Historians Rankings Of the Top 10 All-Time Heavyweights

[ThatOne]

Nat Fleischer, Founder of Ring Magazine, 1958, 1971.

Jack Johnson

Jim Jeffries

Bob Fitzsimmons

Jack Dempsey

Jim Corbett

Joe Louis

Sam Langford

Gene Tunney

Max Schemling

Rocky Marciano


Charley Rose, 1968

Sam Langford

Jack Johnson

Jack Dempsey

Joe Louis

Jim Jeffries

Gene Tunney

Sam McVey

Rocky Marciano

Jim Corbett

Max Baer


World Boxing 1974 Readers Poll

Joe Louis

Jack Dempsey

Rocky Marciano

Jack Johnson

Muhammad Ali

Joe Frazier

Gene Tunney

Jim Jeffries

Sonny Liston

Ezzard Charles


Nat Loubet, 1975

Joe Louis

Jack Dempsey

Jim Jeffries

Jack Johnson

Rocky Marciano

Gene Tunney

Bob Fitzsimmons

James J. Corbett

Muhammad Ali

Joe Frazier


John Durant -Author of "The Heavyweight Champions" (1976)

Joe Louis

Jack Johnson

Jack Dempsey

Muhammad Ali

Gene Tunney

Joe Frazier

Jim Jeffries

James J. Corbett

Rocky Marciano

Max Schemling


Bill Brennan 1978 (Former President of the WBA)

Muhammad Ali

Joe Louis

Jack Dempsey

Jack Johnson

Gene Tunney

Jim Jeffries

Max Schemeling

Rocky Marciano

James J. Corebett

Bob Fitzsimmons


Big Book of Boxing Reader Poll, 1978

Joe Louis

Muhammad Ali

Rocky Marciano

Jack Dempsey

Jack Johnson

Gene Tunney

Joe Frazier

Jim Jeffries

Ezzard Charles

Sonny Liston


Gilbert Odd, 1985 (Kings of the Ring)

Muhammad Ali

Joe Louis

Jack Johnson

Floyd Patterson

Jack Dempsey

Jim Jeffries

Tommy Burns

Gene Tunney

Jim Corbett

Max Schmeling


Bert Sugar, 1991

Jack Dempsey

Joe Louis

Muhammad Ali

Jack Johnson

Gene Tunney

Rocky Marciano

Joe Frazier

Larry Holmes

Sonny Liston

Mike Tyson


Arthur Harris, 1992 (Nov 1992 Boxing Scene)

Muhammad Ali

Joe Louis

Jack Dempsey

Jack Johnson

Gene Tunney

Rocky Marciano

Larry Holmes

Jersey Joe Walcott

Joe Frazier

Sonny Liston


Nigel Collins, 1997

Muhammad Ali

Joe Louis

Evander Holyfield

Larry Holmes

George Foreman

Jack Johnson

Rocky Marciano

Joe Frazier

Jack Dempsey

Sonny Liston


Herbert Goldman, 1997

Muhammad Ali

Joe Louis

Sonny Liston

Mike Tyson

Larry Holmes

Jack Johnson

Jack Dempsey

George Foreman

Rocky Marciano

Joe Frazier


Steve Farhood, 1997

Muhammad Ali

Joe Louis

Jack Johnson

Larry Holmes

Rocky Marciano

Jack Dempsey

Jim Jeffries

Evander Holyfield

Mike Tyson

George Foreman


BBC Sports, 2004

Muhammad Ali

Joe Louis

Jack Johnson

Larry Holmes

Jack Dempsey

Rocky Marciano

Lennox Lewis

Mike Tyson

George Foreman

Evander Holyfield


IBRO Member Poll, 2005

Joe Louis

Muhammad Ali

Jack Johnson

Jack Dempsey

Rocky Marciano

Larry Holmes

James Jeffries

George Foreman

Sonny Liston

Joe Frazier


ESPN, 2007

Joe Louis

Muhammad Ali

Jack Dempsey

Jack Johnson

Gene Tunney

Rocky Marciano

Ezzard Charles

George Foreman

Joe Frazier

Larry Holmes


Richard O'Brien (SI Senior Editor) 2009

Muhammad Ali

Joe Louis

Sonny Liston

Larry Holmes

Jack Johnson

Jack Dempsey

George Foreman

Joe Frazier

Rocky Marciano

Lennox Lewis

[SteveO]

Thanks ThatOne - very interesting.
I can't understand why Gilbert Odd listed Floyd Patterson as the 4th greatest heavyweight of all time though!

[ThatOne]

Thanks ThatOne - very interesting.
I can't understand why Gilbert Odd listed Floyd Patterson as the 4th greatest heavyweight of all time though!

Here's the original link:


I don't know why the numbers didn't show up when I copied and pasted them.


http://coxscorner.tripod.com/heavylists.htm

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Nigel Collins is the closest to my line of thinking.

[BoxBuzz]

It is interesting to see Floyd rated by anyone.

But his after championship run, was remarkable. Not many factor that into rating him that highly.

But I don't think it's zany to have him in the top 10 if you really follow that post championship activity.

I am not one who would rate him that high, but I have often felt he was underated base purely on his performance against Liston.

[dempseyfire]

I would say the big change over the years has been the dropping of Corbett and Fitz from almost all top 10s.

Many listers, and I see this as a positive, now rank Fitzimmons more on a lb for lb basis rather than as a heavyweight (you also see Tunney ranked more with the light heavyweights, which I also think more accurately reflects his career).

[ThatOne]

I would say the big change over the years has been the dropping of Corbett and Fitz from almost all top 10s.

Many listers, and I see this as a positive, now rank Fitzimmons more on a lb for lb basis rather than as a heavyweight (you also see Tunney ranked more with the light heavyweights, which I also think more accurately reflects his career).

That's a great bit of research Monte Cox did to get all the lists so you can see how they have evolved.

[dnahar32]

Here's another list, from the Holiday 1998 Ring Magazine, of the Top 50 All-Time Heavyweights. I will list the Top 20:

Ali
Louis
Holyfield
Foreman
Holmes
Marciano
Liston
Frazier
Johnson
Dempsey
Charles
Jeffries
Walcott
Tyson
Tunney
Wills
Langford
Sullivan
Schmeling
Baer

[Ezzard]

I had Gilbert Odd's book as a kid and always thought Floyd was way too high. And then not to have Liston in his top 10...

Slowly the people who saw the old-timers all die out and they drop from the ratings.