Whether it was avenging his loss against Joe Frazier with two victories over his rival,taking the steam out of George Foreman at The Rumble in the Jungle or earning hard-fought wins over the rugged likes of Floyd Patterson and Ken Norton, Alis GOAT legacy resides on the heavyweight throne as the best. A gift and a curse. Rocco "Rocky" Marciano became the World Heavyweight Champion in 1952 after defeating Jersey Joe Walcott and is the only title holder to have retired undefeated as champion. Jeffries was a superior athlete who won the heavyweight championship as a virtual novice. Tyson, maybe, but I have no issue with him being left off. These are hardly heavyweight limelights and I mention Tysons age 38 because considering the legit comebacks going on, Tyson was NOT that old. Some generations have him. So, are we talking about boxings greatest heavyweight fighter or boxings greatest heavyweight champion? His shaky chin did not help his cause either. Holyfield held his own, 15 rounds, against a young Lennox Lewis (who destroyed Tyson), and, beat (not on the scorecards) Nikolai Valuev LATE in EVs career. Turns our Holmes was not overrated at all (boring maybe) and he went on to dominate the decade and prove himself as an all time great. For some, character mattered. Wills 16. Foreman 5. DAZN uses cookies to help us deliver our services and improve your user experience. Frazier is the only man to defeat Muhammad Ali when he was anywhere close to his prime. how could you possible list frazier ahead of foreman, that is crazy, simply because foreman DESTROYED him twice. The nickname ' Sugar ' came from a newspaper reporter who described him to be sweet as sugar. With a sublime jab, toughness and an elite boxing brain, Holmes was a terrific all-rounder. Smokin Joe was an absolute buzzsaw. Louis had everything. List of current boxing rankings - Wikipedia But they, too, are among the greatest of all time, so thats not too shabby. That nickname accurately described his fighting style. Bobs downfall was what made him so popular, his all out approach that left him overextended, open for counter punches, and out of gas in the later rounds if the early KO did not come. He beat everyone and won all the belts. Amen!! Free shipping for many products! To draw an analogy to another sport, some of pro footballs greatest lineman from the past weighed 240 pounds. Holmes fought real fighters men like Earnie Shavers. The punch Rahman hit him with in South Africa would have KOd anyone, and there was the issue of altitude in South Africa. ESPN.com: ALL-TIME GREATEST BOXERS He ducked Shavers, Lyle and even an old Sonny Liston. Give Wladimir credit for staying the course. Standing at 62 and over 200 pounds, Nova was considered a large heavyweight for his era. The Top 50 Boxers Of All Time Have Been Ranked Posted below are the top 50 heavyweights of all time, according to fans. The Fifty Greatest Light-Heavyweights of All Time Part One - 50-41 Published 8 years ago on May 27, 2015 By Matt McGrain Constructing a top 100 pound-for-pound was a difficult task, but far more tortuous was my attempt last year to construct a top 100 at heavyweight. Three time champ and he was the king of the 90s, which was a very good generation for heavyweights. Vitali didnt have the resume or talent of his brother. Behind that crisp, piercing jab of his, Holmes enjoyed an eight-year run as world heavyweight champion, defeating the likes of Ken Norton, Earnie Shavers and Muhammad Ali along the way. Gene Tunney (1915-1928, 79-1-4): 464.7, 6. A one-dimensional fighter. Email THE RING Magazine and your comments could be printed in our next issue: [emailprotected] Emailed letters will include a writers email address unless a city and state of origin is provided. Erik Morales 78. You could see the sudden halt in his leg. How important was a fighter in his era? Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. The mold of a perfect fighter. A weighted average was also employed for Steve Lott with regard to Tyson because of their friendship and close working relationship during the glory years of Tysons career. As did fights from the greatest of the greats, from Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali to Larry Holmes . The 100 Greatest Pound for Pound Boxers Of All Time Dave Carlson January 11, 2011 "Pound for pound" rankings were developed by boxing writers during the era of Sugar Ray Robinson. Lennox carried himself with dignity and grace for his entire career. This to me is mind-boggling and tells me that Sullivan, in his prime, would have whipped Corbett. Jack Dempsey (No. Nor did he obliterate a mediocre Tony Tucker, both title fights in 1987. The record speaks for itself. Joe Louis won his first world heavyweight title in 1937 and held that title for . Tyson could never deal with adversity, which is why he doesnt belong on the list of ATGs. It fell apart too soon for the youngest ever heavyweight champ, whose life and career unravelled quickly - but in the 1980s Tyson tore through the division like nobody before or since. Wladimir has never seemed to have his heart in it. Firstly theres Johnny Dundee and Willie Pep recording over 200 wins in their careers with 201 and 229 respectively. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Heavyweight BOXING Champion JOE FRAZIER "Smokin' Joe" SIGNED First Printing RARE at the best online prices at eBay! Holmes was a deadbeat along with Klitschko. In the eyes of several electors, that was where Tyson came up short. Holmes was completely washed up-way past his prime. In one instance, there was no margin at all. The Greatest Boxers Of All Time ranked - The Delite But when it came time for Tyson to fight top prime guys, Hes 0-6 in fights that actually matter. Rocky Marciano (1947-1955, 49-0-0): 692.2, 2. A lot of people who are serious about boxing think George Foreman is one of the most underrated fighters ever. The Tyson of the late 80s definitely belongs there. 4. Do people not know that Lewis beat Tyson in 8 rounds? Sullivan fought for 13 years, the last 10 of which he was a fullblown alcoholic. When they met again with the championship on the line, Louis knocked Schmeling out in the first round. Dominant wins over Eddie Machen, George Chuvalo, Jimmy Ellis, Oscar Bonavena, Doug Jones, Bob Foster, Buster Mathis, Jerry Quarry and Joe Bugner prove the point. Holyfield, for example, beat Tyson twice. Flyweight Ring career: 1910-23 Record: 131-3-2 (99 KOs) and 13 no-decisions Career notes: One of the smallest world champions ever . Marciano never fought Joe Louis. Eventually he would be being hit with pinpoint left hooks and right crosses. Thats Alis power ranking, which put him in first place. Frank Bruno. 2.1 Heavyweight (201 lbs+ - 91.18 kg+) 2.2 Cruiserweight (200 lbs - 90.72 kg) 2.3 Light heavyweight (175 lbs - 79.38 kg) . Bob fought as a light heavyweight for the first part of his career, and even had a couple middleweight bouts. So Maybe Tyson is in the top10 of his era .. But if Ruth had been forced to contend with sliders, cutters, screwballs, forkballs, two-seam fastballs, four-seam fastballs and the like, he might have been less dominating. I doubt that he could have done that against Marciano. But he fought for 17 years and had only 18 fights. Kick ass on half that page at least. Wheres mike Tyson? You could have shot those guys 10 times with a gun, posits one panelist, and they still wouldnt have quit. Boxing: The 10 Greatest Heavyweights of All Time In a shared cell, the veteran Choynski schooled up Johnson on some of his moves, techniques, and tricks. The Klitschkos are two big, well-conditioned guys fighting in an era when the best big guys are going into sports other than boxing.