Where does Evander Holyfield rank among all time great Heavyweights?

[Cojimar 1946]

I think Paul would have a good chance of beating the Tyson of the McBride fight.

[gilgamesh]

I think Paul would have a good chance of beating the Tyson of the McBride fight.

I don't

[BroughtonRulesRefuge]

- Read it and weep-

1. Joe Louis is incontestable
2. Jack Dempsey without whom Joe Louis could not be found.
3a. b, c Vit, Wlad, and Usyk have dominated 3 decades of the hvy division
6 George Foreman
7 a, b Joe Frazier and Ali
9. John L
10. Mike Tyson...

[pound per pound]

Where does Evander Holyfield rank among all time great Heavyweights?

I feel like just about everyone has Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis as their Top 2, but I think Holyfield makes Top 5. Thoughts? Where do you rank him?

Evander Holyfield is a Hall of Famer. But how he ranks among the all-time great heavyweights is a very different question.When you look strictly at his results against the best fighters of his era — with both men under age 39 — the record is surprisingly mediocre:Vs. Elite Opposition (under 39):

Mike Tyson: 2–0 (one win via early DQ)
Riddick Bowe: 1–2
Lennox Lewis: 0–1–1 (many felt the draw was generous to Holyfield)
Michael Moorer: 1–1
John Ruiz: 1–1–1

Total: 5 wins – 5 losses – 1 draw. That’s an average record against the top competition he faced in his prime. If the Lewis draw is scored as most neutral observers saw it (a Lewis win), Holyfield goes 4–6 against his best opposition. That’s simply not the résumé of a top-10 all-time heavyweight.

Adding to the skepticism are the longstanding steroid allegations. A 2007 law enforcement investigation into an Alabama compounding pharmacy uncovered documents showing a patient named “Evan Fields” who received testosterone and human growth hormone (HGH). The patient file listed Holyfield’s exact birth date, home address, and a phone number that Holyfield himself answered when investigators called.

[Ambling Alp II]

He was way past his prime when he fought Lewis and Ruiz.
People always overlook the fights that he had when he was in prime. Dokes, Thomas, and Douglas were all much better than Ruiz.

[gilgamesh]

In terms of accomplishment Ruiz is right there with Dokes and Thomas. He definitely wasn't as enjoyable to watch, but he was pretty successful against some decent opposition.

He definitely seemed to haunt the Heavyweight division for a few years and just never go away. Boring as he was, Ruiz was pretty effective. His 2 wins over Holyfield and Rahman are better than anything you can point to on the record of Dokes.

Holyfield vs Dokes is probably the best Heavyweight fight of the 1980's as far as competitive back and forth action. If there's a better Heavyweight fight from that decade I haven't seen it.

[Ambling Alp II]

Please, Dokes was light years better than Ruiz. The win over Weaver was more impressive than going 1-1-1 against a shot Holyfield, even if it was a dubious stoppage. Dokes was inconsistent. At times he looked great, at times ordinary. Ruiz never looked great. Never even good. Nobody got more breaks than him in his career. He hugged his ways to wins against less than stellar opposition when the referee when the ref let him get away with it.
Got ko'd in the blink of an eye against Tua.
Dokes had speed, some power, and good boxing skills. Ruiz had nothing, but getting one undeserved break after another.

Thomas beat Witherspoon and Weaver. Very good all-around Ruiz. Much, much better than Ruiz.

[gilgamesh]

They both looked better doing what they did than Ruiz, Ruiz beat better fighters though.

He honestly could have 2 wins over Holyfield because the one Holyfield got he didn't really deserve (I did think Holyfield won close in their 3rd bout though). Then he also beat Rahman who was still in good form at the time. I rate Rahman above Dokes or Thomas and Ruiz beat Rahman.

"Shot" Holyfield also beat Rahman 1 year before John Ruiz did, and 1 year after his (Rahman's) career defining victory over Lewis. It's one of Holyfield's last big wins.

The best Dokes ever managed was beating Mike Weaver and he couldn't even do that twice. I rate Dokes above Pinklon myself though they're really pretty close to the same league.