By Cliff Rold

The Eight, Pt. 8

For any new boxing fan, the time is not long before a fellow fan points out a magic number which grows more mythologized with time: eight.  As in boxing’s original eight weight classes.  The number represents in the mind of many a time when the sport was compressed into fields which couldn’t help but be talented, couldn’t help but draw crowds, because there were so few places on the scale to go.  They were divisions marked by single champions ever challenged by a depth of contenders today’s seventeen weight classes rarely know.

Reflection and research reveals this was not always the case, but it was true often enough to bestow a mystique on boxing’s ‘original eight weight classes’ which carries through to the modern day.  As good as they can be, as great as some of their competitors have been and still are, weight classes prefixed by a “Jr.” designation will always be seen some as bastard spawn which took something away from the game no matter what they added.

Even with classes taking up space in between the old markers, the eight continue to provide memories and spilled blood today.  Over the course of this series, homage is paid to boxing’s original eight by identifying the best of their lot through the years.

Heavyweight

“I can lick any sonofabitch in the house.”

The famous quote from the first gloved, and last bare knuckle, Heavyweight king John L. Sullivan’s words encapsulate the mythology if not always the reality of the Heavyweight crown.  Through more bad times and lean years than good over the years, fans wait for the next ‘baddest man on the planet.’  Boxing has proved it can thrive without great Heavyweights, but the great Heavyweight years always seem more memorable.

That’s because, despite all the fun of pound for pound debates, the reality usually is this: the best Heavyweight is the best fighter in the world.  He’s the representative of the sport one literally assumes could beat anyone else in a fist fight.  

When the public can’t identify one true king for boxing, or doesn’t care about the one who emerges, it’s never as good as the opposite.

It’s never as good as the electricity that comes with saying a last name and getting a knowing nod.  From Dempsey to Louis to Ali and beyond, the great Heavyweights have inspired awe before they were done.

As has been the case in every list assembled in this series, some gut wrenching exclusions couldn’t be avoided.  Sullivan’s stronger ties to the bare knuckle era made him somewhat easy despite his historical significance.  Others were more difficult.  Bob Fitzsimmons seemed to fit better at Middleweight and Light Heavyweight despite great Heavyweight accomplishment.  Jack Sharkey was part of a glut of underrated talent between the Dempsey and Louis eras who just missed. Tim Witherspoon was a tremendously talented big man, and arguably the next best Heavyweight of the Holmes era, winning two major titles but with some losses which couldn’t be ignored.  They are among those deserving an honorable mention.

Part of the dilemma is in sheer mass.  A Middleweight has always been a Middleweight give or take a few pounds.  Heavyweights have grown over the years.  Size isn’t a sole determining variable in any fight, but there are periods where skilled, larger, faster, and more athletic men existed as more of a norm than others and those eras are heavily represented while trying to balance them against the accomplishments of other times.

Finally, as with the exception made at Light Heavyweight, only one active Heavyweight was included in this top 25 and his inclusion should make sense to readers when his name appears.  No one who currently holds a title and is still carving a significant piece of their place in history is included.  Better to let them give a more complete measure of themselves before placement is assigned.

While it’s impossible for all to agree on the ratings compiled here, the hope is to add a little something to already great debates with numbers 11-25.

The Top Twenty-Five

25) Max Baer (1929-41): California’s “Livermore Larupper” was a talented big man with a big punch whose affinity for the fast life kept him from what could have been greater stature…career mark of 72-12, 53 KO…World Champion 1934-35…turned pro at age 20, Baer would learn his craft through some tough competition, besting former title challenger Tom Heeney by knockout while losing on points to contenders Johnny Risko, Paulino Uzcudun, and former Light Heavyweight king Tommy Loughran in his first two years and change…following the Uzcudun loss, Baer stood at 26-7 but would not lose again for almost four years...posted thirteen wins in a row, including avenging the Risko loss and a 10th round thrashing of former Heavyweight champion Max Schmeling in June 1933 voted Fight of the Year…the streak led him to historically controversial champion Primo Carnera one year later; Baer won an almost comical affair, dropping Carnera eleven times before scoring a stoppage in the eleventh round…it would be the peak of his career…Baer would be upset one day shy of a year later by Jim Braddock in one of the great all-time upsets and followed three months later with a fourth round surrender to the bombs of Joe Louis…Baer would embark on another long winning streak but never got another shot at the title…split with contender Tommy Farr and stopped character Tony Galento while being stopped twice by Lou Nova in his last eleven fights…Baer was voted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in 1995.

24) Gene Tunney (1915-28): Previously noted as the number four all-time Light Heavyweight, “The Fighting Marine” made a brief but lasting impression on the Heavyweight division…defeated former Jack Dempsey title challenger Tommy Gibbons with a twelfth round knockout in June 1925 to build to the title shot at Heavyweight that never came a division below…scored knockouts in two official contests, and a news verdict over future contender Johnny Risko, before snaring a crack at Dempsey in September 1926…in front of more than 120,000 in Philadelphia on September 23, Tunney soundly outboxed a Dempsey rusted by three years out of the ring in round eight for the ten rounds…a rematch was set 364 days later at Soldiers Field in Chicago and the controversy will rage forever…Tunney was dropped in round seven for the legendary “long count”…clearly down longer than ten seconds, Tunney beat the count he was given and returned the favor, flooring Dempsey in the eighth and winning another lopsided decision in ten…Tunney would defend only once before retiring as champion and staying retired…Tunney could be argued by some higher on the list of great Heavyweights, or not at all.  His Heavyweight resume is thin beyond Dempsey but, while he had a rusty man in front of him the first time, Dempsey was still good enough to blast out future champion Jack Sharkey between their two meetings.  There is also something to be said for winning two of the biggest fights in the history of boxing…Tunney was an inaugural member of the IBHOF in 1990.

23) Ken Norton (1967-81): Learning the basics while serving as a U.S. Marine, the San Diego native earned the Heavyweight championship of the World but had two judges and a referee with stars in their eyes deny him the honor…career mark of 42-7-1, 33 KO…WBC titlist 1977-78…a powerfully built boxer-puncher, Norton’s chin would prove an Achilles Heel…losing only one of his first thirty contests, by knockout, Norton’s breakthrough came against Muhammad Ali in March 1973…trained by the great Eddie Futch, Norton busted Ali’s jaw and won a split decision which should have been unanimous…lost a narrow split decision in a September rematch which could have gone either way and beat Ali to a shot at George Foreman…Foreman’s power and strength were too much for Norton who succumbed in round two…Norton began rebuilding, winning seven in a row including a fifth round knockout of longtime contender Jerry Quarry and a revenge knockout of the first man to defeat him, Jose Luis Garcia…squared off with Ali for their rubber match in September 1976 at Yankee Stadium, soundly outboxing a listless Louisville Lip before losing a decision which can still create disgust over three decades later…rebounded, stopping undefeated former Olympian Duane Bobick in one and Lorenzo Zannon in five but may have gotten a bit of the benefit of the doubt himself in a debatable decision over Jimmy Young in November 1977…the Young bout was a WBC eliminator and, when Leon Spinks upset Ali in 1978 and pursued an immediate rematch, Norton was awarded their belt…promptly lost it on a split decision in one of the great Heavyweight wars to Larry Holmes…Norton would win only two of his last five after Holmes, defeating an undefeated Tex Cobb and drawing with contender Scott LeDoux while suffering first round knockout losses to Ernie Shavers and, in his farewell outing, to a rising Gerry Cooney…Norton was elected to the IBHOF in 1992.

22) Floyd Patterson (1952-72): Brooklyn’s 1952 Olympic Gold Medalist, and the first ever to win the Heavyweight championship twice, was undersized by today’s standards and, before his career was over, undersized by the standards of his own time.  He’s also become underrated in part by a failure to look at his full body of work...possessed some of the fastest hands ever seen at Heavyweight but without the beard to go with them…career mark of 55-8-1, 40 KO…World Champion 1956-59, 4 Defenses; 60-62, 2 Defenses…Patterson was grown into the division as a protégé of Cus D’Amato’s patented peek-a-boo style, winning 30 of his first 31 largely at Light Heavyweight, his only defeat a controversial points loss against former Light Heavy king Joey Maxim over eight rounds in 1954…won a Heavyweight eliminator to replace the retired Rocky Marciano against “Hurricane” Jackson and was matched with Light Heavyweight king Archie Moore for the title in November 1956; it was Moore’s only defeat in 32 fights from September 1955 and October 1960…in the fifth round, Patterson lowered the boom to become the youngest Heavyweight champion of all time at only 21…promptly rematched Jackson in his first defense, scoring a knockout…Patterson’s title reign was largely a protected one from there, accepting a fight with Pete Rademacher, an Olympic champion making his pro debut, followed by an impressive stop of undefeated Roy Harris and knockout of Brian London; both Rademacher and Harris dropped him before defeat…was dropped seven times in the third round against fellow 1952 Olympian Ingemar Johansson in June 1959 to lose the title and kick off a wild rivalry…reversed the defeat one year later in round five and, in March 1961, traded knockdowns in the first before winning on a sixth round knockout…having been steered away from big punchers like Cleveland Williams and Sonny Liston in his reigns, Patterson insisted on defending against Liston September 1962 and was stopped in the first; Liston repeated the trick ten months later…Patterson bounced back with five wins including points verdicts over contenders Eddie Machen and George Chuvalo in the 1965 Fight of the Year only to be battered towards a twelfth round stoppage by Muhammad Ali…far from done, Patterson would go on to defeat contenders Henry Cooper and Oscar Bonavena and lost highly debatable nods to Jimmy Ellis and Jerry Quarry…lost his final fight in seven to Ali in 1972…Patterson was elected to the IBHOF in 1991.

21) Riddick Bowe (1989-2008): Brooklyn’s “Big Daddy” was a 1988 Olympic Silver Medalist at Super Heavyweight whose combination of size, jab, and coordination were offset by a work ethic that betrayed what could have one of the great careers…career mark of 43-1, 33 KO, 1 No Contest…World Champion 1992-93, 2 Defenses; WBO Heavyweight 1995, 1 Defense…stopped on his feet by future rhetorical rival Lennox Lewis at the ’88 Games, Bowe was labeled a problem child but showed tremendous early promise…stopped former titlist Pinklon Thomas and tough contender Bert Cooper by 1990…bested fellow former Olympian Tyrell Biggs in early 1991 but struggled in his next outing, fortunate to win on points against former titlist Tony Tubbs…bounced right back, knocking out fellow prospect and future titlist Bruce Seldon in one…conditioning issues began to show by July 1992, Bowe ballooning ten pounds between fights to 245 lbs. for his title eliminator with rugged South African Pierre Coetzer…Bowe won a foul filled affair but failed to impress…that changed his next time out as, at a svelte 235 lbs., Bowe won a classic against Evander Holyfield to win the Heavyweight crown in November 1992…relinquished a WBC belt rather than facing mandatory Lennox Lewis and took a pair of soft challengers before locking horns with Evander Holyfield a second time one year after their first bout…Bowe came in eleven pounds heavier than  in their first bout and, in the infamous “Fan Man” fight, saw the title return to Holyfield via narrow majority decision…Bowe bounced back with solid wins over undefeated versions of Larry Donald, Jorge Luis Gonzalez, and future titlist Herbie Hide on the way to the non-title rubber match with Holyfield in November 2005…coming off the floor for the first time, Bowe became the first man to stop Holyfield in the eighth round to end the best Heavyweight rivalry since Ali-Frazier…Bowe’s poor conditioning and lax training caught up to him badly in Madison Square Garden as he was battered by an undefeated Andrew Golota in July 1996 only to ultimately triumph by disqualification; the fight set off a riot inside the Garden…a rematch five months later saw Bowe enter without trainer Eddie Futch, who had quit after the first Golota debacle.  Bowe showed the heart he’d always had under fire, trading knockdowns with Golota early and enduring a terrible beating before winning again by disqualification when Golota couldn’t stop going to the cup…Bowe would retire until returning for some sporadic appearances between 2004 and 2008…while his underachiever label was earned and will always follow him, the 6’5 Bowe still managed to snare the title and easily could have been seen the winner in all of the Holyfield series along with plenty of good wins dotted throughout his career…Bowe is not yet eligible for the IBHOF.

20) James J. Corbett (1886-1903): San Francisco’s “Gentleman” Jim was a seminal figure in boxing, a skilled transitional figure between the bare knuckle and gloved eras in boxing…career mark of 11-4-3, 7 KO, 1 No Contest…World Champion 1892-97, 1 Defense…rivals almost from the professional cradle, Corbett and Hall of Famer Joe Choynski fought four times in Corbett’s first ten outings, Corbett winning a pair of short round news verdicts and scoring a 27th round knockout in their June 1889 outing…Corbett bested former challenger Jake Kilrain on points 1890 and, the following year, engaged in one of the sport’s most memorable marathons…vilely avoided by John L. Sullivan for years via the color line for years, Peter Jackson and Corbett battled for 61 brutal rounds before the bout was rendered a no contest…In September 1892, Corbett used to the sweet science to exhaust and ultimately stop Sullivan in the 21st round for the title…competing largely in exhibitions over the next few years, he would defend successfully only once, and score a non-title draw over four with Hall of Famer Tom Sharkey, before losing on a body blow in the 14th round to Bob Fitzsimmons in March 1897; the loss had its controversies with some accounts noting Corbett the victim of a long count when he dropped Fitzsimmons earlier in the contest…Corbett’s career slid quickly with losses in three of four contests following Fitzsimmons, disqualified against Sharkey and stopped twice by Jim Jeffries in title shots…Corbett would be named an inaugural member of the IBHOF in 1990.

19) Joe Jeanette (1904-22): The Union City, New Jersey legend got a late start in the paid ranks, turning pro at age 25, but posted a memorable run in the years which followed…career mark of 79-9-6, 66 KO, 62 No Decisions, 1 No Contest…immediately thrown to the wolves, Jeanette was matched repeatedly with more experienced foes like Jack Johnson, Jim Jeffords, and George Cole in his first fifteen fights, not posting his first official win until his ninth bout…facing Johnson four times in those bouts, Jeanette managed to stay afoot in two No Contests, drew in a short round news verdict, and managed a disqualification win…in a milestone win, battered Sam Langford in December 1905, becoming the first man to stop the Hall of Fame great when Langford retired after eight…battled Johnson four times and Langford twice in his next seven bouts, losing a drawing to both but managing no wins…in April 1907, won a news verdict over Sam McVea to kick off their rivalry…the two would war memorably twice in 1909, Jeanette losing a twenty round points verdict but rebounded, coming off the floor repeatedly to win in the 49th round when McVea could not continue…Jeanette would lose more than he won to Langford in what ultimately was a fifteen fight rivalry…bested future Light Heavyweight champion Georges Carpentier on points in 1914 and scored a news verdict over Hall of Famer Kid Norfolk in 1918…Jeanette never secured a shot at the Heavyweight title, held during a large part of his career by early rival Johnson, but was elected to the IBHOF in 1997.

18) Max Schmeling (1924-48): Germany’s “Black Uhlan of the Rhine” will always be recalled as the losing half of arguably the biggest fight in history but his big right hand carried him far more often to victory…career mark of 56-10-4, 39 KO…World Champion 1930-32, 1 Defense…stopped three times in four defeats through his first 42 contests, Schmeling won seven in a row, including a stop of contender Johnny Risko and a points nod over Paulino Uzcudun, to earn the chance to fight for a Heavyweight title left vacant for almost two years by Gene Tunney…in June 1930, won the title when Jack Sharkey was disqualified in the fourth round, claiming he could not go on because of a foul…defended once in a classic battle with Light Heavyweight great Young Stribling and lost the title on a debated decision to Sharkey in June 1932…rebounded by drubbing former Welterweight and Middleweight king Mickey Walker in eight but was stopped by Max Baer in ten one fight later…assumed by many to be past his beat when he then was bested on points by Steve Hamas, Schmeling rebuilt with three wins (one over  Hamas) and a draw before being matched with a streaking Joe Louis…claiming before the fight that he ‘saw something’ he could exploit in Louis’s style, he proved it by dropping Louis in the fourth and stopping him in twelve; he would be the only man to officially defeat or stop Louis over Louis’s first fifteen years as a pro…Schmeling failed to secure a shot at then-champion Jim Braddock, fighting and beating three lesser foes for two years; Louis won the title in the interim and the rematch was set for June 22, 1938…held up by the regime of Adolph Hitler as a model of the “Aryan” ideal, whether he liked it or not, Schmeling stepped into a battle which garnered global attention and was stopped in the first round by a Louis as good as he would ever would be…he’d fight once more before serving in the war and then briefly came back in 1947, losing two of his last three in a five fight comeback…Schmeling would be elected to the IBHOF in 1992.

17) Jersey Joe Walcott (1930-53): Taking his nom de guerre from a Welterweight great, Camden’s Arnold Cream came up the hard way and stuck it out, becoming the then-oldest man ever to win the Heavyweight crown…defensively skilled and possessing real stopping power, Walcott posted a career mark of 51-18-2, 32 KO…World Champion 1951-52, 1 Defense…turning pro as a 16-year old Light Heavyweight, Walcott fought sporadically as he grew into a the Heavyweight division…had his ups and downs through the decade, losing to Al Ettore and Tiger Jack Fox but toppling Elmer Ray and a young Curtis Sheppard…inactive from early 1940 until the middle of 1944, Walcott surged with 18 wins in 21 fights, splitting with Ray, decisioning Hall of Famer Jimmy Bivins, and winning two of three narrowly contested decisions against Joey Maxim to earn a crack at the title in December 1947…a heavy underdog, Walcott dropped Joe Louis twice before losing one of the most controversial decisions ever…in the immediate rematch in June 1948, Walcott dropped Louis again early only to be stopped in the eleventh…following Louis’s retirement Walcott was matched with Ezzard Charles for the vacant NBA title, losing on points…four straight wins included a knockout of a young Harold Johnson, an eventual Hall of Fame Light Heavyweight…a loss to contender Rex Layne was followed with three consecutive fights with Charles for the crown…Walcott lost the first of those, and probably should have lost the last, but in between the 37-year old landed a left uppercut for the ages to stop Charles in the seventh for the title…a rivalry with Rocky Marciano ended Walcott’s career, stopped in the thirteenth while ahead on points and felled in the first round to end his career…Walcott was an inaugural member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.

16) Sam Langford (1902-26): Previously rated 19th at Middleweight and 2nd at Light Heavyweight, Langford’s remarkable ring exploits also earn him a spot with the best big men despite not being so big himself…career mark of 167-38-37, 117 KO, 48 No Decisions, 3 No Contests…the Canadian-born “Boston Tar Baby” stood just over 5’7 but had incredible reach, a stout figure that grew to between 180-200 lbs. over the last two thirds of his career, and one of the most dependable knockout punches ever…was already toiling with Heavyweights during his Middleweight youth splitting a pair with Jeanette in 1905 and 06 and losing a decisive 15 round verdict to Jack Johnson in the latter year…stopped one bout after the Johnson contest, Langford in June 1906 would begin a run of almost five and a half years and almost sixty bouts without an official defeat, stopping contender Jim Flynn twice, drawing and outpointing Jeanette, and knocking out former Light Heavyweight champion Jack O’Brien…with a 20-round draw with Sam McVea in April 1911, the two met for the second time in December with McVea winning over the same distance on points…they would square off four more times in 1912, Langford winning two on points and two by knockout, Langford also stopping Jim Barry and Porky Flynn in the same year…wouldn’t take an official loss again until November 1913, that a controversial decision to Gunboat Smith but bounced right back a month later with a 20 round win over Jeanette…began a historic 18-fight rivalry with Harry Wills in a ten round points defeat in May 1914 but by year’s end would stop Smith (in three) and Wills (in 14) to exact revenge…slowed down in 1915 with official decision losses to McVea and Jeanette and a news loss to Wills before opening the following year strong with a split against Wills, losing on points and scoring a 19th round knockout…knocked out Jeanette, Jeff Clark (another multi-fight rival), and former title challenger Jim Johnson later in the year and in 1917 added knockouts of future contender Bill Tate and Kid Norfolk…two straight knockout losses to Wills followed Norfolk and Langford began a slide, in part due to increasing eye problems that rendered Langford almost blind in the later years of his career…still, aged 39, managed a second-round knockout of future Middleweight king Tiger Flowers in 1922…Langford was never given a title shot by Johnson, his successor Jess Willard, and some legends have it that, even past his best, he was considered too risky for Jack Dempsey early in his reign…Langford was an inaugural member of the IBHOF and one of a handful of fighters with legitimate arguments as the greatest fighter of all time.

15) Ezzard Charles (1940-59): Previously rated the 13th best Middleweight and top Light Heavyweight all-time, “The Cincinnati Cobra” finally struck Gold at Heavyweight, never topping 200 lbs. until the last days of his pro tenure…career mark of 89-25-1, 51 KO…World Champion 1949-51, 8 Defenses…Charles rose to the vacant NBA Heavyweight crown in 1949 in the wake of Joe Louis’s retirement, at the height of his most dominant period as a professional…returning full-time in February 1946 through to July 1951, Charles would lose only a single split decision in some 40 fights across two divisions…followed the first Walcott win with a defense stoppage of former Light Heavy king Gus Lesnevich…earned universal title recognition in his fourth defense in September 1950, soundly outboxing a Louis who had never lost his title in the ring…added another points nod over Walcott and bested Light Heavyweight champion Joey Maxim in March and May 1951…in a shocking upset, was stopped with a single shot by Walcott in July in round seven…added a knockout win of contender Rex Layne and a points nod over Joey Maxim and probably deserved the nod in the fourth and final bout with Walcott in June 1952…Charles was hot and cold from there, already into his 30s and with over 80 fights to his credit…lost immediately after Walcott IV to Layne on points but then won nine straight, including a final win over rival Jimmy Bivins and a points nod against Layne…dropped two straight decisions to contender Nino Valdes and Light Heavyweight great Harold Johnson but earned a crack at Rocky Marciano with consecutive knockouts of Coley Wallace and Bob Satterfield…gave Marciano hell in losing a June 1954 decision and had him on the verge of a cut stoppage, splitting Marciano’s nose wide open, before succumbing to an eighth-round knockout three months later…it was a last hurrah near the top, Charles winning only ten of his last 23…underrated in his time, Charles’s Heavyweight reign was fairly impressive and, with a little luck on the cards he could have been champion twice…Charles was an inaugural member of the IBHOF in 1990.
 
14) Sonny Liston (1953-70): With nightmarish reach, a pulverizing jab, and killing power, St. Louis’s Liston redefined the idea of a Heavyweight monster in his time…career mark of 59-4, 39 KO…World Champion 1962-64, 1 Defense…Liston, forced to wait years for a shot at the crown, was the best Heavyweight in the world as early as four years before he got his opportunity…an eight-round split verdict against him against Marty Marshall, in his eighth fight, was the only loss in Liston’s first 36 bouts…avenged the Marshall loss twice, by knockout and decision, and added a pair of decisions over sturdy test Bert Whitehurst before beginning an explosive 1959 campaign…going 4-0 with four knockouts, Liston went through the equally avoided, power punching Cleveland Williams in three and longtime stalwart Nino Valdes in the same…dusted Williams in only two rounds of their 1960 rematch and blew out contender Zora Folley in three before Eddie Machen stopped a nine-fight knockout streak by losing a ten round decision…Liston would fight only twice between September 1960 and September 1962 while stalking a chance at Patterson…needed just over two minutes to make good on it, blasting out Patterson in the first to take the crown…needed four extra seconds to do it again in their rematch one year later…a heavy favorite, Liston was embarrassed by an upstart Cassius Clay in February 1964, claiming a shoulder injury and surrendering on his stool after six rounds…the rematch fifteen months later against a then-named Muhammad Ali remains shrouded in controversy, questions lingering about whether Liston simply laid down after a quick right hand dropped him and ultimately led to a stoppage…not quite done, Liston won his next 14, 13 inside the distance, against mediocre opposition before being stopped by Leotis Martin in December 1969…he would fight once more, stopping future title challenger Chuck Wepner on cuts in ten before dying on mysterious circumstances later in the year…Liston beat Patterson, Williams, and Folley with an ease no one else accomplished in those men’s prime’s but his capitulations against Ali leave doubts…Liston was elected to the IBHOF in 1991.

13) Mike Tyson (1985-2005): Brooklyn’s “Iron” Mike was a mammoth star whose physical talent almost lived up to the hopes he inspired.  Fast of hand and foot, Tyson was an offensive machine whose early run through the ranks rivaled the rise of Joe Louis…career mark of 50-6, 44 KO, 2 No Contests…Lineal World Champion 1988-90, 2 Defenses…WBC titlist (1986-87, 1 Defense); WBC/WBA (1987, 2 Defenses); WBC/WBA/IBF (1987-90, 6 Defenses); WBC Heavyweight (1996); WBA Heavyweight (1996)….was the youngest titlist, and second youngest lineal champion, of all time…a title challenger less than two years into his career, Tyson knocked out Trevor Berbick in two to win the WBC belt in November 1986…would add the WBA belt of “Bonecrusher” Smith in March and the IBF belt of Tony Tucker in August of 1987 to unify all the major titles…made clear his undisputed claim in June 1988 with a 91 second destruction of lineal champion Michael Spinks…ultimately made nine defenses of the WBC belt and, starting with Berbick, beat a string of nothing but former titlists and top ten contenders including knockouts of Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tubbs, and former champion Larry Holmes…managerial issues and a training switch preceded a tougher than expected defense against Frank Bruno in 1989 and a shocking upset loss to James “Buster” Douglas in February 1990, derailing a planned defense against Evander Holyfield…bounced back with four straight wins, stopping contender Alex Stewart before stopping and decisioning big puncher Razor Ruddock in 1991…pulled out of a shot at then-champion Holyfield in late 1991 with a rape indictment hanging over his head and, following a conviction for the crime in 1992, would not fight again until 1995…returned to find a division which, through careful political manipulation and some timely upsets, featured a haggard trio of titlists in Bruce Seldon, Frank Bruno and Frans Botha before the year was out…defeated Bruno in three for the WBC belt in March 1996, was stripped because a mandatory with Lennox Lewis couldn’t be made, and then won the WBA belt from Seldon in August…was dominated and stopped in eleven by a surprising Holyfield in November 1996…disqualified in round three of the rematch the following June for biting Holyfield on each ear…out of the ring for a year and a half due to a subsequent suspension, Tyson saved himself from a looming defeat with a mammoth right hand to stop Botha in January 1999…returned to jail for a short period of time and was back in the ring by the end of the year…forced Andrew Golota to quit in October 2000 but had the win voided when he tested positive for marijuana…inactivity saw Tyson grow to record weights, slimming down just a bit for a shot at Lewis in June 2002…never really in the fight, Tyson would be stopped in eight…Tyson would win only once more, stopped in each of his last two fights and retiring in 2005…Tyson’s prime was short, and he lacked the longevity and consistency of the men in front of him, but it’s hard to argue that the best of the fighter the world saw from late 1986 to the summer of 1988 couldn’t have been hell for almost anyone.  While the field he ran through wasn’t great, he beat most of them like they were less than good…Liston and Tyson are so similar in many respects as to make them almost interchangeable.  Tyson’s stronger performance as champion wins the coin flip today…Tyson is eligible for the IBHOF later this year.

12) Harry Wills (1911-32): The New Orleans “Black Panther” was a big man for his time, standing 6’4 and weighing between 210 and 220 pounds at his peak…the leading contender to Jack Dempsey for years, Wills’s skin color was a primary driver in keeping the two of them apart…career mark of 65-8-2, 47 KO, 25 No Decisions, 3 No Contests…turned professional at age 21, losing his sixth fight by knockout to George Cotton in February 1912…wasted no time being matched tough, battling on even terms with Joe Jeanette over twenty by 1913 and avenging the Cotton loss twice over by knockout by 1914…in May 1914, won a ten round points nod over Sam Langford to begin their amazing 18 fight rivalry…lost their first rematch by 14th round stop in November and followed with a points loss to Sam McVea less than a month later…avenged the McVea loss on points in September 1915 and in December began a run of five battles over his next six fights with Langford, receiving three news verdicts, losing on a 19th round knockout, and winning twenty round decision…following a second round knockout loss to former title challenger Jim Johnson in February 1917, Wills would embark on an almost ten year run where his only official defeat in over fifty bouts would come in a first round disqualification…over the course of the run, Wills would pick up five more official wins over Langford (two by stoppage) in their last ten contests without ever looking the loser along with multiple wins and knockouts of Bill Tate, Jeff Clark and stops of McVea and Hall of Fame Light Heavyweight Kid Norfolk…easily outboxed crude former title challenger Luis Firpo for a news verdict in 1924 but was inching towards the end…Wills, aged 37, was soundly outboxed by rising Jack Sharkey and fouled out in 13 in 1926, the first of three straight losses before a four fight knockout streak of lesser foes closed his time in the game…Could Dempsey have gotten to the vulnerable chin?  Could Wills jab have kept Dempsey at bay?  Wills vs. Dempsey stands now and always as one of boxing’s great what if’s…Wills was elected to the IBHOF in 1922.

11) Jim Jeffries (1896-1910): The Ohio-born San Francisco “Boilermaker” almost beat Rocky Marciano to the distinction of retiring and staying undefeated but the lure of the ring, the dollar, and wicked social pressures proved too much...career mark of 18-1-2, 15 KO…World Champion 1899-1904, 7 Defenses…large for his time, Jeffries stood nearly 6’3 and weighed between 210 and 220 in his prime…while he didn’t have a great number of official fights, Jeffries fought in an era when great coin could be made on the exhibition circuit and wasted little time working into the world class…possessed incredible stamina, drawing over 20 rounds in his fifth and sixth contests, the latter against the vastly more experienced future Hall of Famer Joe Choynski…added three straight wins by knockout, notably becoming the first man to stop the great (if aged) Peter Jackson in almost fifteen years in March 1898…won his first classic contest with Hall of Fame rival Tom Sharkey on points over 20 rounds in May 1898...June 1899 in Coney Island saw a showdown with former Middleweight and reigning Heavyweight champion Bob Fitzsimmons…Jeffries stopped “Ruby Robert” in eleven and would hold the title for the next five years…five months after Fitzsimmons, again bested Sharkey on points over 25 rounds…added another impressive scalp in May 1900, outlasting the slick Jim Corbett and stopping him in the 23rd…Fitzsimmons and Corbett would get rematches in 1902 and 03 respectively; both went home earlier than they had the first time, the former in eight and the latter in eleven…Jeffries would retire in 1904 after a last defense but, caught up in the hubbub of the “Great White Hope” craze, agreed to return to face then-reigning king Jack Johnson, one month shy of six years out of the ring…Jeffries was battered and toyed with, Johnson finally finishing him in round fifteen…Jeffries is recalled most often for the Johnson loss but was a much better fighter than indicated by the defeat or the emotional stains left on the game by insidious “Great White Hope” garbage.  He was the first dominant Heavyweight Champion of the post-Sullivan gloved era and still stands as one of the most dominant champions of all-time…Jeffries was an inaugural member of the IBHOF in 1990.

To Be Continued with the Top Ten

Previous Installments of “The Eight”:

Semantics

The results here are compiled in two parts which tweaks the format used for the review of the nine Jr. Divisions conducted earlier this year.

First, a points-based comparison assigns points in part based on:
• Number of fellow champions faced (total) then divided into a competition score to flatten the field due to the fluctuation in titles recognized.
• Lineal World Titles
• Sanctioning Body Titles
• Title Defenses
• 2 Points per KO; -2 per KOBY; 1 per UD against fellow titlists
• Quality Wins (Points Assigned based on opponent accomplishments; i.e. lineal champions can count for 1, a single sanctioning body champion based on their sanctioning body total, discretionary points for established champions from other weight classes)
• Quality Losses (Losses to champion opponents -1 point; selective non-title losses)
• Draws (.5 points)

From this, a baseline is established and the top fifty fighters are identified.  Further analysis focuses on the context of wins and losses, the relative dominance displayed in a fighter’s prime, and the strength of one’s era versus the competition faced, to get to a final top twenty-five.

Note: The websites of the IBHOF, Cyber Boxing Zone, International Boxing Research Organization, and BoxRec.com were all heavily consulted in compiling this effort.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com