Ali; no.1 with a bullet, no question.
After that, probably George.
He was so powerful and none of the other heavyweights could get away from him when he was young and quick.
Brilliant fighters and champions were utterly humiliated by George. Frazier, a true champion, just belted six ways from Sunday, look what he did to a great fighter like Norton.
Marciano would have been killed by a young Foreman.
Jack Johnson and Joe Louis and Sam Langford might have rode out the fight to the middle rounds but the sheer power of Foreman would have caught up with the old style fighters who lacked the modern movement and would have seen them suffer the same fate as so many others, KO'd by the monster.
Styles make fights.
I was a youth when I witness live telecast closed circut the Foreman- Norton match. Remember it as STANDING OUT...that Ken was freightened and performed accordingly.
Ken Norton was a very good contender! A champion yes. A "great champion"? Hardly. Though, what he was able to do there against Larry Holmes keeps him in good stead! I rate him 1St Ernie Shavers 2Nd Ron Lyle third in them three made a rating poll! : )
4-10 can be argued for any order those aren't set in stone.
I chose these fighters based upon quality of opposition, strengths/weaknesses, and skill set. The size and weight of each played little role in choosing them.
1. Dempsey (Single greatest performance in heavyweight title history. I think he is unbeatable on July 4th 1919)
2. Ali
3. Louis (dropped by Tony Galento who's ass Dempsey kicked in sparring in less than 2 rounds)
4. Tyson
5. Liston
6. Langford
7. Marciano
8. Foreman (although I have reservations because his stamina was **** after 3 rounds)
9. Charles
10. Frazier (tough mother****er who went toe to toe with Jerry Quarry and didn't so much as flinch)
''greatest'' ali - no question about it and no one comes close. greatest hw only applies to him. lewis - had a couple of lazy moments and paid dearly BUT exacted beautiful revenge. holy - undersized, flawed yet one tenacious sob. fought everyone. holmes - my favorite hw and was going to put him 2nd BUT his resume is the pits. foreman - a fncking beast. shame he came up when ali was around. wlad - as with lewis, wlad had a couple of wtf moments vs guys he should have destroyed. louis - as with holmes, his resume is the pits. theres no denying he was a beast. vitali - had it not been for wlad, vit would have been the hw king. rocky - flawed to the brim. good thing he didnt have it too tough resume wise. liston - mean bastard. thats all
my favorites holmes holy lewis foreman wlad tua morrison grant cooper hipp
least favorite/most hated ruiz - a hugging ****. valuev - who knew bums were so big ? snipes - what was there to like ? tyson - just a bullying street thug. the greatest ''if only''. gonzalez - that hair..... haye - that mouth..... del boy - a lesser version of haye bruno - what a wuss. cooney - i hate hype jobs. he was the definition of. ali - loved his attitude. not so much his style.
worst champs(soooooooooooo many) leon bonecrusher douglas berbick valuev brewster weaver page rahman seldon
hypothetical head to head/prime for prime holmes - would have beaten them all. including ali. ali - hard to beat someone you cant hit lewis - size, power, enough skill... foreman - (see lewis only slower) tua - wtf....this guy should have been at least an interim champ. wlad - if hes 100%, hes almost unbeatable. bowe - another victim of not being completely focused. the talent was there. ike - mental case. holy - a fncking warrior. tyson - with cus, he was a disciplined bum beating beast.
underrated spoon byrd bowe vit ruiz - i hate the **** but he did ''fight'' everyone.
(im not a hw fan and even less of one during the unlimited rds and no real rules era. too many fat schlubs)
Joe Louis-longest title reign by defenses (holds the record), utter domination of that division, only lost to three heavyweight greats.
Ali-self-titled "the greatest" and possibly could be, beating foreman possibly greatest highlight in boxing history, put in his place by Frazier at Madison Square Garden, losses to Spinks and Berbick, actually a very defensive fighter.
Marciano-undefeated, fought anyone. (if they were bigger, faster, more experienced, older, younger, it didn't matter)
Mike Tyson-youngest champion, most feared champion, impact on the boxing world.
Jack Johnson
George Foreman
Joe Frazier
Jack Dempsey
Larry Holmes
Evander Holyfield
Last edited by club fighter; 09-26-2016, 01:10 PM.
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