Heavyweight Champions 1885 - 2000

[Crease]

This thread is deidcated to a Heavyweight Tournament I am making... (another one you say )...

However this thread includes only the fighters who have held THE World Title (nowadays I included the WBC, WBO, WBA & IBF)...
In other words the great contenders of the past who NEVER became Heavyweight World Champagne will not be included: (the likes of Tom Sharkey, Billy Conn, Archie Moore, Jerry Quarry, Ernie Shavers)... You get the drill...

ALSO, I counted Champions until the year 2000... EVERYONE who held the World Heavyweight title is included...up until the turn of the Millennuim...
That is to say: The likes of Chris Byrd, John Ruiz, Lamon Brewster and Wladmir Klitchsko will not compete...
BUT Vitali Klitchsko will as he won one of the "big 4" titles before the year 2000...

The tournament will be set will a seeding system... (I know what you're thinking:
"Oh great! The usual suspects will be the top seeds, and they'll avoid each other until the later knockout stages"...
Sadly, you are wrong.

I am only counting boxers achievments after they win the world title... In ohter words, a boxer may have won 1000 fights... (But they don't count)... Then he wins the world title and loses his first defence...
He will go down in my records at 0 title defences...
If a fighter has won world titles at multiple weights if does not egister in the tournament, only his HEAVYWEIGHT record will be counted.

There are 54 boxers in my list... I will post them up in my next thread.

My tournament is ranking boxers with the most title defences...
Then if they retired as champion.
If they won the world title mutliple times. (they will be ranked higher than others with the same defences record)

HOWEVER, IT WILL GO AGAINST THE FIGHTER:
If they are a "paper champion" = If won the title without beating the previous champion to get it.

Draws (as champion) do not count as successful title defences...

[Crease]

The competitors:

1. Joe Louis - 25 defences (retired champion)
2. Muhammad Ali - 19 defences (3 time champion)
3. Larry Holmes - 19 defences (paper champion) *newt title IBF*
4. Lennox Lewis - 13 defences (1 draw) - (3 time champion)
5. Mike Tyson - 10 defences (2 time champion)
6. Tommy Burns - 10 defences (1 draw)

7. Joe Frazier - 9 defences (paper champion)
8. Evander Holyfield - 8 defences (1 draw) - (3 time champion)
9. Ezzard Charles - 8 defences
10. Floyd Patterson - 6 defences (2 time champion)- (paper champion 1st time around)

11. = James J. Jeffries - 6 defences (retired champion)
11. = Rocky Marciano - 6 defences (retired champion)

13. Jack Johnson - 6 defences (1 draw)
14. Jack Dempsey - 5 defences
15. Vitali Klitchsko - 3 defences (3 time champion)

16. = George Foreman - 3 defences (2 time champion)
16. = Riddick Bowe - 3 defences (2 time champion)

18. Herbie Hide - 2 defences (2 time champion)
19. Gene Tunney - 2 defences (retired champion)
20. Ernie Terrell - 2 defences (paper champion) *new title WBA*

21. = Primo Carnera - 2 defences
= Michael Spinks - 2 defences
= Mike Weaver - 2 defences
= Henry Akinwande - 2 defences

25. James J. Corbett - 1 defence (retired champion)
26. Tim Witherspoon - 1 defence (2 time champion) - (paper champion first time round)
27. Michael Dokes - 1 defence (1 draw)

28. = Jess Willard - 1 defence
= Jersey Joe Walcott - 1 defence
= Sonny Liston - 1 defence
= Oliver McCall - 1 defence
= Ray Mercer - 1 defence

33. Francesco Damiani - 1 defence (paper champion) *new title WBO*

34. = Bob Fitzsimmons - 1 defence (paper champion)
= Max Schmeling - 1 defence (paper champion)
= Jimmy Ellis - 1 defence (paper champion)
= Pinklon Thomas - 1 defence (paper champion)
= Tommy Morrison - 1 defence (paper champion)

39. = Jack Sharkey - 0 defences
= Max Baer - 0 defences
= James J. Braddock - 0 defences
= Ingemar Johansson - 0 defences
= Leon Spinks - 0 defences
= Trevor Berbick - 0 defences
= John Tate - 0 defences
= Gerrie Coetzee - 0 defences
= Greg Page - 0 defences
= Tony Tubbs - 0 defences
= James "Buster" Douglas - 0 defences
= Frank Bruno - 0 defences
= Michael Bentt - 0 defences

53. = Marvin Hart - 0 defences (paper champion)
= Tony Tucker - 0 defences (paper champion)
= Michael Moorer - 0 defences (paper champion)

[Crease]

The tournament will start with the 1st round:

The lower ranking champions (aka. Those with 0 title defences to their name) will be entered...
EVERYONE above them is given a through to the next round...

Here are the fights for the Knockout stage:

***fighters can ONLY lose one fight... If they lose two.... They are out!!!***

Baer vs Tucker
Berbick vs Hart
Bruno vs Tate
Douglas vs Sharkey

Bentt vs Moorer
Braddock vs Tubbs
Coetzee vs Spinks
Johansson vs Page

[Crease]

Baer vs Tucker - Baer by KO round 10.
Berbick vs Hart - Hart wins by points decision.
Bruno vs Tate - Bruno by referre stoppage
Douglas vs Sharkey - Sharkey by points decision

Bentt vs Moorer - Moorer by KO round 7.
Braddock vs Tubbs - Braddock by rough points victory
Coetzee vs Spinks - Spinks by points decision
Johansson vs Page - Johansson by late stoppage

[Robinson]

I am assuming these are all of them at their peaks///


I see Tucker winning a clear dec over Baer

Berbick is too big and strong for Hart winning by TKO middle rounds.

Bruno manages to stop big John Tate in the late rounds.

Douglas works from behind his jab and lands his uppercuts winning by
TKo in the late rounds over Sharkey.

Moorer manages to stop Bentt by KO in the late rounds, his accurate
punches take their toll.

Tubbs uses his speed and size to out strike Braddock managing to
stop the Cinderalla man late.

M. Spinks manages to win by stoppage around the 8th against the
brave but out classed Sth African.

Page does well by moving and jabbing against Ingo who struggles
to catch him with his right. A game match that ends in a TKO win
for Page/

[dempseyfire]

Baer UD over Tucker

Berbick TKO Hart

Tate UD over Bruno

Sharkey TKO Douglas

Moorer TKO Bentt

Braddock rallies to SD Tubbs

Coatzee TKO Spinks

Johansson MD over Page

[Ezzard]

Baer vs Tucker - Baer UD
Berbick vs Hart - Berbick UD
Bruno vs Tate - Bruno TKO 5
Douglas vs Sharkey - Sharkey UD or late TKO

Bentt vs Moorer - Moorer KO 5
Braddock vs Tubbs - Braddock MD
Coetzee vs Spinks - Coetzee KO 6
Johansson vs Page - Johansson UD

[The Great John L]

1885-2000? Seems like there is someone missing from the list. Anyone care to guess?

[Ezzard]

Didn't take too much ntoice of the list but a glance at it and seeing Schmeling, Holmes and Frazier described as paper champions whilst Herbie Hide is described as a 2 time champion...Tyson a 3 time champion...

I guess the seedings don't matter as long as the results are decent.

[Crease]

Well Schmeling never beat the champion for the title...

Joe Frazier NEVER beat Ali (the rightful champion) for the title...

And I wrote down that Larry Holmes was a "paper champion", because he was the 1st IBF Champion...

Herbie Hide is a 2 time world champion... Hide beat Bentt for the WBO (1994)... and reclaimed it against Tucker (1997)...

Mike Tyson won the wordl title TWICE!!! beat Berbick and later Bruno... Not to mention the fact that he unified the diivision...

[Crease]

John L. Sullivan was NEVER world champion...

He fought for the 1st title but was beaten...

[Ezzard]

Are you sure Frazier never beat Ali?

I'll check the boxrec database but I'm sure I remember something...

Shouldn't Tyson be 5 time champ according to this?

[Goodnight, Irene]

Well Schmeling never beat the champion for the title...

Joe Frazier NEVER beat Ali (the rightful champion) for the title...

And I wrote down that Larry Holmes was a "paper champion", because he was the 1st IBF Champion...

Herbie Hide is a 2 time world champion... Hide beat Bentt for the WBO (1994)... and reclaimed it against Tucker (1997)...

Mike Tyson won the wordl title TWICE!!! beat Berbick and later Bruno... Not to mention the fact that he unified the diivision...

Pardon my abruptness, but your reasoning sucks

[pound per pound]

My picks:

Baer vs Tucker – Tucker UD.
Berbick vs Hart – Berbick UD.
Bruno vs Tate - Bruno by mid round TKO
Douglas vs Sharkey - Sharkey by points decision

Bentt vs Moorer - Moorer by KO .
Braddock vs Tubbs – Tubbs UD
Coetzee vs Spinks - Spinks by points decision
Johansson vs Page - Johansson by mid round TKO

[The Great John L]

John L. Sullivan was NEVER world champion...

He fought for the 1st title but was beaten...

Well Schmeling never beat the champion for the title...

Joe Frazier NEVER beat Ali (the rightful champion) for the title...

And I wrote down that Larry Holmes was a "paper champion", because he was the 1st IBF Champion...

Herbie Hide is a 2 time world champion... Hide beat Bentt for the WBO (1994)... and reclaimed it against Tucker (1997)...

Mike Tyson won the wordl title TWICE!!! beat Berbick and later Bruno... Not to mention the fact that he unified the diivision...

Pardon my abruptness, but your reasoning sucks

Yes it does seem rather selective, and almost revisionist.

[Crease]

Right I think everyone in history knows about Frazier beating Ali on their 1st contest...

I meant that when they first fought, Frazier was the champion, Ali the challenger...

What I meant to say (maybe this time I'll use a different choice of words) is that:

NOBODY beat Ali for his title... It was stripped of him... = Frazier never Bear Ali for his world title...

Yes, they fought later, but if politics had not have interfered, then Ali would have still been champion (probably) by the time that Frazier challenge came around...

[Crease]

I did say that this thread looked at the achievements of boxers AS THEY WERE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS!!!

Not what they done before becoming the champion, or what they did in other weights...

[Crease]

This thread is closed.

Please view Past Heavweight Champions Tournament