BoxRec

what is your top 5 greatest HW boxers in history mine are as follows

1) joe louis
2) rocky marciano
3) muhammad ali
4) mike tyson
5) jack dempsey

Based upon what they were at their absolute peak, in no particular order I'd go with....

Liston
Frazier
Ali
Louis
Holmes or Foreman....go back and forth on those last two.

Same as always...

Ali
Louis
Foreman
Holmes
Dempsey

Joe Louis
George Foreman
Evander Hollyfield
Lenox Lewis
Muhammad Ali

muhammed ali
joe louis
lennox lewis
george foreman
joe frazier

No order...

Louis
Ali
Liston
Foreman
Holmes

Ali
Louis
Holmes
Johnson
Liston

Johnson
Lewis
Ali
Louis
Holmes

Louis
Ali
Holmes
Holyfield
Foreman

Johnson
Dempsey
Louis
Ali
Holmes/Holyfield

^^^^that's six

I am going to go for in no order

Joe Louis
Jack Johnson
Muhammed Ali
Larry Holmes
and.... Lennox Lewis

1--Muhammad Ali
2--Joe Louis
3--Jack Dempsey
4--Mike Tyson
5--Jack Johnson

yancey wrote:Based upon what they were at their absolute peak, in no particular order I'd go with....

Liston
Frazier
Ali
Louis
Holmes or Foreman....go back and forth on those last two.

My list is also based upon as the fighters were at their absolute peak!

Louis
Ali
Holmes
Tyson
Liston

The big debate that always riffles feathers is the size issue. Some people won’t consider a sub 200 pound HW but throw in Louis because he obviously cannot be ignored.

And here's me thinking fighters were rated based upon their in-ring achievements.If we're going to go about that route of judging a fight sorely off of how he looked in his peak,the Tyson surely rates above Liston and Frazier.He has both the resume and dominance to prove it.His three years of dominance, were more impressive than what Liston and Frazier ever achieved in the ring,also.


Unlike Frazier,Tyson cleared his division,not cherry picking,and avoided nobody.I can't think of any top heavyweight Liston didn't fight on his way up,but the division wasn't as strong as the division that Tyson ruled.

I go with the strict criteria always of who on their best night would beat the other guy on his best fight.

And i only use things like number of title defenses and titles won as dressing to that.

Mainly i consider what they showed as a fighter who they took on and beat and what tools they had.

I've been in turmoil recently.....usually it would be the names in no particular order

Muhammed Ali
Sonny Liston
George Foreman
Jack Dempsey

and depending on my mood Louis, Frazier, Jack Johnson or Tyson at no 5

Right now Im very close to totally reevaluating my view of Evander Holyfield and putting him in at 5 and possibly as high as 4 usurping Dempsey.

Ive been watching all his title fights again recently. Im pretty much concrete on the first 4 I dont think anyone could change my view on them but Holyfield the more I see him against Lewis , and based on Im seeing a past it, heart attack suffered old man in there, Im more and more impressed at how he in my mind gave a peak Lewis hell.

louis is winning 6 against 5 for ali as your top heavyweight so far in this poll!

Wladimir Klitschko
Vitali Klitschko
Max Schmeling
Ingemar Johansen
Gene Tunney

Oh wait, that's Tunney's top 5

Muhammad Ali
Joe Louis
George Foreman
Lennox Lewis
Rocky Marciano

That's how I'm feeling today anyway, there's so many different factors to consider the shit changes for me constantly.

Diamond WEAPON wrote:Wladimir Klitschko
Vitali Klitschko
Max Schmeling
Ingemar Johansen
Gene Tunney

Oh wait, that's Tunney's top 5

Muhammad Ali
Joe Louis
George Foreman
Lennox Lewis
Rocky Marciano

That's how I'm feeling today anyway, there's so many different factors to consider the poop changes for me constantly.

No Pernell Whitaker? I know he never fought at Heavy, but you have to think he could've done a number on some of these legends of the division. Sure, he couldn't actually become a HW, but if he fought them even at, say, 147 or 154lbs, you'd rate him a very good chance.

Goodnight, Irene wrote:

Diamond WEAPON wrote:Wladimir Klitschko
Vitali Klitschko
Max Schmeling
Ingemar Johansen
Gene Tunney

Oh wait, that's Tunney's top 5

Muhammad Ali
Joe Louis
George Foreman
Lennox Lewis
Rocky Marciano

That's how I'm feeling today anyway, there's so many different factors to consider the poop changes for me constantly.

No Pernell Whitaker? I know he never fought at Heavy, but you have to think he could've done a number on some of these legends of the division. Sure, he couldn't actually become a HW, but if he fought them even at, say, 147 or 154lbs, you'd rate him a very good chance.

Of course. I mean, why the hell did he ever even retire? I'm sure he could unretire and beat both Klitschkos tomorrow in the same night.

What was your list criteria, anyway? Achievements?

Goodnight, Irene wrote:What was your list criteria, anyway? Achievements?

Achievements with the idea that all eras were roughly equal, in trying to make it more apples-to-apples since many greats have no common opponents. Lewis beat everyone he ever faced, Marciano destroyed his field of opponents, Foreman managed to rise to the top in two totally disparate eras, Louis was dominant for a long time against a wide variety of opponents, and Ali just wouldn't go away and kept winning the title before eventually being forced out by the next generation after he was already beginning to show signs of Parkinson's syndrome.