BoxRec

Few months ago i posted the Top 15 Heavyweights, now I am interested in the Light-Heavyweight division. Here are my top 15 in any order:

Ezzard Charles
Archie Moore
Billy Conn
Bob Foster
Maxie Rosenbloom
"Philadelphia" Jack O'Brien
Roy Jones Jr.
Jimmy Bivins
Harold Johnson
Michael Spinks
Tommy Loughran
Gene Tunney (i think of him as a light-heavy, not a heavy)
Jose Torres
Dick Tiger
"Tiger Jack" Fox

If you guys have your top 15 of all time I would appreciate your opinions, thank you. And if you are asking why i ask the "Top 15" all the time its because i have collages of each division and i can only fit 15. So getting expert opinion is greatly appreciated.

good list. I would have Spinks and Tunney higher.

1) Ezzard
2)Moore
3)Tunney
4) Loughran
5) Spinks
6) RJJ
7) Billy Conn
8) Sam Langford
9) Harry Greb
10) Bob Foster
11) Jimmy Bivins
12) tiger fox
13) tommy gibbons
14) jersey joe
15) bob fitzsimmons

14) jersey joe

jersey joe was not a light-H rory

How do you have Leonard on your light heavy list? He had one fight for a "light heavy" title, that was really at super middle.

how the hell is jersey joe walcott on ur list???


jersey joe was NOT a light-H decagon. not ever. he was a chizzled 195lb heavyweight his whole career

1. ezzard charles
2. sam langford
3. archie moore
4. michael spinx
5. Billy Conn
6. Gene Tunney
7. Bob Foster
8. Tommy Loughran
9. Roy Jones
10. Harold Johnson
11. Harry Greb
12. John Henry Lewis
13. Dwight Muhammad Qawi
14. Tommy Gibbons
15. Joey maxim

Decagon wrote:Why Loughran over Greb?

why jersey joe at # 19 when he was never a light-H???

if ur going to put jersey joe on, then u should put max schmeling, jack sharkey, joe louis on because they were all around walcotts weight.


hell why not put marciano and dempsey on?? walcott was bigger than them





walcott weighed under 175 once......


1933 at the age of 16

my apologies bb.. i coulda swore that jersey joe fought tiger fox ezzard charles and jimmy bivins at light heavyweight.

Rory McCloskey wrote:my apologies bb.. i coulda swore that jersey joe fought tiger fox ezzard charles and jimmy bivins at light heavyweight.

no its ok,



walcott weighed in at 196lb when he fought bivins in 1946

walcott fought charles 4 times for the HEAVYWEIGHT title, walcott weighed around 195lb for all 4 fights



he was young and very green when he fought tiger jack foxx in 1937, but he still weighed 185lb for the fights.



the only time walcott weighed in under 175lb was in 1933 at the age of 16

My personal favourite is Bob Foster... I acknowledge he wasn't the best however, and on a head-to-head basis I would rank him between #4 and #7.

Decagon wrote:I don't rank junior or super divisions. Everyone fits into the Classic Eight.

I like how you rank them in the classic 8, thats how all my top 15's are ranked, too.

Overall, I guess I agree with Brocktonblockbuster the most. Joey Maxim is my as only major diagreement, I don't think he is top15. Would replace him with Fitzsimmons, or Eddie Mustapha Muhammad.

Rory's isn't bad either. Would take out Tiger Jack Fox and replace him with Harold Johnson. Loughran is a little too high and Foster is a little too low.

Andre Ward - I wouldn't include Tiger Jack Fox in top 15. Dick Tiger was a great fighter, but didn't fight much at lightheavyweight. Most people count Langford as a lightheavyweight alhtough it's uncertain how many and which of his fights he fought at this weight class.
Would replace them with Qawi and Muhammad.

Decagon- Suprised you didn't have Paul Berlanbach and Jack Delaney in your top 50. I would put them in and take out Dennis Andries and Iran Barkley.
Marvin Johnson should be higher than #40.
Harold Johnson was probably my biggest disagreement. He is much better than #27. He is defintely in the top 10 lightheavyweights of all-time.

I also don't rate guys like Walcott Leonard tec. who rarley foght at light-heavyweight but I guess that's your peragative.

When figuring out who would end up in the Top 10, 15, or 50, would you factor in those Newspaper Decisions, and are they accurate?

To add another list, here's the RING Magazine's listing from September 2002:

1. Ezzard Charles
2. Archie Moore
3. Michael Spinks
4. Tommy Loughran
5. Bob Foster
6. Jimmy Bivins
7. Harold Johnson
8. Maxie Rosenbloom
9. Billy Conn
10. Matthew Saad Muhammad
11. Victor Galindez
12. Jack Dillon
13. Battling Levinsky
14. Joey Maxim
15. Dwight Qawi
16. John Henry Lewis
17. Bob Fitzsimmons
18. Gene Tunney
19. Virgil Hill
20. Marvin Johnson

Honorable mentions: Paul Berlenbach, Georges Carpentier, Jack Delaney, Gus Lesnevich, Lloyd Marshall, Henry Maske, Freddie Mills, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Battling Siki, Prince Charles Williams.

Here's my go:

1. Ezzard Charles
2. Archie Moore
3. Bob Foster*
4. Michael Spinks
5. Gene Tunney
6. Tommy Loughran
7. Harold Johnson
8. Maxie Rosenbloom
9. John Henry Lewis
10. Billy Conn
11. Jimmy Bivins
12. Harry Greb
13. Jack Dillon
14. Joey Maxim
15. Tommy Gibbons (a guy the RING completely overlooked, you guys didn't )

*quick note:though Sam Langford was built as a LH and fought at around 170, he was fighting the heavies of his day, never really fighting any LH's. I exclude him from my listing of LH's, but if I included him, he would be here.

I also don't rate guys like Walcott Leonard tec. who rarley foght at light-heavyweight but I guess that's your peragative.

ampling,




walcott NEVER in his whole career fought as light-H, talk about people who dont know much about boxing who actually rate him in there light-H list. though i think decagon made an honest mistake cause he knows his boxing despite his off the wall opinions.

BB- Techincally, Walcott had at least a few fights as a light-heavyweight early in his career.
According to the "Boxing Register International Hall of Fame Official Record Book" he only weighed 165 for his first 3 professional fights. The BoxrecDatabase also lists him at 165 for these fights. Since there was no Super-Middleweight division back then, he was a light-heavyweight.

The Boxing Register also has him weighing 175 for his 11th fight (against Joe King). The database has him at 180 for that fight.

However, I completely agree with you that it's silly to rate him as a light heavyweight. He only had a few fights at this weight and none were against a significant opponent.

AndreWardFan2006 wrote:When figuring out who would end up in the Top 10, 15, or 50, would you factor in those Newspaper Decisions, and are they accurate?

I don't put a lot stock in newspaper decisions, although some people do.
I guess I'm skeptical that sportswriters were really scoring the fight round by round and were qualified to do so. Of course some judges aren't qualified either!

newspaper decisions can be biased but i think you have to take them into effect. maybe not as seriously as judged decisions, but they were fights, and i would have to beleive most of them ARE PRETTY accurate. although a few hometown decisions wouldnt be that surprising

if the papers favour a fighter for whatever reason its gonna be hard to for their opponents to get the newspaper decision.