Your 30 Top All Time Heavyweight Contenders?

Good list. Ike Ibeabuchi is the only omission off the top of my head.

 

McVey, great list and great subject matter. Did this off the top of my head and had most of your picks. I did not however, include title claimants, so I did not include Terrell, Mercer, Tucker, Thomas or Byrd. Also did not include Buddy Baer. Did not think about Razor. Should include Razor at the expense of maybe Tom Sharkey, but I'll leave it as is for now. These were the fighters I had in place of the title claimants and Baer & Razor.

Luther McCarty
Tommy Farr
Lou Nova
Jimmy Bivins
Gerry Cooney
Carl Williams
Ike Ibeabuchi

 

Hmm interesting In chronological order starting with the earliest guys

Joe Choynski
Tom Sharkey
Sam Langford
Joe Jeanette
Fred Fulton
Harry Wills
Harry Greb
Earnie Schaaf
Bob Pastor
Jimmy Bivins
Billy Conn
Archie Moore
Harold Johnson
Eddie Machen
Zora Folley
Ernie Terrell
Jerry Quarry
Oscar Bonavena
Jimmy Young
Gerry Cooney
Tim Witherspoon
Tony Tucker
Tony Tubbs
Ray Mercer
Ike Ibeabuchi
David Tua
Andrew Golota
Chris Byrd
Corrie Sanders

Just missing out Tommy Loughran and Johnny Risko both had too many losses to off set their many outstanding wins.
Soon to be added Alexander Povetkin
Left off Sam Mcvey as I felt he was the weakest of the black dynamite crew and didn’t want to automatically include all of them.
Still debating final pick

 

Top 30??? I'll give it a shot... Btw I'll try not to add abc champs but I might add one or two by accident (aka, no Byrd, Norton or Mercer). These are in no particular order

1-10: (A tier)

Harry Wills
Ike Ibeaubuchi
Archie Moore
Sam Langford
Cleveland Williams
Peter Jackson
Rex Layne
Tom Sharkey
Oscar Bonavena
Ron Lyle

11-30: (B tier)

Harry Greb
David Tua
Young Stribling
Tommy Loughran
Nino Valdes
Bob Satterfield
Zora Folley
Sam McVea
Earnie Shavers
Jerry Quarry
Earnie Schaaf
Lou Nova
Buddy Baer
Roland LaStarza
Billy Conn
Donovan Ruddock
Joe Choynski
Jake Kilrain
Tommy Gibbons
James Toney


And a special shout out to the GOAT Dereck Chisora

 

Just for fun, I'd throw in the following perennials from the 1920s and '30s for consideration. Each of them defeated a few champions during their day:

Johnny Risko, Paolino Uzcudun, Young Stribling, Ernie Schaaf, Tommy Loughran, even King Levinsky!

I dare anyone to shoot these toughies down!!

Actually, I have always thought that Johnny Risko should have been given a title shot at some time in his career, just like Ali gave Cleveland Williams and Zora Folley chances for their years of service even though they were already washed up as contenders. The heavyweight champions of that era only fought once a year, though.

 

But you have Tucker listed? Do you mean someone else. I omitted Norton myself

 

Roland LaStarza? Really? Who did he beat again?

Tommy Gibbons beat exactly who at heavyweight? I know that he lost an elimination fight.

 

LaStarza beat Brion, Bucceroni, Layne, and gave 2 good fights to Marciano. (Plenty of asterisks can be made though)

Gibbons beat tons of people that I don't even care to mention, also keep in mind that all of Gibbons' losses are to ATGs.

Honestly Greb doesn't even have a strong heavyweight record but you didn't call that one out

 

Wills
Langford
Jeannette
Elmer Ray
Mcvea
Jimmy Bivins
Quarry
Tommy Farr
Folley
Eddie Machen
Lyle
Shavers
Bob Baker
Billy Conn
Chuvalo
Billy miske
Peter Jackson
Rex Layne
Tom Sharkey
Larry Gains
Mickey Walker
Tua
Mercer
Bonavena
Nino Valdez
King Levinsky
Ruddock
Henry Cooper
Godoy
Ibeabuchi

 

LaStarza was an immaculately protected fighter. Of that there is no doubt. He banked on his first performance against Marciano until he got a return.

Against heavyweight opponents, Gibbons beat Miske (who also beat him) and who else? Please to name these great heavyweight opponents Gibbons defeated that make him such a great heavyweight challenger.

Greb beat Brennan (5 times), Kid Norfolk, Miske, Renault, Gunboat Smith, Gibbons, Levinsky (multiple times), Meehan... and gave Tunney his only defeat.

 

Great list