Note: keep in mind that, like all of our rankings, this is not a who-beats-who list, but one that emphasizes individual accomplishment in each fighters time and the quality of the opposition they bested (which is why, for example, we rate Joe Frazier above George Foreman). Muhammad Ali is the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time according to major Sports publications like Sports Illustrated, NBCSports, BBC, and ESPN SportsCentury. Once again, a weighted average of the rankings from the other electors was used to fill the void. Remove altitude and behavior, he is the greatest. Neither fighter ranked himself. Most great boxers have done this and Lennox Lewis only lost twice and then won in the rematch. Tyson would have torn apart Holmes in any era. Couldnt agree more. Power, toughness, and unsurpassed conditioning were Rockys calling-cards, along with a brutal relentlessness which no one in his era could withstand. Underrated offense (he carried many opponents). The fans' top 5 greatest boxers of all time. Joe Louis was a better fighter than any fighter the world had seen before. It is a damn shame and TRAGEDY what happened to Mike. Free shipping for many products! Heavyweights Jared Anderson, Zhan Kossobutskiy to meet - ESPN He won the first one and was robbed by the judges in the third one. The Top Ten. Joe Frazier 11. A similar search for Joe Louis turns up 432,000. The Brockton Blockbuster owns the most famous heavyweight record: 49-0. Certain champions touch an entire generation. 49-0! To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders, Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications, .css-n1h13z{color:black;color:#fff;}@media (prefers-color-scheme:dark){.css-n1h13z{color:#fff;}}Published10:53,03 September 2021 BST.css-1kib7lm{color:#666666;color:#72B97D;}@media (prefers-color-scheme:dark){.css-1kib7lm{color:#72B97D;}}@media (min-width:1024px){.css-1kib7lm{color:#efefef;}}| Last updated10:54,04 May 2022 BST. Best pure puncher who ever got in a ring. Even after his decisive stoppage defeats to Muhammad Ali, he remained a force in the division thanks to his brute strength, devastating jab, and KO power in either fist. Both ruined the division for a decade. Foreman demolished Frazier in both their fights, the only man that did or could. Note: This story appeared in the May 2017 issue of THE RING Magazine. So I know it reasonably well. But lurking in the back of many minds was the question: Which of these fighters took boxing to a new level in terms of skills, societal importance, or both? Sonny Liston (1953-1970, 50-4-0): 625.7, 3. He fought a way past his prime Tyson, almost lost to Holyfield in their second fight, and Vitaly would have knocked him out if they hadnt stopped it because of the cut. Top 10 Best Heavyweight Boxers of All Time - SportsGeeks During the 1890s, the modern boxing game was in its infancy and only a handful of fighters had a grasp of proper technique. Kudos on not putting Tyson in the top 12. Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer to become the oldest Heavyweight Champion at the astonishing age of 45. Mike tyson in his prime was unstoppable. No one could take him, bigger fighters were not given the room or the time to punch. Another boxings greatest robberies. What is clear is the amount of opponents Tyson overwhelmed with his devastating power. Johnson 12. Thats because there wasnt enough film footage of fighters from earlier eras to properly evaluate how theyd perform against one another and also because boxing technique has evolved considerably since the days of Joe Gans. Riddick had the potential to be much higher on this list but never got there. Nineteen of the 30 electors ranked Ali first. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Heavyweight BOXING Champion JOE FRAZIER "Smokin' Joe" SIGNED First Printing RARE at the best online prices at eBay! His prime was a bit like Iron Mike himself: short, sharp and explosive. Well come back to Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis later. A better version of Corbett. Even so, Wills holds wins over a host of top heavyweights including Luis Firpo, Big Bill Tate, Kid Norfolk, Sam Langford, Billy Miske, Sam McVea, Battling Siki, and the also criminally underrated Joe Jeannette. Mike Tyson was in an awfully weak era. Tyson was the greatest six-round heavyweight of all time. After George won the belt at that age you had the idea that he could have done anything.. More athletic and aggressive than Liston. He peaked early, lost Cus DAmato, then lost all focus because he was very immature. When Mike Tyson got discouraged, he wasnt the same fighter. Ketchel had no business at heavyweight. In the past, Ive overseen fantasy round-robin tournaments in various weight divisions that matched great fighters from different eras against each other with the results of each fight being predicted by a panel of boxing industry experts. Respect. Bob Fitzsimmons won championships in three weight divisions. Absolutely, Mr. Weiler. Even I know THAT! After getting roughed up by a prime Mike Tyson, Thomas was never the same and his career quickly fizzled out. He beat every available contender. Tyson makes lists because he talked trash with alacrity and had an unbelievable EARLY (ultra early) great run. Ruiz is the most hated heavyweight of his generation because of his aggravating fighting style. Several electors didnt feel comfortable rating Sullivan, Corbett, Fitzsimmons, Jeffries or Johnson because theres virtually no film footage of Johnson in action and none of the other four. Sullivan fought for 13 years, the last 10 of which he was a fullblown alcoholic. That night changed the experience of being black in America. He would be about #86 on a genuine list. Andy Ruiz Jr. 49. 8), Mike Tyson (No. In 1951, at the end of Louiss storied ring career, A. J. Liebling wrote, Joe Louis looks like a champion and carries himself like a champion, and people will continue to call him champion as long as he lives.. Bobs downfall was what made him so popular, his all out approach that left him overextended, open for counter punches, and out of gas in the later rounds if the early KO did not come. Accurate list! Critics point out that Marciano was small, clumsy and only made six title defences, mainly against ageing opponents. He beat everyone and won all the belts. Picking just 10 great heavyweights from 100+ years means some elite champions have to miss out. It was enormously important as a social event. Youre the only one with sense. Oliver McCall (1985-2019, 59-14-0): 121.6, 40. A true STUDENT of the sweet science. The Best Heavyweights Of All Time, Named And Ranked Wheres mike Tyson? Larry Holmes is the very definition of a warrior. Boxing legends Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis have all secured a place in the top 10 heavyweight boxers of all time. Louis was in and out of Sanatoriums, and according to his son, when out, would hide under the table with the cloth pulled down. Other considerations are involved. Corbett was one of the first successful scientific fighters of the gloved era. Your right how in the hell can Frazier be ranked in front of Foreman when Foreman brutally knocked Frazier out TWICE and Foreman should be higher on the list the man was 40-0 when he lost to the greatest and annihilated everyone before that and came back and became world champ again at age 45 and not to mention winning the gold medal after only boxing for 1 yr and 21 fights nobody not even Ali did that. The reason that Greg never fully realized his potential was his horrible work ethic. Ray Mercer. Nobody ever got more out of what he had as a fighter than Marciano. Whos ranked an all time great? Holyfield had a trilogy with Riddick Bowe, beat Foreman, who, while old, had a serious comeback, earlier killed Frasier and Norton inside two rounds, then 5 for Frazier, beat Ron Lyle, and later beat Michael Moorer, half his age, whod BEATEN Holyfield. Mike Tyson W: 50 (44 KOs), L: 6, N/C: 2 Best win: KO1. He ducked Shavers, Lyle and even an old Sonny Liston. No Tyson in the list? l give credit to any boxer who can rectify their losses. he trained for a week before the fight. Most Famous Fight(s): TKO11 over Max Baer in 1939, TKO6 loss to Joe Louis in a 1941 title fight. Was he the best of his era? A 1987 version of Mike would have demolished him. Nicknamed The Greatest, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated sporting figures . He stood out as a fighter the way Joe Louis did in his era. Heavyweight BOXING Champion JOE FRAZIER "Smokin' Joe" SIGNED First Mandatory Cr. He fought his share of soft opponents. Come back next week to see who I picked for numbers 90-81. Unarguably the divisions greatest comeback. 1 spot as long as hes the one without the A. Thomas Hauser can be reached by email at [emailprotected] His most recent book A Hard World: An Inside Look at Another Year in Boxing was published by the University of Arkansas Press. My gripe is not fully with the omissions of Tyson, and Holyfield, as much as it is that those two were put in the same so called, Honorable pool as one of the god damn Klitschko brothers. 100 greatest Heavyweight boxers (Boxing.com) Stats - Sporcle Great rivalries make great fighters. Cant understand this fixation with Tyson, all these guys mop the floor with Tyson. Perhaps his biggest impact on the sport was not done in the ring, but instead in jail. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images). There was an inclination on the part of the panelists to make pound-for-pound comparisons, thereby elevating fighters like Dempsey and Marciano above todays much larger champions. Floyd Patterson (1952-1972, 55-8-1): 321.5, 14. Among his vanquished foes are Sam Langford, Tommy Burns, James J. Jeffries, Stanley Ketchel, Jim Flynn, Joe Jeannette and Sam McVea. But thats just for starters. The Fifty Greatest Light-Heavyweights of All Time Part One - 50-41 Tyson could never deal with adversity, which is why he doesnt belong on the list of ATGs. Jack Dempsey (1914-1927, 59-6-9): 146.7, 29. . Evander Holyfield (1984-2011, 44-10-2): 357.7, 10. Nor did he obliterate a mediocre Tony Tucker, both title fights in 1987. The top 100 boxers have been ranked by Boxrec, with Mike Tyson only 76th on the list Floyd Mayweather, Mike Tyson, Tyson Fury, Manny Pacquiao and Muhammad Ali are just some of the names that will jump to peoples minds when the greatest boxers of all time are mentioned, but who is the greatest of all time? Sonny Liston was the baddest man on the planet. Theyve forgotten how good Louis was when he was young. Whether it was avenging his loss against Joe Frazier with two victories over his rival,taking the steam out of George Foreman at The Rumble in the Jungle or earning hard-fought wins over the rugged likes of Floyd Patterson and Ken Norton, Alis GOAT legacy resides on the heavyweight throne as the best. The mold of a perfect fighter. How can you leave him off. Wills are you crazy? Marciano never fought Joe Louis. However, we are still yet to see an undefeated boxer on this list, although its surely only a matter of time before we see someone with that coveted 0 in their losses column. 25. Also, both loses clearly because he didnt take the fights as seriously as he should have, but when he did, he made quick work of both. Marciano fought and beat the Shadow of Joe Louis SHADOW. A tall, rangy, Olympic gold medallist with a pulverising jab, high ring IQ and KO power, British-born Lewis could be even higher on this list. Nikolay Valuev (1993-2009, 50-2-0): 233.4, 18. He made the most of his modest skills by jabbing once then clinching his opponent to . Turns our Holmes was not overrated at all (boring maybe) and he went on to dominate the decade and prove himself as an all time great. Elmer Ray (1933-1949, 99-23-11): 170.8, 24. He didnt starting campaigning full time as a heavyweight until the 1950s and weighed between 178 and 185 in his prime. Even current boxers made the list with the current Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko from the Ukraine a modern legend. And then there are fighters like Ali, Frazier, Holmes, Holyfield and Marciano. 11. Nova found a home in the top 10 heavyweight rankings for half a decade in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Theres a fight thats bigger than boxing. The 1935 US amateur heavyweight champion turned pro in 1936 and hammered his way up the rankings. As did fights from the greatest of the greats, from Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali to Larry Holmes . Marciano 4. Media: Al Bernstein, Ron Borges, Gareth A Davies, Norm Frauenheim, Jerry Izenberg, Harold Lederman, Paulie Malignaggi, Dan Rafael and Michael Rosenthal, Historians: Craig Hamilton, Steve Lott, Don McRae, Bob Mee, Clay Moyle, Adam Pollack and Randy Roberts. Amen!! He learned some rudimentary techniques to accentuate his physical gifts and compensate for his limitations. Forget about Johnson-Jeffries as a measure of Jeffries as a fighter. The Easton Assassin was, for a long stretch, the most underrated heavyweight champion. Standing at 62 and over 200 pounds, Nova was considered a large heavyweight for his era. Go back and watch the Norton fight, even just round 15 if you dont have the time. He reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 to 1949, and is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. Opponents went into the ring against Louis, Liston and Tyson in their prime fearing for their lives. Most boxing was done in amateur athletic clubs, which is where early greats like Choynski and Jim Corbett learned their craft. Some sort of elaborate prank? The punch Rahman hit him with in South Africa would have KOd anyone, and there was the issue of altitude in South Africa. 7) by four points. The 10 Greatest Heavyweight Boxers of All-Time - Sports History Network Great fighter but mentally and emotionally not in the same class with the ones you listed. The legendary Joe Louis was named the best of the best across all eras of boxing, with BoxRec awarding the 'Brown Bomber' a whopping 1,012 points. He had advanced skills for his era. A thunderous left hook, relentless work ethic and an awkward pressure-fighting style: Smokin Joe was a force of nature. Olympic champion. Scoring a pair of second-round TKOs of Joe Frazier and Ken Norton are a sample size of how terrifying Foreman was in his era. Tunney caught Dempsey at the end of Dempseys career and after Dempsey had been out of the ring for three years. A one-dimensional fighter. A lot of guys on this list would have discouraged Tyson real fast. 2023 RING TV LIVE. So without further ado, here's the top 50 of all-time. Lennox Lewis made the cut and Iron Mike didnt..laughable. When they met again with the championship on the line, Louis knocked Schmeling out in the first round. 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Thanks for signing up! Flyweight Ring career: 1910-23 Record: 131-3-2 (99 KOs) and 13 no-decisions Career notes: One of the smallest world champions ever . Like many sluggers, his career was short but scintillating. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. Mike Tyson earn his stripes. Tyson was the legitimate heavyweight champion of the world for more than three years. Was the baddest man on the planet!!!! Lennox Lewis: Defeats to Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman, both of which he avenged with emphatic wins, do not obscure the fact that Lewis was the dominant heavyweight of the 1990s. His left hand jab and hook were beyond frightening. Boxing is a world sport. Your email address will not be published. Mike Tyson should be in the top 12! Alexander Povetkin (2005 - present, 35-2-1): 148.3, 28. Wins over Jess Willard, Georges Carpentier, Jim Flynn, Big Bill Tate, Billy Miske, Luis Firpo, Gunboat Smith and Jack Sharkey. We saw the skill but we were ROBBED of the will, his future, and his full potential. Or Williams, Ellis and Folley. Tyson was a thicker, harder-hitting Joe Frazier. Most Famous Fight(s): MD12 loss to Tim Witherspoon in 1984 for the WBC belt, KO8 win over Gerrie Coetzee in 1984 for the WBA belt. He was the first heavyweight in history to truly master boxing. Prison? Here are the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the 100-plus-year history of the sweet science. In 2005, Joe Louis was named the greatest heavyweight of all time by the International Boxing Research Organization. A gift and a curse. 77. Yeah, Holmes lost twice to Michael Spinks, while Tyson knocked out Spinks in 90 seconds. A four time heavyweight champion (not to mention cruiserweight champion), The Real Deal never ducked anyone and fought through adversity too many times to count. A great fighter needs great competition. Larry Holmes: An awesome jab, a dangerous right hand, tremendous heart, and astonishing recuperative powers were among the attributes The Easton Assassin brought to the ring. Crazy to think Mike Tyson was not part of that list. Posted below are the top 50 heavyweights of all time, according to fans. The 100 Greatest Pound for Pound Boxers Of All Time Dave Carlson January 11, 2011 "Pound for pound" rankings were developed by boxing writers during the era of Sugar Ray Robinson. The Top 50 Boxers Of All Time Have Been Ranked The 10 Best Heavyweight Boxers In The World Right. Deontay Wilder (2008 - present, 42-1-1): 122.8, 39. He was a powerful puncher and the most relentless fighter ever. God, he knew how to play that role.. He had one great fight, the first fight against Evander Holyfield. Jack Johnson died on June 10, 1946, at the age of 68. But so too is that fighters skill level within the context of his time. He has a degree in Football Business and Media, previously working as a press and media officer at Bury Football Club. Mike Tyson 75. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. Cleveland Williams (1951-1972, 80-13-1): 186.6, 21. But even if you take into account their overall careers, Id still give the edge to Foreman because of his comeback years. Compared to Liston, Mike Tyson was a choirboy. Max Schmeling (1924-1948, 56-10-4): 183, 22. There was never a Plan B, and theres a point in every boxers career when hes going to need one. Two comeback fights, when he was pushing 40, spoiled that record - but nothing can change the fact that he is indeed The Greatest. He could do no more than beat them but, perhaps wisely, he didnt wait to face any up-and-coming boxers! Theres some huge fighting records in here, such as Jack Bergs 157 wins in his 192 bouts, with Nicolino Locche also notching up over 100 wins in his career. Baksi was a son of a coal miner from Pennsylvania who boxed, not for love of the sport, but as a way to get out of a life of mining. He has no comeback ability. Top 10 Greatest Heavyweight Boxers Of All Time | Sportshubnet But can we put him up there with the absolute all-time greats just yet? Impeccable defense. To what extent does the mythology that enshrouds a fighter factor into his greatness? Defeated such outstanding talents as Max Baer, Jack Sharkey, Bob Pastor, James Braddock, Tommy Farr, Billy Conn, John Henry Lewis, Max Schmeling, Jimmy Bivins, Lee Savold and Jersey Joe Walcott. The 50 Greatest Heavyweight Boxers Of All Time Have Been Named This is supposed to be joke right? Some of the fighters on this list had a bit of quit in them. However, we then have George Foreman and Mike Tyson way down on the list. Tyson never fought anyone in there prime or of any note before 1990. And he has captivated the publics imagination for three decades. But when it came time for Tyson to fight top prime guys, Hes 0-6 in fights that actually matter. And Archie Moore and Ezzard Charles. All a fighter can do is dominate their own era and prove their greatness in their own time. Holmes was a deadbeat along with Klitschko. A staggering 49-0 record 43 of which by knockout and counting wins over the likes of Joe Louis, Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore, Marciano was among the most feared heavyweights of all time. Holyfield 9. I agree with you. Among the best pound-for-pound boxers of all time, Sugar Ray Robinson sits at the very top. You could see the sudden halt in his leg. Joe Frazier (No. Clarence Henry (1948-1954, 34-6-1): 167.9, 25. His best opponents were very old, dragged out of retirement given a few set-ups etc. Arguably the divisions greatest puncher. Boxing legends Rocky Marciano and Sonny Liston finished third and fourth respectively, with Lewis rounding off the top five. And when youre fighting, punching means a whole lot. 3. Top 100 greatest boxers of all time: 90-81, Cuban boxer Luis Manuel Rodriguez pictured punching a poster of rival and champion Nino Benvenuti prior to their upcoming fight, at the Sport Palace in Rome, November 1969. The fans' top 5 greatest boxers of all time | NBC Sports If he had people around him who had cared about him he may have won every fight. The heavyweight division doesnt lend itself to this format. The 50 greatest heavyweights of all time have been named
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