What heavyweights had the toughest & easiest title defences?

[Controversial]

Out of the the top drawer heavyweight champs who fought the toughest contenders and who had the easier opponents?

Did Louis 'bum of the month campaign' diminish his achievements? Does Holmes fighting a string of inexperienced heavyweights like Frazier, Bey, Smith, Ocasio, Witherspoon and Williams, none of which had more than 16 fights make his achievement any weaker?

Personally I'd have to say Ali fought the toughest contenders as champ overall. Not so sure yet about the easier opponents. You could argue that Foreman only defended against Roman and Norton before losing so he would have to be up there.

[Goodnight, Irene]

This thread could really open up some interesting dialogue. I'll do a run-down of some of the higher-profile champions & how they stack up later.

[Seamus]

Toughest-Ali
Easiest-J Johnson

[jimglen]

"Bum of the month club" was the Reports fun and venecular as too the fighters Louis was beating consecutively and in his usual skilled and superior fashion, Not at all in the "literal" sense of actual lesser fighters.

Louis was TOPS, plain and simple just as were, Fitz, Johnson, Dempsey and so on before him and Marciano, Ali, Forman, Holmes and Tyson after him. They were top, but all had their defeats (bar Marciano), and some hard and even questionable victories!

Their opponents, namely the 70s and even Louis' bunch were still top and worthy opponents, it was just a headlining expression rather than an actual fact!

[dempseyfire]

As for title defenses for all of the misconstrued 'bum of the month' hyperbole no other champion faced such a wide arra of tough challengers as Louis besides Ali, and if you are including JUST title defenses, Louis is tops altogether.

The probem with comparing title defenses is you have some guys who overall faced and beat very tough comp career-wise (Baer, Liston) but who had very brief title reigns. For this reason I'd say including guys who made at least 3 defenses.

If we are including paper champs, Valuev maybe the very worst. If we are talking linear, I think Big George Foreman in the 90s may take the cake . . .Crawford Grimsely? Where did they dig up that guy?

[The Great John L]

Clearly George’s greatest ability during his second career was his match making.

[BigJuicyHog]

Ali had the toughest.

Mike Tyson had one of the weakest groups.

[raylawpc]

Toughest: Jeffries

Easiest: Tyson

[The Great John L]

Everyone seems to forget about Jeff, but I might agree.

Anyway, if I only include the more universally recognized HW champs:

Toughest is Jeff or Ali
Weakest is Burns

[dempseyfire]

Everyone seems to forget about Jeff, but I might agree.

Anyway, if I only include the more universally recognized HW champs:

Toughest is Jeff or Ali
Weakest is Burns

I forgot about Burns. Some good fighters he defeated but they wern't heavyweights.

[raylawpc]

Yes, I went back and forth between Burns and Tyson.

[Controversial]

No one has mention Lennox Lewis. He must get some credit surely?

Beat every top contender around and avenged the two defeats in had in world title fights. Lewis one of only three heavyweights to have beaten everyone he faced, the others being Tunney and Marciano

[granberry]

No one has mention Lennox Lewis. He must get some credit surely?

Beat every top contender around and avenged the two defeats in had in world title fights. Lewis one of only three heavyweights to have beaten everyone he faced, the others being Tunney and Marciano

But Tunney and Marciano did not have glass chins

and neither was knocked out by a single even punch once, much less twice.

LOL

[ben geoghegan]

Toughest title defences: everybody who lost!

Easiest: nothing easy about defending the title! See: above

[Controversial]

No one has mention Lennox Lewis. He must get some credit surely?

Beat every top contender around and avenged the two defeats in had in world title fights. Lewis one of only three heavyweights to have beaten everyone he faced, the others being Tunney and Marciano

But Tunney and Marciano did not have glass chins

and neither was knocked out by a single even punch once, much less twice.

LOL

I think if Lewis had a glass chin he would have stopped or floored more than he was. He fought some of the biggest punchers and beat them, Tua, Tyson, Bruno, Ruddock, Mason, Briggs, Mercer, Morrison, Klitschko and others. As well as avenging the defeats by other punchers McCall and Rahman.

Frazier, Charles, Walcott, Liston and others were stopped in title fights so does that make them chinny as well?

[BroughtonRulesRefuge]

Toughest: Jeffries

Easiest: Tyson

- Lessee, the youngest champ ever by a huge margin becomes the first to unify all 3 belts just months after his 21st birthday, something his predecessor failed to do in all 7 yrs and 20 defenses of his title reign, so now Tyson has the easiest defenses in history???????????

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Robinson]

NO idea why people think Tyson had the easiest title defences is beyond me...

[Goodnight, Irene]

His only defenses came against Williams & Bruno.

Meh...

[Robinson]

Oh that is right because he was an alphabet champion before that...

Though he never only defended against say one entire race?

So say he only had Williams and Bruno...would that be better or
worse than say...

Terry Daniels or Ron Stander
or giving Bill Squires more than his share of shots at the big man's
belt...

[jaclem2]

..lewis, tunney and marciano were not the only heavyweight champions who had wins over everyone they faced...

[raylawpc]

NO idea why people think Tyson had the easiest title defences is beyond me...

Here's an idea: Because maybe he did.

In the case of Tyson, he pretty much streamrolled everybody he faced up to the Douglas fight. Nobody gave him a serious challenge until Douglas. The losses to Douglas and Holyfield (first fight) were tough, but I think - in terms of which champion had the easiest defenses - that in the total scheme of things they are outweighed by the ease with which he dispatched his other challengers.

P.S.: They were not "easy" because he faced weak opponents; they were "easy" because he dominated his opponents. Before the Douglas fight, Tyson was a terrific fighter.

[Goodnight, Irene]

Oh that is right because he was an alphabet champion before that...

Though he never only defended against say one entire race?

So say he only had Williams and Bruno...would that be better or
worse than say...

Terry Daniels or Ron Stander
or giving Bill Squires more than his share of shots at the big man's
belt...

I don't know what you want me to say. His only defenses were Bruno & Williams. Fairly weak, in my view. I guess you feel differently.

[Robinson]

GI

I do not want you to say anything, but what you feel is your opinion.
I am fine with it. But as you are aware...I do disagree.

;)

[Goodnight, Irene]

How much credit do you give him for those defenses, then? How highly would you rate those fighters at that stage of their careers?

[Syntax Error]

Ali's 70s defences were undoubtedly the hardest.

Some of the monsters he had to face, whilst at the same time having to cope with his own diminishing skills was remarkable.

It's tough to say who had the easiest.

I would concur with a previous poster who nominated Jack Johnson, but it's a tad unfair as those films from 100+ years ago are not even in sync, so you can't even tell how fast they were etc.

Of the modern legends, I'd say maybe Tyson.

He was blessed because his oppostion wasn't strong, plus they were terriied of him.