Which Heavyweight Champion benefited most from weak competition?

As faulty as saying Ali. There's is no such thing as weak opposition when you take on almost all worthy challenges during a 12 year period.

 

Ok. I'll have a go instead of just critizising others.

Johnson and Patterson were champs during strong eras. They didn't benefit from weak opposition, just from refusing to face it. The same can to an extent be said of Dempsey and Holmes.

That there were few stand-out challengers during Louis' reign is largely because he was so dominant. The colour line was still in play during the first part of his reign, though, making it hard for black fighters to come into a position to pose a title challenge.

Marciano's, Tyson's and Ali's (first) reigns all came when strong eras of fighters were fading out a bit. Lewis and Holyfield reigned during strong eras but didn't really clean house.

So no one, to my mind, cleaned out a really strong era. I'd say that Ali perhaps came closest during his second reign when he met prime versions of Lyle, Norton, Young and Shavers and a still very dangerous Frazier, but since several of these wins were close and/or controversial it doesn't fully count. (For the record I still think it's damn impressive considering he was 33 with several tough battles behind him when he started this reign)

 

see the above entries by the way - :rofl i keep doing that!!

 

Yeah, you do. Together with spilling a fair share of nonsense. Would like to say it's been stimulating, but...

So long.

 

Yep.

It's not that it was a weak era, but between the colour-bar, selection and other factors, he had a very easy ride up until facing Jack Johnson, who in turn had a poor title reign. Between Jefferies and Dempsey, the heavyweight title scene was a rather pathetic affair, despite the great fights that were going on at the time*.

* Imagine if we had ample film of Jeanette and McVey's 49-round epic. :dead

 

between dempsey and louis wasn't much better.louis changed it all though

 

Depends what you mean.

In some ways that was a period of unrealised potential.