Your top 10 heavyweight list, with a twist. You must disregard every fight that has taken place after the Fight of the Century in 1971. Many people have been critical of Nat Fleischer’s top 10 heavyweight list. Although he had written it some years earlier, he declined to update it after the FOTC. So I am asking you what his list should have been at the last time he would have been able to update it. To be fair to Fleischer, you must be very disciplined in ignoring any knowledge you have of fights after this date. If you want a bonus task, then you may also attempt to name the best from each of the traditional weight classes, at that date. In Fleischer’s case: This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected
Hmmm... 01 - Joe Louis 02 - Rocky Marciano 03 - Jack Johnson 04 - Jim Jeffries 05 - Joe Frazier 06 - Muhammad Ali 07 - Harry Wills 08 - Jack Dempsey 09 - Sonny Liston 10 - Sam Langford
louis marciano frazier johnson dempsey ali jeffries tunney liston fitz oh and.... Louis greb greb robinson gans armstrong oliveres wilde
01 Joe Louis 02 Marciano 03 Frazier 04 Johnson 05 Dempsey 06 Jeffries 07 Ali 08 Liston 09 Schmeling 10 Walcott
That means Holmes, Foreman, Tyson, Bowe, Lewis and the Klitschko's are out. It also means Ali is undefeated and takes away Frazier's best. Many of the smaller heavies don't have to worry about skilled super heavyweights either. You get a very different list. By the way Nat Fleischer had an article after Frazier beat Ali saying he was not an all time top ten great. At that point in time, he has a good case.
1.Joe Louis 2.Muhammad Ali 3.Joe Frazier 4.Sonny Liston 5.Jack Dempsey 6.Gene Tunney 7.Max Baer 8.Max Schmeling 9.Fred Fulton 10.Harry Wills
Boxing News did its top 10 after the Fight of the Century actually. The top 5 was still the same top 5 that seemed almost universal until the 80s: Louis, Johnson, Marciano, Dempsey, Ali (but not in the same order). Frazier was 6th. I'd probably agree with that as a Top 6 but with Dempsey lower.
1. Louis 2. Jeffries 3. Johnson 4. Marciano 5. Tunney 6. Ali 7. Dempsey 8. Langford 9. Liston 10. Walcott
That would prety much have been my top four then. Order might have been slightly different,but those would be the four.
