerously hurt in their first bout, particularly in the 6th round. I remember him having hurt him good in the 10th and 15th as well (To his credit, he tried to finish him). The paradox with Marciano is that when he needed a punch he could deliver that one punch knockout. But if he had a man hurt he could get a little over-anxious and just become a non-stop whirlwind. Awful to fighter to face, he really just put a hurting on you but not the most precise puncher and finisher at times. It's not just the Charles fight, though. Marciano had Cockell reeling and the plumpy, tough Englishmen still lasted 8 or 9 rounds. Marciano did a fairly good job finishing Moore. I think Moore was crucially saved by the bell in the 6th or 7th, and Marciano methodically and properly grinded him down. Rocky did a great job of finishing Charles in the second fight, particularly with that dangerous gash over his nose which could've caused him a real issue in potentially losing.

It's tough to gauge Marciano as a lot of his KO's actually came from one punch. Foreman was lethal in destroying fighters, but when hurting the boxer-mover types he seemed to wing away and not really get anything done (Ali, Peralta, Young, etc). Old Foreman just didn't have the speed or ability to finish hurt opposition.

Finishing ability and being ruthless are two different things. Otherwise I'd put Marciano near the top of the list.

Lastly, fighters like Frazier, Liston, and Baer certainly merit a mention. Frazier would rank ahead of Marciano in finishing ability IMHO, and Liston and Baer are right their along Foreman, Lewis, and Marciano. Evander Holyfield wasn't a massive puncher, but when it came to finishing he was a pro.

 

Louis
Dempsey
Fitz
Tyson
Liston

 

Tua
Sanders
Foreman
Tyson
Holyfield
Lewis
Bowe
Vitali
Bruno
Brewster

 

Frazier should make this.

 

I don´t know about a top 10, but to me Joe Louis is the best......

 

It's easy to look like a great heavyweight finisher when you're knocking over cruiserweights.

 

:huh

 

he didn't escape my mind , he just shouldn't .
thumbing Chuvalo , stopping Stander only due 2 cuts , Quarry due 2 cuts , being a protected fighter , what were his best finishes ? Ellis*2 , Quarry , Mathis and Doug Jones ? he deserves it more than Dempsey does , but not as much as those in my list . If Frazier deserves it , so does Witherspoon , and it is a steep slide .

 

Closer to the truth than many will ever admit.

 

This is one list that gets downright weird:

1. Joe Louis
2. Jack Dempsey
3. Mike Tyson
4. Sam Langford
5. Sonny Liston
6. John L Sullivan (likley higher, but we don't know quite what he was finishing)
7. Rocky Marciano
8. Lennox Lewis
9. Bob Fitzsimmons
10. George Foreman

 

Well said.

Fitzsimmons and Jeffries are hard to put in the same context. Fitzsimmons seems more like a trap-smith in a Moore-esque fashion than a deadly finisher in a Louis or Dempsey manner. Jeffries also seems more like a grind it out, wear you down type puncher and finisher similar to Marciano, except Marciano was a bigger puncher, and probably had more fury in trying to finish you. Not totally fair to say as there is no real footage of Jeffries exhibiting his finishing ability.

 

I don't think you have to knock a fighter out cold to prove you have finishing ability. Frazier finished Ellis right about when Ellis was in deep water their first fight. Frazier battered a game Quarry to end the fight well the first go round. Frazier grinded down and finished Mathis properly when he was ready to go. Frazier hurt Foster and then ended it. Same goes for Ramos. You just don't think to mention Frazier because he wasn't one punch knockout artist. Because he wasn't, I'd say that says MORE about his great finishing ability.

The only argument against him is the Bugner fight, where Joe backed up and showed good sportsmanship to Bugner who was frozen before falling to the canvas.

 

Dempsey at 2? get out of here Needed 300 punches to put willard away, despite the fact he didn't have to go to his neutral corner. He is not over Tyson and Liston.