Top Ten HW off the 90's

jaymon112 · May 18, 2012

Who were the top 10 heavy's of the 90's?

knockout artist · May 18, 2012

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1. Lennox Lewis (42-2-1 with 32 KOs)

It took a long time, but Lewis gradually managed to accumulate the credit to claim to be the best of his era. His claim to supremacy over Holyfield stands on two accomplishments. First, he owns a 1-0-1 record over the Real Deal (and it should really be 2-0). Second, he outlasted Holyfield to clean out two successive generations of heavyweights. From the first generation, he beat the likes Donovan Ruddock, Tommy Morrison, Ray Mercer, and Holyfield himself. From the second, he beat all the noted, rising talents of the turn of the century: Michael Grant, David Tua, Hasim Rahman, and Vitali Klitschko. Only a few heavyweight champions can lay claim to such longevity. He held three reigns as champion, one of them as Undisputed Champion, and defended the title a total of 14 times between them. The blights on his record are the questionable stoppage to Oliver McCall and the humiliating loss to Hasim Rahman that was entirely his own fault.

2. Evander Holyfield (42-10-2 with 27 KOs)

Holyfield comes a close second to Lewis. He is famed for his classic trilogy against Riddick Bowe, his revenge over Michael Moorer, and his exciting wins over Ray Mercer, Larry Holmes, George Foreman, and Mike Tyson. Beyond not being able to defeat Lewis in 1999, his short-comings are in his inconsistency and lack of staying power. He never enjoyed the same long reign that Lewis did during his second stint as heavyweight champion. Holyfield's 1st and 2nd reign as champion consisted of a mere three defenses, and the others were shorter still. Also, although he did have wins against new heavyweights like John Ruiz and Hasim Rahman, this does not compare well to Lewis's wins over Grant, Klitschko and Tua.

3. Riddick Bowe (43-1 with 33 KOs)

Riddick Bowe was the era's great underachiever. He owns a 2-1 record with Holyfield, and beat a slew of undefeated comers like Herbie Hide and Larry Donald. However, his own laziness did him in. He was beaten from pillar to post in his two bouts with Andrew Golota for no other reason than he didn't stay in shape. He probably would have beaten Lennox Lewis had the two fought in 1993, but instead shamelessly ducked the British champion for years. However, at his best he was formidable, and as the third defining figure of the era he comes in at #3.

4. George Foreman (76-5 with 68 KOs)

Hard-punching and middle-aged, at 45 Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer came back to win the oldest fighter to win the heavyweight crown. That noteworthy and memorable achievement alone earn him a place in the Top 5 of what was his second era as a heavyweight. Past that, he has a mixed record with some wins over fringe contenders, but in two of his three efforts against the divisions best, he lost a slugfest with Holyfield and was outboxed by Tommy Morrison.

5. Ray Mercer (36-7-1 with 27 KOs)

Mercer briefly reigned as WBO champion, and relinquished the belt to secure better opportunities. Mercer knocked out Tommy Morrison and edged a dangerous Tim Witherspoon. He also gave Lennox Lewis what was arguably the hardest fight of his career in a hard-fought, but losing effort. Against this, he was outboxed by Larry Holmes and lost to Evander Holyfield, and also to journeyman Jesse Fergusson in a bout Mercer was too complacent to train for.

6. David Tua (49-3-1 with 42 KOs)

The powerful, left-hooking Tuaman is an often forgotten figure of the late 1990s. At the time, however, the Samoan was the rising slugger of the day. He knocked out future heavyweight champions Hasim Rahman, Oleg Maskaev, and John Ruiz, as well as crushing Darrol Wilson and David Izon. He fought the thrilling 1997 classic with Ike Ibeabuchi that saw the most punches thrown in a non-title heavyweight fight in history. However, he was dominated by Lennox Lewis and outboxed by Chris Byrd. After a draw in a rematch with Rahman, his career stalled as most top heavyweights ducked this supremely dangerous puncher.

7. Larry Holmes (69-6 with 44 KOs)

Holmes came back after dominating the previous era of heavyweights to become a force in a new era. The fact was that crafty old Holmes had forgotten more about boxing than most of his younger opponents would ever know. He spent most of his time angling for a shot with fellow old-timer George Foreman, who was equally determined to avoid Holmes at all costs. Holmes outfoxed and outboxed Ray Mercer, but was outworked by Evander Holyfield.

8. Michael Moorer (52-4-1 with 40 KOs)

Moorer became the first southpaw to win a heavyweight title, and other than that his main claim to fame is that he took it from Holyfield on what was a very bad night for the Real Deal. However, he lost the rematch, lost to George Foreman, and never fought another truly legitimate heavyweight contender during his heyday.

9. Mike Tyson (50-6 with 44 KOs)

When he won the title at age 20, Mike Tyson essentially became the first fighter of this era to peak, and he peaked very early. He opened the 1990s by losing the title to James Douglas, but started his comeback well with two wins over Donovan Rudduck. Then he was sent to prison for ****, and in his comeback he beat a number of fringe contenders, but lost badly to Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. One of the great questions of the era is what would have happened if, instead of going to prison, Tyson had instead fought Holyfield in late 1992? As it is, he just barely eeks into the Heavyweight Silver Age Top Ten, mostly because his great accomplishments were made in destroying he tattered remnants of the preceding era.

10. Tommy Morrison (48-3-1 with 48 KOs)

Tommy Morrison is most famous for appearing in the fifth Rocky film and for testing positive for HIV in 1996. However, he had a viable career as a heavyweight contender, including two stints as WBO champion. He was also the "Great White Hope" of his era. He was a good boxer-puncher with a big left hook, and outboxed George Foreman and knocked out Donovan Rudduck in a war. On the flip side, he had a suspect chin. He was outboxing Ray Mercer when Mercer caught him and hammered him. Lennox Lewis smashed him, and worst of all, journeyman Michael Bentt got lucky and kayoed him in a single round. His victories and ability to put butts in the seats are just enough to eke him onto the list.

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damian38 · May 18, 2012

Lewis
Holyfield
Bowe
Holmes
Tyson
Golota
Moore
Mercer
Foreman
Tua

turbotime · May 18, 2012

Lewis
Holyfield
Bowe
Foreman
Moorer
Golota
Tua
Ibeabuchi
Mercer
Tyson

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Top Ten HW off the 90's

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Top Ten HW off the 90's

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