{<Where is Evander Holyfield in ATG HW rankings?}>

I say 10-15...his resume is just ridiculous...he has fought

qawi twice
moorer
foreman
douglass
lewis twice
bowe 3 times
tyson twice
ruiz 3 times
valuev
rahman
toney
chagaev
holmes

ALL champions

 

??? he whooped tysons ass twice...he is def ahead of mike tyson

 

Hardly, and this is yet another example of how Lewis is so grossly overrated by many boxing fans today; and Holyfield so grossly underrated. You never saw Holyfield blasted out early once, let alone twice, by second-rate palookas like McCall and Rahman. And he faced the other great fighters in his era when it mattered, not when they were ready for the taking.

 

Oh, no question he beat Holmes - and Foreman - when they were both past their primes. But given the accomplishments that both of those guys went on to attain at older ages, Foreman winning the title and Holmes almost winning a version of it (I thought he should have gotten the nod, btw) - those are still significant victories.

When you add to this his victories over two of the other top four fighters of his own era - Bowe and Tyson - when Bowe was in his prime, and Tyson still formidable - this, along with his ability to avoid getting beat by lesser foes in the heart of his career, places him above Lewis.

Others may have different views, but what is always very irritating in these debates are the assumptions made by some that Lewis should definitely be rated highest. That is hardly a settled issue.

 

I have to admit, I would have Holy higher, but the fact is he has hurt his status the longer he fights on. When larry donald takes every round against you and Ibragimov is able to do the same it has to start hurting your legacy.

Most people will disagree with me on this point, but knowing when to quit impacts legacy IMO. Floyd quits too early, holyfield doesnt seem to ever quit. I have him well outside the top 10 at this point.

 

1. Muhammad Ali
2. Joe Louis
3. Jack Johnson
4. Larry Holmes
5. Lennox Lewis
6. Rocky Marciano
7. Joe Frazier
8. Evander Holyfield
9. George Foreman
10.Mike Tyson

I Have Holyfield eighth, and his legacy is secure even though he continues to fight on.

 

My top Heavies

1) Joe Louis
2) Muhammad Ali
3) Rocky Marciano
4) Jack Johnson
5) Larry Holmes
6) Sam Langford
7) Lennox Lewis
8) Jack Demspey
9) Harry Wills
10) George Foreman
11) Mike Tyson
12) Sonny Liston
13) Ezzard Charles

Id have to give it a lot more thought past this. Holy is on par with the 15-20 guys and dropping every year he fights on.

 

Tyson reign as champ is highly underrated by boxing experts but highly overrated by casual fans, Holy just never had a run like Tyson or Lewis BUT he was in the mix for a 10 yr period, so I have him in my top 10 slightly above Tyson.

1. Ali/Louis
3. Holmes
4. Jack Johnson
5. Lewis
6. Marciano
7. Holyfeild
8. Tyson
9. Foreman
10. Charles
11. Frazier

 

It is not just head to head match ups what counts.
Or is Toney definitely ahead of Holyfield in your list? What about Riddick Bowe?

 

I think he is a top 15 ATG he always reminded me of the great Ezzard Charles