What do you consider as the best decade in boxing?

1980's.

The fab four all fighting one another, Holmes reign, Tyson's rise, Arguello vs Pryor fights, Salvador Sanchez clearing out the division, Julio Cesar Chavez, Whitaker coming up, Hagler's domination of the middleweights. A glorious time.

 

40s followed by 80s

90s is pretty damned good too:

RJJ
Whitaker
Mayweather
Lewis
Tyson
Holyfield
Delahoya
Trinidad
Hamed
Barrera
Morales
Ike Quartey
Chavez
Tyszu
Mosley
Stevie Johnston
Hopkins
Eubank
Benn
Nunn

IMO 90s has the best HW scene ever


Bowe,
Golota,
mercer,
Morrison,
Wlad,
Vitali,
Ike Ibeauchi
Rudduck
Maskeev
McCall
Bruno

 

For greatest depth of talent I'd say the 1920s or 1930s because that was when there were numerous boxing venues and fights happening all the time. Basically, boxing's heyday was between the WWI and WWII.

When Harry Greb, Benny Leonard, Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, Mickey Walker, Tommy Loughran, Mike Gibbons, Johnny Dundee etc. were fighting. And boxing was massive in Europe and the European colonies at the time too. In the 1920s.

Then, in the 1930s, the Depression years, with Joe Louis, Henry Armstrong, Panama Al Brown, Jimmy McLarnin, Tony Canzoneri, Barney Ross, Kid Chocolate, Billy Conn etc.

And there are loads of lesser known fighters with incredible records from these periods. In America it was Irish, Jews, Italians, and Blacks, and other ethnic mixes, all producing great fighters. And countries all over the globe were producing good contenders and champions.
I dont think boxing ever quite reached those heights again. Venues closed down quickly at the beginning of WWII and although the 40s and 50s were good eras the TV coverage further decimated the boxing shows.

 

What you say about the twenties and thirties is largely true, but you might be minimizing the impact of segregation on American boxing prior to the Joe Louis era. Black prospects did not recieve proper training or opportunities and so this talent pool was stunted at its roots. There was a tremendous influx of black talent starting in the late thirties and carrying on into the forties.
WWII crippled boxing in Europe for a few years, but the impact in the US was brief and boxing seemed to be back on track within a year or two after the war ended. The fight clubs reopened. It was free fights on TV, not WWII, which killed the fight clubs in the end.
It also should be noted that Latin America and East Asia produced more good fighters in the 50's & 60's than they had prior to WWII.

 

Ummm most of these guys are umimpressive

 

Thats not mentioning the top 3 HWs of Lennox, Tyson, Holy (which I already mentioned).

The 90s were without doubt the biggest punchers in HW history.

Give me a better top15 than the 90s HWs

 

This is all opinion. I agree 1990s is up there as punchers, but 1940s and 1970s had alot of punchers too.....1990s heavyweights are known for stamina problems, constantly showing up out of shape, and did not have top notch boxing skills the 1980s heavyweights had.

 

I pick Frazier, Foreman, Norton, Shavers, Young, Ali, Holmes over Golota, Mercer, Morrison, Wlad, Vitali, and McCall.

 

You missed Tyson, Lewis, Holyfield, anyway the 70s hasnt got a top15 to compare to the 90s.

 

In terms of just punchers nothing compares to the 90s its not oppinion its fact, the punchers were brutal, plenty of 1 KO finnishes, the men were carrying 30-40lbs more muscle than other eras

The thing about the 90s is they may have had bigger punchers due to improvements with steroids, supplements, weight training.

 

Steroid Muscle Doesnt equate power. If you give heavyweights from other era supplements, steroids too.....they would hit as hard if not harder than 90s heavyweights.

 

I guess I was thinking more of the HW division which was horrible with a disinterested Holmes fighting juveniles, light heavies,white hopes and never was opponents, also a splintering of titles where every crackhead and junkie held a belt. The last few years were at least fun watching Tyson clean up that mess.

 

This will always be the case.

 

I'm hearin' ya mate.