Your top 10 greatest Heavyweight of all time?

Consensus rankings
1 Muhammad Ali
2 Joe Louis
3 Jack Johnson
4 Mike Tyson
5 Rocky Marciano
6 Larry Holmes
7 Lennox Lewis
8 Jack Dempsey
9 James J Jefferies
10 Sonny Liston
11 George Foreman
12 Joe Frazier
13 Wladimir Klitschko
14 Riddick Bowe
15 Evander Holyfield
16 John L Sullivan
17 Vitali Klitschko
18 Floyd Patterson
18 Gene Tunney
20 Jersey Joe Walcott
21 Ezzard Charles

Or

1 Muhammad Ali
2 Joe Louis
3 Larry Holmes
4 Lennox Lewis
5 Jack Johnson
6 Rocky Marciano
6 George Foreman
8 Jack Dempsey
9 Mike Tyson
10 Joe Frazier
11 James J Jefferies
12 Sonny Liston
13 Evander Holyfield
14 John L Sullivan
14 Vitali Klitschko
16 Wladimir Klitschko
17 Riddick Bowe
18 Jersey Joe Walcott
19 Floyd Patterson
19 Gene Tunney
21 Ezzard Charles

In the two ways I did it.

 

Has not really changed a lot...
I probably (pains me lol) move Wlad up to my 3-6 tier in the 6 spot. Moving vitali into the 11-15 range

 

I don't know of a way to format tables here. I used 12 to denote not being ranked

........................Lowest rank ........3rd quartile....Median....1st quartile... Highest rank
Muhammad.Ali......... 5.......................2 .................1 ..............1.................1
Joe.Louis .................8 ..................... 3................. 2...............1 ................1
Larry.Holmes ..........10 .....................7 .................5 ...............3 ................2
Lennox.Lewis .........12 .....................9 ..................6 ..............4................. 2
Jack.Johnson .........12 ....................11 .................6 ..............3 ..................1
George.Foreman.... 12 .....................8 ..................6 .............5.5 ................4
Rocky.Marciano ......12 ....................9 ..................7.............. 5 ..................1
Jack.Dempsey .......12 ....................12 .................9 ..............7 ..................2
Mike.Tyson ............12 ....................12..................9 ..............7................. 1
Joe.Frazier ............12 ....................12................ 10 .............7.................. 4
Sonny.Liston......... 12 ....................12................ 12............. 9.................. 3
Evander.Holyfield ...12 ....................12 ................12 .............9 ..................5
James.J.Jefferies ...12 ....................12 ................12 .............11 .................2
Wladimir.Klitschko ..12 ...................12................ 12............. 12 .................4
Riddick.Bowe ........12 ....................12................ 12............. 12................. 4
John.L.Sullivan .....12 .....................12 ...............12 .............12.................. 6
Vitali.Klitschko ......12 ....................12 ................12............. 12 ..................7
Floyd.Patterson .....12 ....................12 ................12 .............12.................. 7
Gene.Tunney ........12 ....................12................ 12 .............12.................. 7
Jersey.Joe.Walcott .12 ....................12 ................12 .............12 ..................8
Ezzard.Charles ......12 ....................12 ................12 .............12 .................10

It's interesting that there's much more veriability in the ranking of some fighters

 

Every now and again one changes
1. Ali
2. Joe Louis
3. Foreman
4. Larry Holmes
5. Rocky Marciano
6. Lennox Lewis
7. Holyfield
8. Tyson
9. Joe Frazier
10. Dempsey

 

Foreman doesn't have any case for number 3 and Holyfield so high also doesnt make much sense

 

Just did my top 26. Might as well re-post:

26. Baer
Who knows how good he could have been if he didn't kill a man in the ring and lose his desire to fight. His son later described how he woke up at night screaming. Very sad. In any event, gets there on Schmeling, Carnera, and few others.

25. Sharkey
Beat Wills, Godfrey, and Schmeling

24. Norton
Soley based on his performances against Ali, and throw in Quarry

23. Walcott
Great win over Charles and should have had the Bomber, but lots of losses on there.

22. VitKlit
Wish I could rate him higher but the wins aren't there. Great statistical record, though.

21. Riddick Bowe
Almost soley for the first win with Holyfield and an impressive looking record. Should have about three DQ losses, possibly a loss to Tubbs, and disgraced himself by running from Lewis.

20. Floyd Patterson
His reign was mostly a disgrace, but he managed wins over Moore, Jackson, Bonevena, Cooper, Machon, and Johanson. Much like Schmeling, in the big picture he was great.

19. Max Schmeling
His title run was a disgrace, but he is the only man to hold a win over physical prime bomber, has his disputed fights with Sharkey, and also beat Hamas, Stribling, Nuesal, Risko, and Walker. And he should have gotten the shot against Braddock and won the title back. Joe Louis' version of Joe Frazier.

18. Liston
I realize that an entire legend has sprung up around the guy, but basically, his record is not that impressive. He destroyed Patterson, who was great but uber-chinny, and defeated Williams, Machon, and Foley, who were solid but unspectacular. Quit twice against Ali.

17. Ezzard Charles
Very underrated, PfP guy with the wins over Louis, Walcott, Maxim, Moore. Impressive that he started as a middle. Wish I could rate him higher.

16. Holmes
I have argued this one to death elsewhere--I find the man overrated because he openly, without a question ducked Page and Thomas, and even bragged about doing it. He helped to fragment titles by giving the IBF credibility. That being said, he had a beautiful jab, and was tough in the ring. And he did have 19-20 defenses (Frazier was not official) even if a majority of them were utter garbage.

15. Dempsey
Good place for the man who fought about once a year as champ, and never fought his #1 contender. He is still a legend, and might have beaten Wills, but as it stands, Wills is the real champ in my book.

14. Mike Tyson
Such a meteoric rise...and fall. I honestly believe that he could have been the best ever. But he didn't want it.

13. Langford
What a phenom. Started as a lightweight, and won 180 fights up to heavy. PfP greatness.

12. Jeffries
Only one super-out-of-prime loss, with some great wins. I don't dock him as much points as the other color line guys, because 1. He fought three good black fighters coming up, 2. He considered giving Johnson a shot, and Johnson blew it by losing (controversial) to Hart, and 3. Jeffries eventually did fight him.

11. Jack Johnson
No one denies his skill and accomplishment, but I find him a hair overrated for two reasons: 1. He also did not fight the black fighters when he won the title, and 2. He has some embarrassing losses (Chonyski). A great fighter no doubt and we could put him a bit higher.

10. Tunney
Beat every man he ever fought, including greats Harry Greb and Jack Dempsey.

9. Harry Wills
I was once a huge Jack Dempsey fan, and according to the Mauler he wanted to fight Wills, but objectively, Wills has the better record, and was the real champ of their era. The color line was such a shame.

8. WladKlit
Two time champ with 23 defenses. Yup, if garbage defenses like those of Wilder's count, then so do Wladdy's WBO reign.

7. Holyfield
Would be much higher, as he beat the second most number of greats behind Ali, but he is a bit diminished in my mind with the "Evan Fields" controversy. We really don't know how good he was, but it is a shame to leave him of entirely, so I will say seven with an asterix. Could be higher, or much lower.

6. Joe Frazier
Winner of the fight of the century. Love the man.

5. George Foreman
Two-time champ with some great wins, and the entire mystique of the comeback.

4. Lewis
Presided over the second golden era of boxing, beat every man he ever fought, beat Tyson, Holyfield, and Vitklit, and scared Bowe into making a coward of himself.

3. Marciano
The "0." Haters can hate, and somewhere in that big boxing ring in the sky, the Rock is laughing. Also, highest knockout percentage.

2. Louis
25 defenses. Someday it will be broken, but 25 UNDISPUTED defenses will never be broken. Had the war not happened, it might have been more.

1. Ali
Beat the most great, near great, and just damned good fighters.

 

I think Foreman is fine where he is. His man handling of Frazier and Norton alone earn him a spot on the ten. Not sure what the beef with the Holyfield placement is?...and it’s my list so they go where I want em lol