Top boxers in the Heavyweight Division.

[NYDominican]

I would say that these were the top Heavyweight boxers of all time.

1st tier. ------- Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, and Muhammad Ali.


2nd tier. --------- Sonny Liston, George Foreman, and Lennox Lewis.


3rd tier. -------- Ron Lyle, Larry Holmes, and Riddick Bowe.




Who do you think were the top Heavyweight boxers of all time? Why?

[DrDuke]

Lyle doesn't belong.

Lewis, Bowe and Holmes are too low.

Louis and Marciano are too high.

Where is Holyfield?

[Tony1244]

I'd put Holmes in first tier. I liked Lyle a lot, but I agree, he doesn't belong there.

[Ambling Alp II]

Ali was the best and Louis is 2nd. After that, there are a ton of close calls.
Foreman, Marciano, Holmes, Holyfield, Lewis, Holyfield are up there. Johnson and Frazier as well.

Bowe is tough to rate but probably not far behind them. Liston, Tyson, Dempsey, and Jeffries as well.

Ron Lyle was a very good fighter, but there are others not mentioned who were better.

[Tony1244]

Ali was the best and Louis is 2nd. After that, there are a ton of close calls.
Foreman, Marciano, Holmes, Holyfield, Lewis, Holyfield are up there. Johnson and Frazier as well.

Bowe is tough to rate but probably not far behind them. Liston, Tyson, Dempsey, and Jeffries as well.

Ron Lyle was a very good fighter, but there are others not mentioned who were better.

Agree totally with what I put in bold. I have the same 1 and 2 in that order.

I think Wlad is probably top 10 at this point. Bowe? He had flashes of greatness, but like Jimmy Young and others, he wasn't consistent enough for a long enough timeframe for a top 10. Mostly agree with the rest, but I'd replace Dempsey with Tunney.

[Ambling Alp II]

I think Bowe is a little outside of it.
Wlad is a no way for me. Biggest win was against Chris Byrd; everyone else mentioned has better wins. He got hammered three times in embarrassing losses to guys who simply weren't that good.. That didn't happen to anyone else that we mentioned.
Tunney is an interesting pick. I am higher on him than many people, but can't put him higher than Dempsey. Would have been great had he and Demspey had fought sooner. He beat more heavyweights than some people realize, but outside of Dempsey there is a dropoff. He is probably top 20.

[DrDuke]

Ali at the first place can be understood, although I don't agree with it and rate Lewis with Holyfield above.

Louis at the second place sounds even worse. The likes of Frazier, Foreman, Holmes, Tyson and Marciano clearly were better than Louis and have greater achievements, as they hold wins over superior competitors in the stronger eras.

Moreover, even Bowe, Norton and possibly Tunney have legit claims to overcome Louis because their major wins are better.

Wlad falls short with a top ten claim, although he's a solid top 20 fighter.

[Controversial]

Ron Lyle was a decent puncher but not sure he should be that high. Jimmy Young beat Lyle twice as well as Foreman.