Boxing is bizarre. Ali fought Foreman, Liston, Shavers and Frazier, yet who had him on ***** street? Cooper. Same for Holmes, he fought Shavers, Cooney, Tyson and Mercer, Witherspoon at one point had him more hurt than any of those, except for Tyson, had. The bottomline? At heavyweight, anyone can punch and even a "light" hitter is dangerous when landing the right shot.
I really like the 70's crowd, but I think they might just be a tad bit overrated as punchers. Don't get me wrong, Foreman and Shavers had brutal power, but I think you have a couple of guys in the 90's with just as much if not even more power. The older, heavier Tyson had lost in just about every other apartment, but his power was really something else. I fotget who it was he lifted off the canvas with a brutal uppercut - it was one of the guys he met before Lewis. Then you also have Tua, Morrisson, Briggs etc. Let's say that those was the four are the most powerful punchers Lewis met. I think they had a bit more power on average than Ali's four most powerful opponents - Foreman, Shavers, Liston and Williams. But where Lewis really pulls clear is with his second tier of powerful opponents - Vitaly, Mercer, Bruno and Ruddock (he perhaps belongs in the first tier actually). Ali has what? Frazier, Lyle, MacFoster. There's a clear difference here. I just can't see it any other way than that Lewis met the most powerful punchers.
i would say ali is the clear winner ,with............ foreman,liston,shavers,williams,lyle,frazier,cooper,foster(mac & bob) not all fought ali at his peak and not all landed with a lot of pubches but the list is still impressive !!
Yeah, in terms of depth of quality punchers Lewis definently has Ali beaten so he probably deserves the nod.
Throw Evander in there ... Tyson Bowe - very underated as a puncher Lewis Mercer Moorer Foreman - still a hell of a hitter Cooper - an under achiever who could blast Alex Stewart - a decent hitter The shots he took from Tyson, Lewis and Bowe were unreal ... Evander had an all time chin in my book .
Good call on Evander, he would be 4th on my list. you think your maybe over exaggerating slightly? I mean he knocked out alot of tomato cans, but when he stepped up in competition...the only member of Ring Magazine top 10 he knocked out was michael moorer. Alex Stewart, whom tyson knocked out in one round went the distance with george and bloodied him up. Axel Shulz, Glass Jaw Morrison, Briggs, Grimsley, Savarese all these "fringe" contenders foreman was unable to kayo... Why did his knockout percentage take such a drop once he stepped up to face contenders? I check my boxing registar and the only guys listed as top 10 when foreman fought them were Tommy Morrison and champions Evander Holyfield and Michael Moorer. I was suprised to find Axel Shulz and Shannon Briggs were not in the top 10 when foreman fought them.
Doesnt matter if they have no skills. Lewis probably faced the most of them, just due to the evolution of man physically, but many were either severely lacking in the skill department or past their best. What good is it if you cant deliver it. If you put them on the punching machine at the circus they would all win prizes though. :hey
I think Mercer is over-rated,but another guy who had Holmes down was Renaldo Snipes.There was talk of a long count in that one.Snipes had a great quote,"it takes 10 seconds to win the championship,it took Larry Holmes 14 seconds to defend it".
Facing a large number of punchers is over-rated. Punchers generaly are over-rated. A fighter with top end power and nothing else is as much use as a **** pot with a hole in the bottom. There have been many champions who have taken the bombs of limited punchers but got into hot water against a technician with fair power.
Absolutely. That makes wonder why Foreman made it so far, though. Was it through smart management or wasn't he as limited as he looks? Was there a method to his madness so to speak? He's very much an enigma for me.
Ali without a doubt. He fought liston, frazier, williams, foreman, shavers, quarry and other known punchers.