List Your Top 10 Most Overrated Heavyweights Of All Time

[I Feel Fine]

That's a good point dempsey. I think Tyson showed more head hunting in the Berbick fight than he did in some of his later title fights. I don't think he became a real head hunter until the first Bruno fight; at that stage it was all head hunting. He went to the body in all of his title defenses prior to Bruno.

Anyway, I think Tyson is clearly much more overrated than Frazier is by anyone. I would put Frazier more in the underrated category.

[Ezzard]

I think that the very top fighters will always be overrated as will those who do well in the media. Even so, I’m not going to say any of the classic greats are overrated. These men were monsters in their day and that’s the point…all fighters are overrated during their career and often for a generation or two after that.

Tyson gets overrated because people just think he’d bulldozer every one despite him being unable to bull-dozer Tony Tucker (who has become overrated by Tyson fans). Mainly with Tyson though you can say he was an amazing fighter but it’s his so-called potential that gets overrated. He was all he could ever be…

Most of the 1980s contenders/belt holders are now massively overrated. Nostalgia has crept in and someone must have destroyed the tape of the Page-Tubbs fight.

Mike Spinks at heavy is massively overrated. He did brilliantly in beating static fighters like Holmes and Cooney. I can’t praise him enough for that but his game was never going to work against a young top contender and he knew it.

Foreman is now hugely overrated. An amazing puncher and a quality fighter. Put the new and the old together and you have a guy who could have beaten anyone… But that guy never really existed.

I’m not sure Marciano is overrated these days. You’ll always get the odd zealot but generally speaking he’s settled into a realistic position.

[chucktaylor]

I think Muhammad Ali is massively overrated. I believe this even though I rate Ali as the greatest HW of all time. It's not so much on this forum, but with the general public he is held in sickeningly high esteem (even for being the greatest). Most people don't really understand what made his greatest victories so great and in doing so underrate those he fought, win or lose. In my experience, there are tons of people who's knowledge of pre-Tyson boxing consists of Muhammad Ali... and that's it. Obviously there were a lot of great heavyweights besides Ali, but I guess they didn't talk enough sh*t or recite enough slam poetry to be remembered.

With Ali being way out in front:
2. Tyson
3. Marciano
4. Ibeabuchi
5. Walcott
6. Braddock
7. Moore
8. Tua
9. Bruno
10. Butterbean

[Goodnight, Irene]

I think that the very top fighters will always be overrated as will those who do well in the media. Even so, I’m not going to say any of the classic greats are overrated. These men were monsters in their day and that’s the point…all fighters are overrated during their career and often for a generation or two after that.

Tyson gets overrated because people just think he’d bulldozer every one despite him being unable to bull-dozer Tony Tucker (who has become overrated by Tyson fans). Mainly with Tyson though you can say he was an amazing fighter but it’s his so-called potential that gets overrated. He was all he could ever be…

Most of the 1980s contenders/belt holders are now massively overrated. Nostalgia has crept in and someone must have destroyed the tape of the Page-Tubbs fight.

Mike Spinks at heavy is massively overrated. He did brilliantly in beating static fighters like Holmes and Cooney. I can’t praise him enough for that but his game was never going to work against a young top contender and he knew it.

Foreman is now hugely overrated. An amazing puncher and a quality fighter. Put the new and the old together and you have a guy who could have beaten anyone… But that guy never really existed.

I’m not sure Marciano is overrated these days. You’ll always get the odd zealot but generally speaking he’s settled into a realistic position.

I agree with you about Spinks & it's nice to see a like-minded critic.

[Thunder and Lightning]

I think Muhammad Ali is massively overrated. I believe this even though I rate Ali as the greatest HW of all time. It's not so much on this forum, but with the general public he is held in sickeningly high esteem (even for being the greatest). Most people don't really understand what made his greatest victories so great and in doing so underrate those he fought, win or lose. In my experience, there are tons of people who's knowledge of pre-Tyson boxing consists of Muhammad Ali... and that's it. Obviously there were a lot of great heavyweights besides Ali, but I guess they didn't talk enough sh*t or recite enough slam poetry to be remembered.

With Ali being way out in front:
2. Tyson
3. Marciano
4. Ibeabuchi
5. Walcott
6. Braddock
7. Moore
8. Tua
9. Bruno
10. Butterbean

This is a good point to me because fighters can easily be overrated by people who don't watch or know anything about boxing, friends of mine who only see boxing on the news or in the paper (when they rarely feature boxing in Sweden) talk about Butterbean as if he was a great knock out machine because they have only seen his part in the jackass movie.
The same thing goes for Tyson and some of the current fighters to like the Klitchkos and Valuev who are big strong guys and therefore people only see that.

But if you only go by people who know boxing:
not in order
Rocky Marciano
MikeTyson
Joe Walcott
Ike Ibeabuchi
Larry Holmes
Joe Frazier
Evander Holyfield
Riddick Bowe
Clevland Williams
Muhammed Ali (Like others say the greatest will allways be overrated)

[Seamus]

I think I may have to move Jack Johnson up to number 1.

[Syntax Error]

Anyone who questions Tyson's defence needs to look again at his fight with Reggie Gross.

OK, I know I'm going to get the, "who's Reggie Gross" merchants, but it's not the point I'm making. The point is, look how he managed to evade all those punches in quick succession & counter the way he did was astonishing.

Tyson might be overrated (I agree with that), but at least give him credit for his defensive skills.

[Goodnight, Irene]

I think I may have to move Jack Johnson up to number 1.

I am in line with you on Johnson.

[Syntax Error]

I think I may have to move Jack Johnson up to number 1.

Jack Johnson is difficult one to rate because the films we see of him are not even in real time, so we cannot he tell how quick he was etc.

One thing that is certain, he was much better than his contemporaries, but I suppose we'll never truly know who great he really was.

[Ezzard]

I hold Johnson in the highest esteem. I even doubt if a fighter from so long ago can be overrated. there's no money in selling them to the public or the boxing fanbase.

[Crease]

10. Joe Walcott, some of you said hed have beaten Foreman

With respect my friend, I have heard some outrageous comments in regards to other boxers, for example:

Jeffries is a top 3 Heavyweight.

But I rarely see Walcott overrated... Often times he is ranked 10-20 in the All-Time lists, and he is a worthy member of that company and deserves his rightful place there. So we can hardly say that he was overrated.

[Crease]

I agree that Bruno is massisvely overrated in Britain.

[Crease]

As for peoplke mentioning Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis, it is demented. Lets be frank, they are the greatest of Heavyweights ever to step into the ring. It is fair to put them in the top 2, so to put them there is understandable.

Any praising the best is hardly unusual.

[The Great John L]

Foreman is now hugely overrated.

An obvious choice. Just look at that top 100 list posted in another thread.

[Goodnight, Irene]

Charles, as a Heavy, is quite severely under-rated. He really went 3-1 against Walcott for instance, & people love Jersey Joe in these lists. His title reign was a good sight better than Walcott's, & he collectively put up more of a fight against Marciano than Walcott did, as well as widely decisioning a Louis not far removed from the one who knocked Walcott out.

[Goodnight, Irene]

Foreman is now hugely overrated.

An obvious choice. Just look at that top 100 list posted in another thread.

You hate him. You've always hated him. You're just a hater. Hate, hate, hate

[perrycarter]

I say Larry Holmes. A lot of people are trying to put him at #3 or #4 all time but his quality of opposition just does not back that ranking up.

[perrycarter]

You could dissect this shit w/anyone. I've just formed my own opinion and not let ridiculous ones bother me.

Holmes was nice. Frazier was nice. Marciano was nice. Liston was nice. Foreman was nice. ETC! ETC! It all depends on who you're listening to. No need to get bent out of shape if a guy you like is listed a spot below where you'd have him. I think instead of ranking them, we should just rate them. How good each aspect of their game was. Makes more sense to me.

YOU'RE WRONG! THEY MUST BE RANKED! DD

[Crease]

I always thought that Lewis was overrated, I've been saying that for years.

[kwillymac]

I don't have a top 10 list. But I always thought Joe Frazier was overrated. He beat a blown up Bob Foster and Muhammed Ali once. He got destroyed by Foreman twice and Ali got his number twice. I don't see any quality wins for him. Maybe Oscar Bonavena if anyone considered him good.

Riddick Bowe is overrated too. Golota was beating his but twice. Lucky Andrew is too stupid to bring his punches up a little.

Pinklon Thomas off the top of my head. People were ducking him before Tyson destroyed him.

Greg Page. They were calling him the next Ali.

David Tua. He is a destroyer until he gets close to a title shot. Then he doesn't fight.

Leon Spinks

[theone]

I don't have a top 10 list. But I always thought Joe Frazier was overrated. He beat a blown up Bob Foster and Muhammed Ali once. He got destroyed by Foreman twice and Ali got his number twice. I don't see any quality wins for him. Maybe Oscar Bonavena if anyone considered him good.

Yes Bonavena was good; so was Joe Bugner and Buster Mathis. Jimmy Ellis was very good, and Quarry was great. All high quality wins. Frazier was indeed an all time top ten heavyweight.

[kwillymac]

I don't have a top 10 list. But I always thought Joe Frazier was overrated. He beat a blown up Bob Foster and Muhammed Ali once. He got destroyed by Foreman twice and Ali got his number twice. I don't see any quality wins for him. Maybe Oscar Bonavena if anyone considered him good.

Yes Bonavena was good; so was Joe Bugner and Buster Mathis. Jimmy Ellis was very good, and Quarry was great. All high quality wins. Frazier was indeed an all time top ten heavyweight.

Buster Mathis has never beaten anyone with a name. Jimmy Ellis was a blown up Middleweight with five losses by the time Frazier fought him. I may agree with Bugner.