BoxRec

Many fighters moved up to heavyweight but weren't very successful.
However, there were some fighters who moved up to heavyweight and did quite well. (In fact, atleast 10 won atleast some part of the heavyweight title.)

Here is a ranking of fighters who began their career at lightheavyweight (or below), fought at the lower weight for quite awhile, and then did quite well at heavyweight.

This is based completely on what they did at heavyweight; how they did at other weights aren't considered.

1. Gene Tunney
2. Sam Langford
3. Ezzard Charles
4. Max Schmeling
5. Floyd Patterson
6. Bob Fitzsimmons
7. Michael Spinks
8. Jimmy Ellis
9. Michael Moorer
10. Tommy Burns
11. Jimmy Braddock
12. Tommy Loughran
13. Harold Johnson
14. Harry Greb
15. Tommy Gibbons
16. Young Stribling
17. Archie Moore
18. Doug Jones
19. Mickey Walker
20. Georges Carpentier

Some tough calls. Some guys didn't have a lot of fights at heavyweight but had significant wins; while others won more fights against heavyweights but didn't have any huge wins and/or lost to lesser heavyweights.

I'm sure I am missing someone obvious; let me know who.

Jimmy Bivins

Billy Conn
John Henry Lewis

Jack Dempsey

Ambling Alp wrote:I'm sure I am missing someone obvious; let me know who.

Holyfield... lol

Ambling Alp wrote:Many fighters moved up to heavyweight but weren't very successful.
However, there were some fighters who moved up to heavyweight and did quite well. (In fact, atleast 10 won atleast some part of the heavyweight title.)

Here is a ranking of fighters who began their career at lightheavyweight (or below), fought at the lower weight for quite awhile, and then did quite well at heavyweight.

This is about fighters who started at lightheavyweight or below. Holyfield was a cruiserweight.

Ambling Alp wrote:

Ambling Alp wrote:Many fighters moved up to heavyweight but weren't very successful.
However, there were some fighters who moved up to heavyweight and did quite well. (In fact, atleast 10 won atleast some part of the heavyweight title.)

Here is a ranking of fighters who began their career at lightheavyweight (or below), fought at the lower weight for quite awhile, and then did quite well at heavyweight.

This is about fighters who started at lightheavyweight or below. Holyfield was a cruiserweight.

Wasn't Holyfield's first pro fight, despite being two lbs over 175, still considered a light HW bout?

I would definitely rank Loughran, Stribling, Moore, Johnson etc. over Moorer.

Technically, it was a cruiserweight fight since it was over 175. Regardless, what I mean is a fighter who fought at lightheavyweight or below for many fights.
I said "quite awhile " previously which I guess isn't very specific. Lets just say atleast 20 fights at 175 or below.

That said, I'll still say Jimmy Bivins and Jack Dempsey.

Dempsey fought at light-heavyweight until at least 1916. Take at look at this fascinating post from Mike DeLisa over at the cbz:

http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/cbzforum ... post106981

James Toney

Can't believe I overlooked Bivins. I knew there was somebody obvious. :)
I almost put Conn and John Henry Lewis in.

Don't know what to think of James Toney as heavyweight. The win over Ruiz doesn't count and he had the close fights with Peter. He got a draw against Rahman but I thought Rahman should have got a decision. None of these were very good fights.

I never would have thought of Dempsey. I knew that he was sort of skinny when he first started but never thought of him as a lightheavyweight.

That was a pretty interesting article about Demspey winning the lightheavyweight "title". Have never seen anything about this before. The promoter certainly wasn't shy about overhyping that fight!

I think you should be giving Toney some credit here. He sure didn't look the part but he was never really dominated by these naturally considerably bigger men, and I don't think he's ever sidestepped anyone.....but he's been sidestepped by others. I've never bought that he got any big boost from whatever was in his system regarding Ruiz...and if at that time Holy and Ruiz were at a par with one another it's not a stretch that he was on a par with them. Beating Ruiz at that time is pretty consistent with beating Holyfield.

Though the story is sketchy he's proven himself to be durable in the HW division.

Would he beat Roy Jones today? I think so, so you also have to give him extra credit for hanging on to his skill this late into his career as well. (Not meaning to change the subject...like I always do).