BoxRec

It's safe to assume that Larry Holmes & Mike Tyson are the 2 best heavyweights of the 80's & in that order too, in my opinion!

The division was full men men who had great talent, but for one reason or another, just didn't fulfil it!

Who are you top 3, a so-called best of the rest if you like?

1) Tim Witherspoon - I get so frustrated when I see tapes of him. He had great ability & an overhand Right that could have felled a tree! It's just a shame he didn't train properly most of the time!

2) Tony Tucker - Dealt with a rampaging Tyson very well. Would have done better if he'd believed in himself a bit more! :x

3) Pinklon Thomas - Probably had the best jab of the decade after Holmes of course. Seemed to burn out rather quickly though! :(

Early on in my days here, I posted that some of the gguys from the 80's could have held their own with the guys in the 70's and 90's but for one thing

COKE

So many of them shoved stuff up their noses and frittered their talent away when, with some dilligence, they could have made this THE most exciting time in the history of HW division

Holmes, Tyson, Thomas, Tillis, Bonecrusher, Witherspoon, Tucker, Douglas, Bruno, Berbick

In a series of matchups would have been as good as any in history.

Even if there were onlt two potential HoF'ers in that group ( Holmes andTyson ) the potential was there for strength in depth

It co-incided with the easy availability of Coke and I am sure that is no coincidence that people see this as a wasted generation in every sense of the word

Slapsie

I think Holmes, Tyson and Witherspoon were the best heavies of the 80s (in that order). Michael Dokes and Pinklon Thomas were probably no. 4 and 5 in my opinion.

Most overrated of the good heavies of the 80s would have to be Tony Tucker. He had good potential, but was matched softly in accordance with his father's wishes I believe. In terms of importatnt wins and achievements, Mike Weaver, Tony Tubbs, Bonecrusher Smith and Trevor Berbick all did more than himand should be rated above him imo.

Alister

Greg page was anopther big waste of talent. Many of these guys were fighting for world titles and they were badly out of shape. I'm sure Tony Tubbs needed to wear a bra when he was out fo the ring.

Nearly forgot David Bey...

Witherspoon before he put on the pounds....

Dokes was the one for me - he near enough had it all -

Blinding speed, great chin, huge heart, great skills and a decent punch too.

The coke pretty much finished him off - never forget that picture of Don King stepping over him on the canvas, rushing over to hug his new favorite fighter Gerrie Coetzee.

Witherspoon did seem a notch above the rest. I was convinced he'd beat Tyson in that unification series until he got stopped by Bonecrusher on the 3 KD rule. I'm sure if it hadn't have been for that fight he'd have got up and won the fight in the end.

I think Holmes hurt his legacy a bit at the end of the 1980s. He was looking to beat Marciano's record but didn't want to fight Thomas or Witherspoon. I guess Larry thought he deserved a few supposedly easier fights after his great record throughout the early 80s.

Does anybody rate Cooney in this list?

Tough one to limit to three as there was a lot of wasted talent in the 1980's so I reserve the right to change my mind as I often do when musing on this question.

(1) Tim Witherspoon. As a novice gave a peak Holmes hell, say no more.
(3) Greg Page. Great skills, movement and speed.
(3) Michael Dokes. Fast hands, KO power good stamina.

But there is little between the above three IMO

There was also Tony Tubbs, Tony Tucker, James Smith, Leroy Jones, Gerry Cooney, Gerrie Coatzee, John Tate, Trevor Berbick, Jeff Simms, Pinklon Thomas, Mike Weaver, David Bey, James Broad, Carl Williams, Tex Cobb and Leon Spinks etc. Whom were all in the mix but also in most cases lacked the dedication and clan living needed to realise their full potential.

However another name to throw in the mix was Jimmy Young, if he had stayed clean and in shape, during the early eighties I believe he would have outpointed many of the above given the chance.

I can see that Witherspoon was talented (if lazy), and maybe Page too, but I still think that the dullest HW title fight I've ever seen in my life was the one between these two, basically Witherspoon won it by being the one walking forwards during a 12 round maul/clinch. Absolutely dreadful stuff.

Holmes and Tyson were obviously the best of the era, and everyone else was a good league below them. I'd say Bonecrusher was probably the best of the rest, with Weaver and Witherspoon slightly below him. I would have liked to have seen Cooney fight for another title or a major contender after the Holmes fight before he lost form badly. And I would have loved to have seen a battle of the Old timers between Holmes and Foreman, not now obviously, but in about 87/88.

Talking of Mike Weaver he seems to have been one of the few 80's Heavyweights that lead a relatively clean life and at least always looked in good shape.

Does anybody rate Cooney in this list?

I certainly think Cooney warrants a mention, because there was terrific excitement about him in the early 80's. It's debatable how much of that was justified because he kind of disappeared off the radar after he lost to Holmes and he was only 25 at the time. He then had only another 5 fights in 8 years and lost 2 by KO. But prior to the Holmes fight (in which he gave Holmes plenty for 13 rounds) he really mopped up some 1970's names in impressive fashion.

MightyWarrior wrote: never forget that picture of Don King stepping over him on the canvas, rushing over to hug his new favorite fighter Gerrie Coetzee.

Lol. you'll never forget the image of something that never happened.

If you watch the tape Dokes is straight up after the count of 10 & walks to his own corner before DK even steps in the ring.

This story of DK steppingover him is a complete myth.

Sorry to nitpick.

Michael Dokes

Just imagine if George Foreman hadn't of retired prematurely in '77 & carried on fighting into the 80's!!! He would have given the heavyweights hell, although I couldn't see him getting past Holmes' jab!

Foreman vs Holmes is maybe the biggest Heavyweight fight to never happen, allthough old-time fight fans may say that spot belongs to Dempsey vs Wills.

KOJOE90 wrote:Foreman vs Holmes is maybe the biggest Heavyweight fight to never happen, allthough old-time fight fans may say that spot belongs to Dempsey vs Wills.

Would have liked to see Frazier-Holmes or Frazier-Shavers as well, not sure why they didn't happen, probably because Smokin Joe faded in the late 70's as Holmes and Shavers were rising.

MightyWarrior wrote:Witherspoon before he put on the pounds....

Dokes was the one for me - he near enough had it all -

Blinding speed, great chin, huge heart, great skills and a decent punch too.

The coke pretty much finished him off - never forget that picture of Don King stepping over him on the canvas, rushing over to hug his new favorite fighter Gerrie Coetzee.

Dokes was smooth, but the man couldn't punch.When he finally got it together, he won the title and then lost it within a year.Everything about Michael seemed to be rushed.