Rank the Best to Worst Heavyweight Era During the past Half Century.

[QueensburyRules]

Queenie is the archetypal bitter imbecile, incapable of anything creative himself so spends his time crapping on people who are with his gibberish. He belongs on everyone's ignore list.

- - Too late!!!

U being conceived on the ignorant list was engraved in stone at U miserable birth...yeah!!!

[JAB5239]

- - Tubby Lar who used to be skinny then didn't make the Ring top ten until Foreman Retired ca 1977. All the emboldened were stock top Ring ranked fighters leading up to 1977.

Learning the timeline would greatly enhance your credibility...

1. 1970 - 1979
1. Muhammad Ali
2. George Foreman
3. Joe Frazier
4.
5. Ken Norton
6. Jerry Quarry
7. Ron Lyle
8. Earnie Shavers
9. Jimmy Ellis
10. Jimmy Young
Last place Larry Holmes

Actually Holmes was ranked in the Top 10 by May of 1976 after his win over Roy Williams and 3 years after turning pro. If you're going try and besmirch the geeat Larry Holmes at least learn to read a timeline.

[GhostofDempsey]

I rank them as follows:

A
C
D
B
E
F

[IronDanHamza]

I think that the 00’s is far and beyond the worst era.

The best is the 70’s.

[QueensburyRules]

Actually Holmes was ranked in the Top 10 by May of 1976 after his win over Roy Williams and 3 years after turning pro. If you're going try and besmirch the geeat Larry Holmes at least learn to read a timeline.

- - Actually I provided the time line along with the observation that he was first ranked late in the 70s decade, but U having an inferiority complex after being outsmarted by U pigs can never understand...

[JAB5239]

- - Actually I provided the time line along with the observation that he was first ranked late in the 70s decade, but U having an inferiority complex after being outsmarted by U pigs can never understand...

Holmes was ranked in 1976, 3 years after turning pro you moron. That's mid 70's. We're you cuckold by Holmes?

[Left Hook Louie]

Purely Subjective of course, as most discussions here are. I'm posting a study guide to aid in visually examining the best names operating within each 10 year block, dating back 55 years.

People will note the esteem of each top 10, and get a feel for the depth available to those elite men listed.

Quips relating to my personal ranking may be irresistible, but are not the point. Still, if you Can't resist those, be sure to post your reasoning.

Cruiserweights who did limited work beyond 200 lbs. fall back into their own category after the 1980s.

All in fun.

Actually, perusing your lists WAS fun.
I found myself repeating the phrase, "Oh yeah, that guy!"

[mattdonnellon]

Looking at your 70's ranking, I feel Young is too low, compared to say, Ellis who accomplished very little in the decade, the only decent win is the Chuvalo one and a faded Chuvalo at that. Larry Middleton beat Bugner, Roy Williams, drew with Ellis, lost a close decision to a peak Quarry and beat a number of other top 50 fighters so I feel about 10 places too low. Bonne Kirkman too high too. No great wins bar a close, home town win over Ellis. Cooper definitely too high also, win over Urtain and a close fight with a green Bugner that Middleton would soon defeat decisively...but don't get me wrong I admire the effort and enjoy the lists and appreciate the thought put into compiling them.

[Willow The Wisp]

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Many folks have expressed the ideas that they rank heavyweight decades themselves (there are many threads started with this premise), withot providing much in the way of reasoning; or that "This decade sucks" (a pejorative said during every decade there has ever been, by armchair neophytes). What I've fashioned here is a learning tool, to use before such aforementioned conclusions should be considered. Ideally, an aficionado would research any professional that they are not fully familiar with; before any clumsy proclamations are made.
Both the decade leaders and divisional depth are made apparent here.

I avoid using the term "Bum" or anysuch regarding those boxers who are being listed low on these lists.
Be assured that even though they fell far short of becoming world ranked and noteworthy, that they were far more skilled and able than some random weightlifter, street fighter or athlete right off the street; every one of them.

For a perspective; the 718 boxers listed here who campaigned during the past 55 years, in 5.5 decades, represent the creme of the crop, and the top 5.02% of the professional heavyweight busiers who were active between 1970 and 2025.

An example antidote regarding what that means can help to illustrate this exceptionalism:

My number 100 select for the 1970s is one Horst "Him" Geisler, a big fellow out of Toronto, Canada.
Although nothing special in professional boxing, a glimpse of what he was is seen by examining his fighting prowess outside the sport.

Long before the UFC, RINGS, or any modern MMA, Mixed Style bragging rights, back in the 1960s and 70s, were being pioneered in mixed matches featuring boxers and martial artists were becoming fashionable; and sometimes featured world class pugs like Maurice "Termite" Watkins, Edgar "Mad Dog" Ross, and Mike Quarry, the younger brother of Jerry.
One watershed moment featured big Horst Geisler being put up against the reigning world champion of Full Contact Karate; Everett "Monster Man" Eddy, who at the time had quite a fearsome reputation, being featured on the cover of all the Martial Arts magazines, and was thought to be the most dangerous Karate fighter in the world.
The practitioners of the stand up arts had performed abysmally when matched with Western Boxers, and the Martial Arts community was hopeful for their first big win.

Everett "Monster Man" Eddy.
In 1971, during the First Midwest Tang Soo Do Championships, Eddy Everett beat Neil Ehrlich for the Grand Champion title. Previously, Eddy had beaten James LaRocco, for the heavyweight national championship of Karate point fighting.
In 1973, at the USKA Grand Nationals, Eddy won against top fighter Shelton Parker.
Next, he beat John Natividad in the preliminaries for the Four Seasons Nationals, before losing against Ki***ski, for "excessive contact".
“I wanted,” Eddy commented, “to bring my family something more than a trophy for my wife to hang dish towels on. I had enough trophies. They weren’t putting bread on the table.” He was often disqualified for making “excessive contact” in matches where he clearly overpowered and outfought his opponents.
But just as he had foreseen, full contact professional sport karate started taking hold. At the Battle of Atlanta, Eddy defeated Larry Reinhardt. Then, at the First Annual Open Championships of Tae Kwon Do, Eddy won against Parker Shelton.
“In full contact, they want you to knock your opponent’s face off. If that’s what they want, that’s what they’ll get.” The first face he wanted to get a chance to knock off was the "pretty face" of Joe Lewis, the “Golden Boy” from California. Lewis had won the world heavyweight title in Los Angeles in 1974, and was THE Karate superstar.
But insiders stated that "Monster Man" has "got a lot of techniques, he’s flexible, and he’s fast for a man his size". In 74', Eddy defeated Dave Ruppert, Ed Daniel, Flem Evans and Parker Shelton. In July 1974, during the Top Ten Nationals Professional Karate, Everett Eddy finally beats Joe Lewis by 6-4. This was followed by beating Sammy Pace by a heavy KO in the 2nd round, with a series of kicks and punches as Everett stakes his claim as number one Karate fighter by defeating Dana Goodson. Remember that this all occurred years before Dutchmen Jon Bluming and Jan Plas brought Japanese style kickboxing to Europe; making Eddy, arguably the best stand up Martial Artist in the world for a time.
At the height of the classical martial arts boom in North America, Eddy was driven to show that Western Boxers were not the only professional grade fighters in real, regulated fights.
To this end, on June 21,1975, Everett Eddy took on and beat Duke Sabedong, a 45 year old Hawaiian boxer with a record of 17 wins (12 by ko), 16 losses, (4 ko) and 2 draws. But Sabedong's career had ended way back in 1964. In 1961, he'd lost against the very young Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay), and by now operated a successful tour company in his native island.
However, Karate's success against hands only professionals didn't last long.

The next big Boxing vs. Karate experiment occurred on June 8, 1975, at the World of Fighting Arts Spectacular in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, featuring Monster Man Everett Eddy against local heavyweight Horst "Him" Geisler, where, in spite of high hopes on the part of the Karate universe, Eddy loses by brutal knockout against Geisler, 7-2-0 (7), during the mixed arts fight.
Geisler is 6' 6'' (196 cm), weighs 258 lbs (117 kg), and his final record will be 12 wins for 6 losses, including one by first round KO against Trevor Berbick in 1978.

The point here, of course, is that none of the number 100s; ranked here even that low, are actually "Bums".
They all have a story that sets them apart from regular tough guys.

Hope you enjoyed.

[Willow The Wisp]

Looking at your 70's ranking, I feel Young is too low, compared to say, Ellis who accomplished very little in the decade, the only decent win is the Chuvalo one and a faded Chuvalo at that. Larry Middleton beat Bugner, Roy Williams, drew with Ellis, lost a close decision to a peak Quarry and beat a number of other top 50 fighters so I feel about 10 places too low. Bonne Kirkman too high too. No great wins bar a close, home town win over Ellis. Cooper definitely too high also, win over Urtain and a close fight with a green Bugner that Middleton would soon defeat decisively...but don't get me wrong I admire the effort and enjoy the lists and appreciate the thought put into compiling them.

Thanks. These are all valid points.