Who do you consider the best heavyweight of all-time?

the context aside I like it that someone is making this statement. these get confused all the time. When speed and reflexes go skill remains. Which is why some guys' careers just seem to go off a cliff and others like Duran, Charles, Holmes, Griffiths seem to be able to pull out performances in the winter of their careers they have no right to...

 

I cant honestly see what there is to criticise in Louis's athleticism.

He is the closest thing to a perfect heavyweight there has ever been on paper. Fighters like Frazier or Holyfield might match him in a single parameter such as left hook but that is about all you can say in their favour.

If the only think Baring Louis's ascent to the top was one of the weaker champions of the 90s you might as well surrender the blet to him at the press conference.

 

I think the notion that Ali lacked skill is the most overused and off the mark cliché in this forum. I could go on about the many subtle techniques in his repertoir, but I'm short of time, so I'll just say that no other, absoluteley none, did as well with diminished physical assets that Ali did. If he was just flash and talent he would never continued to dominate into the late 70's. Never.

 

Lennox beats Louis, and on paper, beats Louis in many more categories. And I also think Evander beats Louis as well. Tyson has a chance, and other fighters of the 90's would give him fits though Louis would be the favorite.

 

That's the company line that's been thrown around by Ali and his fans since the 60s. I'm just not so sure.

 

Oh. Big Buddy Baer knocked Louis out of the ring and Louis came back to destoy him. It is, after all, only an opinion that Shavers punched harder than Max Baer or the 250 lb Buddy Baer. The one thing we know for certain is that Shavers dropped Holmes and hurt him much more badly than either of the Baers were able to hurt Louis.

 

Ali does have the better wins but Louis showed more consistency. Louis has the most title defences in the history of the sport. The Norton loss is a bad loss while you could say Ken was a difficult style the same can be said about Conn in comparison to Louis yet Joe still found a way to win. For me it’s probably the closest in terms of 1 and 2 out of any of the original weight classes.

 

Ali

 

The fighter Walcott was talking about was Tiger Jack Fox while a great fighter his best days were probably before Louis won the title and Joe fought Baer, Carnera, Schmeling, Uzcudun and Sharkely on his way to the belt so it not like he took the easy road. And John Henry Lewis did beat Fox easily when they met and of course Joe would later take John Henry Lewis out in one round.

 

Jess Willard edges out Carnera ...