Who has the 5 best KO/TKO scalps? Heavies

Yeah, OK, but Sharkey was a shell by 1936 and Braddock was no world beater. Same with Primo. And Schmeling was getting old (33). Just sayin'.

 

True that. To wit …

Earnie Shavers:
Jimmy Young
Jimmy Ellis
Joe Bugner
Ken Norton
Roy Williams

Imagine if he had managed to finish the job vs. Ali or Holmes … or both. You’d have a handful of aces for his KO resume. And he came oh so close.

 

I don’t about Shaver’s list. Jimmy Young was a 7-3 nobody when they fought. Joe Bugner had been retired for what ? 4-5 years ? And was Roy Williams really a big scalp ?

 

I'd definitely consider guys like Jeff Sims to be better hits. I think it's funny that so many big hitters past the 70s were called can crushers when Shavers' record really doesn't look all too good, not to put anything against ol' Earnie.

 

About 35 of his 70 KO’s came against dudes with losing records. Most of the other 35 still weren’t that good despite being above .500. I’m not saying the man can’t hit. He might have hit harder than anybody for all we know. But for a forum that places so much weight in “ quality of opposition “ the guy gets a lot of breaks in that department

 

You get a break if you're remembered as a fighter from the 70s.

 

Jimmy Young was still Jimmy Young — he got stopped exactly twice in his career, the other time on a cut induced by Gerry Cooney. He didn’t lose after Shavers until the (still disputed by many) loss to Ali, the only defeat in a 17-fight stretch (two draws, including one vs. Earnie in a rematch) that ended with the split loss to Norton and his soon-after major backslide. If not for Earnie, nobody would have ever stopped him other than by cut.

Roy Williams was one of the most avoided fighters of the era. Not many top guys would step into the ring with him. This was his only stoppage loss.

As for Joe, he went five years with only one fight (two years before Joe being the in-between fight) but he fought on well itnto the 1990s after this loss in 1982. And it was his first stoppage loss since his debut 15 years earlier … he had two stoppage losses late in his career (one to Frank Bruno five years after Earnie did it), but he notched a few decent wins in that comeback stretch too.

I’d say all three are impressive KOs. I don’t know of too many fighters who knock out all three at the same stages of each opponent’s career … some very good men failed to do so.

 

Good subject for a thread.

 

If no account is taken of the then current ability of the victim and just focusing on the name.
Louis.
Baer
Walcott
Sharkey
Carnera
Braddock

Otherwise

Ali.
Frazier
Liston
Foreman
Lyle
Patterson

Lewis.
Tyson
Ruddock
Klitschko
Morrison
Rahman

 

David Tua:
- Ruiz
- Rahman
- Maskaev
- Moorer
- Oquendo

Honorable mention - Nicholson

Wladimir Klitschko:
- Byrd
- Chagaev
- Mercer
- Brewster
- Pulev

HM - Thompson, Chambers, Brock, McCline, Schulz

Yeah, Wlad's resume is deep even if it doesn't have legends in it. But tons of quality fighters

 

AJ is hated by many, but he also has very good named in his record, even if some if them were old

- Wlad
- Povetkin
- Whyte
- Pulev
- Takam

 

Maybe let's show some love to Tyson?

Michael Spinks
Larry Holmes

The quality drops after that but:

Razor Ruddock
Pinklon Thomas
Trevor Berbick

 

I'd say in order
Ali
Louis
Foreman

 

Also the only man to stop Spinks and Holmes.