Top Ten Greatest Heavyweights Ever

I sink it iz clows bitwin dem , it olso gowz wizaut seying det John Ruiz' HW resume iz beter dan Tunney's end det hi wud hev auttunneyd Tunney .

Olso Michael Moorer wud hev biten him , 2 big 2 blk

 

King used to manage Lewis.

 

No he didn't.

 

My mistake. He worked with him around the Bowe situation along with Jose Suilman. It was a long time ago. I can't remember the details.

 

I think Tunney and Spinks both caught vulnerable Champions, outstanding wins none the less. Only LHW Champions to successfully capture the true HW crown that I can think of regardless.

I have Bivins, Moore, Charles, and Johnson a level higher though because of how frequently they fought and enjoyed success against the best of both HW and LHW divisions simultaneously.

In contrast to Marciano and Lewis, I would put Maricano a tad higher. In large part because Marciano never had an off night and suffered defeat to a lower tier challenger as Champion of the World. The Rahman loss is a huge blow to Lewis when comparing him against a Champion who went 6-0 against his top one & two contenders in roughly a two year span.

 

On this last note, I get a bit pragmatic. Lewis fought in an ridiculous era of powerpunchers, and frankly an era in which many of the dominant heavies were cut from a different cloth. Rahman, for instance, was a rock solid 6-3/240 guy who could bench 500 pounds and had enough amateur grooming and pro training to operate in the ring. He was of the "athlete first" mold and carried the intrinsic benefits and failings of that type. Was he at times a bit awkward, a bit unprepared or even a little chinny (against other massive heavies)? Sure. However, when focussed, he harder- shot for shot- than anyone Marciano faced at the top. Lewis got lazy and in that era you simply could not let your eye of the prize for a second.

I just don't think all eras, in this division, are analogous, not in some generalized qualitative sense, but in specific risk/reward patterns of the talent.

 

I think it is vital to put the Lewis loss to Rahman in its true perspective. It is well known that Lennox was very single minded when it came to fights, and the preparations for them. If he " decided " the opponent wasn't worthy he would skimp on preparations.

Arrogance? Sure but in the above instance he was far more interested in his stupid flirting with Hollywood stars whilst filming for his minor part in Oceans 11, and trained accordingly, plus he arrived in South Africa to close to the fight date to fully acclimatize.

This of course was his own fault, and not in way an excuse, but the rematch with a totally focused Lewis showed the more realistic conclusion, where he had completely outboxed, and dominated Hasim up until the stoppage.

 

The difference is that Marciano doesn't need any excuses.

 

-Had Maricano reacted to a Walcott or Moore damaging shot by dropping his guard, sticking out his chin, and smiling for the cameras he probably would have got knocked out too. Marciano could not afford to turn in a subpar performance or make stupid mistakes against his opponents anymore than Lewis.

-They aren't, you have to look at specific fights and opponents. However every HW division in history has had its fair share of dangerous bangers, Lewis was at no more risk than any other HW in history.

-The very delicate Oleg whipped Rahman twice, in large part because he kept the pressure on him and never laid back with a big stupid grin on his face.

 

What part of,

This of course is his own fault, and in no way an excuse are you having trouble understanding?

I am also fully aware that some folks are really proud of Marciano beating up geriatrics, and L / Heavies in his title defences.

Each to their own.

 

-Ok, Marciano doesn't need a title fight put "in its true perspective"

-He never defended his title against a geriatric or a Light Heavyweight.

 

Lewis definitely loses some estimation for losing focus on the job at hand. However, consider that Lewis was in his 12th year as a pro, and close to 20th as a boxer, when Rahman KO'd him. Marciano had a 7 year career total and realized he didn't have the drive/durability any longer to sustain championship boxing.

On you're second point, having a fair share of 180 pound bangers in an unlimited weight class is not the same as having an embarrassment of a share of 220+ pound bangers... Morrison, Briggs, Golota, Rahman, Tucker, Bruno, Ruddock, Tua, Tyson, Grant, Vitali... That's a ridiculous line-up of home run hitters.

 

So Joe Walcott wasn't 38 when Marciano beat him to win the title, and 39 when he defended it against him?

And neither Ezzard Charles and Ancient Archie were former L / Heavies then, with Archie also being a couple of months short of 39 by the time Marciano defended his title against him?

Ok got it.:roll:

 

What would Lennox Lewis have done in Marciano's 7 title fights? What would his record have been?

What would Marciano have done against Lewis' 19 title opponents? Back to back over 10 years... yes, longer than Marciano's entire career.

Perhaps it might be easier to be perfect for a very short time than be merely dominant for a very long time.

 

-It was only Lewis 40th bout as a Pro, he was not nearly as active as Marciano or even the peers of his own era. Marciano also fought a much more physically demanding style than the tall, lengthy Lewis.

-Marciano at only 180 lbs himself was quite vulernable to the punching power of these similar sized or bigger men who had enough proven fire power to stop similar sized as well as modern sized heavies cold.

-And no, I don't think that's a particuarlly special line up of "home run hitters" in regards to his era or any other. I don't think their weight makes them any more special. Champs have to face big punchers, way it is:

Wlad: Peters x2, Haye, Jefferson, Brewster, McCline, Jefferson..etc.
Ali: Shavers, Foreman, Liston, Frazier, Mac Foster, Williams..etc.
Tyson: Lewis, Bonecrusher, Tucker, Ruddock, Bruno..etc.
Holyfield: Lewis x2, Bowe x3, Tyson x2, Moorer x2, Rahman..etc.
Holmes: Shavers x2, Weaver, Norton, Thomas, Witherspoon..etc.
Patterson: Ingo x3, Liston x2, Boneavea, Cooper, Moore, Harris.
Marciano: Moore, Walcott, Louis, Charles x2, Layne
Louis: Baer Brothers, Simon x 2, Carnera, Walcott, Schemling,..etc.