1 - Ali 2 - Liston 3 - Louis 4 - Foreman 5 - Tyson 6 - Marciano 7 - Lewis 8 - Frazier 9 - Holmes 10 - Holyfield 10 - Vitali Klitschko
Against the modern crop of fighters, the best would be: 1. Ali 2. Tyson 3. Holmes 4. Lewis 5. Liston 6. Holyfield 7. Louis 8. Foreman 9. Patterson 10. Frazier
1. Ali 2. Holmes 3. Lewis 4. Liston 5. J. Johnson 6. Foreman 7. J. Louis 8. Bowe 9. Frazier 10. Tyson
Patterson is an interesting pick..... My list: 1. Tyson 2. Ali (pre-exile) 3. Lewis 4. Holmes 5. Louis 6. Liston 7. Bowe 8. Foreman 9. Holyfield 10. Frazier Honarble Mention: Wlad Klitschko, Rocky Marciano
1. Tyson 2. Ali 3. Foreman 4. Liston 5. Lewis 6. Louis 7. Marciano 8. Holmes 9. Frazier 10. Holyfield
1. Ali - His awesome speed of foot and hand, granite chin, heart, toughness, stamina, and often overlooked he had a good punch. He wasn't a one punch type of guy but he was a good puncher when he wanted to be. He was schooling his opposition in his prime barely getting touched due to his wicked movement and reflexes. Then when you add in his resume he is the most proven heavyweight of all time no other heavies have wins as impressive as Liston 2x, Frazier 2x, Foreman, add in solid wins over Norton (he did win the 2nd i don't care what anybody says), Shavers, Patterson, Terell, Quarry etc. He was out of his prime too when he fought his fights against Frazier, Foreman and the bunch in the 70's. 2. Mike Tyson - He was the most explosive heavyweight of all time. His combination of punching power and speed is #1 among heavyweights. He had great head movement in his prime was hard to tag cleanly. Bonecrusher Smith said what he found the most interesting about Tyson was that he was so hard to hit cleanly. He threw devastating combinations in his prime and had a good jab albeit his short reach. He had a granite chin which is on display agianst Razor Rudduck, he took a massive 10rd beating agianst Douglas before falling, 11rounds against Holy (stopped on his feet), and 8 rounds of flush shots from Lewis. Tyson had to be beaten to a pulp before he would go. His heart and determination are underrated pre prison Tyson wasn't the front runner people remember from later years. His resume is good too destroyed undefeated Michael Spinks in 91 seconds who had previously beaten Holmes, and Cooney at heavy. Only man to knockout Holmes who 5yrs after the fight went the distance with holy and beat mercer. Ruined Tyrell Biggs career, first to beat Tony Tucker, 2 wins over huge punching Ruddock, 2 kos over Bruno who went on to win a alphabet title yrs after Tyson stopped him in 89. 3. Larry Holmes - The best jab in heavyweight history in my opinion. He could use his piston jab all night pumping it out non stop. His right hand was a good and had a wicked 1 2. Like Ali underated as a puncher. His toughness and heart were second to none displayed in his war with Norton and fight against Ernie Shavers. Defeated unbeaten moster punching Gerry Coony as well as good boxer puncher Tim Witherspoon. Often underrated and overlooked due to his personality. 4. George Foreman - The strongest and punch for punch hardest hitting heavyweight. His pure physicality was so awesome i rank him this high. He had a great chin and win too win. His destruction of Joe Frazier is legendary. Won the title first in 1974 and won it again 20 yrs later against Michael Moorer. Although he could be outboxed at the same time any opponent going against him is in risk of being pummelled into the ground. (He wasn't mentally right for the Young fight by the way) 5. Lennox Lewis- Very good jab along with perhaps the divisions hardest right hand. Great uppercut as well to catch opponents on there way in. Has a very good resume with wins over ruddock, morrison, tua, holyfield (past prime), tyson (shot version), Vitali Klitchko, Michael Grant (exposed the hype), Bruno, Mercer, Rahman, McCall. Often dissed about his chin as being glass which i do not agree with. Lewis wasn't the most durable guy but he didn't have a glass chin but not a great chin either i would say his chin was average he took some good shots from Bruno and Mercer and could take his share of punishment. I'll add the rest later.
Making adjustments for the rule set each fought under- 1. Joe Louis 2. Jack Dempsey 3. Muhamad Ali 4. Jim Jeffries 5. Jack Johnson 6. Sonny Liston 7. Sam Langford 8. Rocky Marciano 9. Lennox Lewis 10. Joe Frazier
You gotta be kidding dude. Foreman easily belongs there. In fact, I believe that night in Zaire, he would've crush any HW who ever lived. Ali was the most resistant HW ever, that's why he was able to stand and beat Foreman. Then you compare Foreman with Earnie Shavers ? That's ridiculous. Foreman was a better boxer, better finisher, was stronger, rangier, bigger and was better to cut the ring off. He had a wider array of punches. True, Foreman was slow, easy to hit and sometimes predictable but to put Shavers in the same category is sick... :scaredas:
1. Ali 2. Louis 3. Holmes 4. Liston 5. Foreman 6. Lewis 7. Tyson 8. Frazier 9. Holyfield 10. Marciano HM Johnson Dempsey W. Klitschko Bowe
1. Muhammad Ali Incredible hand & foot speed, quick jab, flair, reflexes, anticipation, movement, toughness and stamina. Impossible to knock out. Lacked the fundamentals but his natural atheticism was one of a kind. 2. Sonny Liston The best power-boxer ever. Could jab you to death or simply put you away with hooks and uppercuts from long range. Able to fight inside and outside, he can manhandle anybody, including Foreman. Heart is questionnable at times but the guy was a bad SOB (Look at the Williams rematch). 3. Larry Holmes The less-flawed HW ever. He was good in all departments and he was as good offensively as defensively. Had the best HW jab ever. Underrated heart and great recuperating powers. 4. George Foreman The most brutal KO artist ever. Was extremely strong, had excellent finishing skills and was able to cut the ring and push his opponent where he wants to knock him out. Crunching hooks, booming uppercuts, was slow but was able to connect with his stuff. Had issues with stamina and good movers. 5. Lennox Lewis The best blend of size\skills\power. Found his range with the jab before unloading heavy right hands. Excellent ring general who can fight very cautiously at times but tooks some risks at the right time. Laziness cost him twice. 6. Joe Louis The best puncher ever. Sharp, fast, powerful, accuracy and deadly combinations. Footwork, size\strenght and chin prevent him to be at the top of the list. 7. Mike Tyson The best mix of speed\power ever. Was lightning fast, explosive and mean. Maybe the most feared fighter ever. Excellent head movement and good chin, couldn't be KO'ed with one punch. Lack of grit and inside skills are huge downfalls for him. 8. Jack Dempsey The original Tyson. Fast, vicious, relentless, was able to box and slug. Was a sharp shooter from inside as he would fight like a cat, with unequalled sprawling and lunging movement. It's highly doubtful he could beat bigger men like Lewis or Liston. 9. Jack Johnson The best defensive HW ever. A master strategist, an adept feinter with speed, ring generalship and legendary uppercut. His chin was made of glass though. 10. Rocky Marciano A crude but unpredictable mauler who punched hard from all angles. He had freakish power for his size, endless stamina and will to win. Could be outboxed or outslugged but his record speaks for himself. No one ever beat that guy.
1. The Greatest 2. The Galveston Giant 3. Kid Dynamite 4. The Manassa Mauler 5. The Brown Bomber 6. Big George 7. Smokin’ Joe 8. The Easton Assassin 9. The Boilermaker 10. The Bear