Which heavyweight champion had the best record in history and why?

[Imira]

I'm torn on this one. Ali fought and defeated many opponents that are collectively considered to be part of the finest era of heavyweights in history.

Foreman is the only heavyweight champion in history with a destructive KO of not just one but TWO hall of fame opponents of legendary caliber. Frazier and Norton.

Rocky Marciano is, of course, an automatic choice because of his undefeated record. And before anyone gets su****ious of his opponents, it bears noting that from 1950 to 1955 he most certainly defeated top ten competition.

Joe Louis and Larry Holmes and their number of title defenses get a nod as well.

[dmar]

marciano because he was undefeated champ and no-one else has done that yet and it will be a long time before it is repeated

yes not only was marciano the only undefeated heavyweight champ..it goes beyound that..hes the only champ in boxing history to go undefeated without a draw or loss..the only 1..49-0 43 kos is a great record..

[butterfly1964]

marciano's record looks the best, cause he never lost, but ali fought and beat by far the best competition. joe louis looks pretty good in the record department too. so does holmes.

[Brassangel]

Big guys could beat marciano - I think foreman, liston, Lewis and Ali all would've beaten the Rock. Gotta remember he was about 5'10", 185 and had a really short reach. These guys would just be too big for him. Of course, I consider the Rock a far greater champ than foreman, liston and Lewis based on dominance over his era and his heart. I never think it's good to judge fighters head to head from different eras based on the increased science in training and nutrition that allow boxers to reach new peaks in terms of conditioning, power and speed.

This quote is a very intelligent one. We have to consider avoiding the obvious, era-spanning cross pollination. Obviously, Ali, Holmes, Foreman, Tyson, or Lewis would have beaten Rocky Marciano. All of them had considerable weight advantages, conditioning, and diet plans that they just didn't concern themselves with in the 1950's. The difference in conditioning is what separates every era; even the golden 60's and 70's; from today. "Toughest competition...," this and "biggest wins..." that; we're just talking about records here.

With that aside, we have to look at who, technically, was the greatest heavyweight champion (via record). Forget crossing eras in this discussion and just get down to the obvious.

1. Rocky Marciano - regardless of what was going on during the 50's, he retired as the undefeated champion. This, by default, gives him the best record, and the only one of his kind. Does this make him the best boxer in history? No.

2. Joe Louis - defended 25 times over the course of 11 years. A reigning period that will not be matched for a long, long time.

3. Muhammad Ali - While the Norton trilogy was a case of people being paid off, it's safe to say that Ali could redeem himself of any loss. Nobody had style or ring generalship like "The Greatest." The championship never felt as though it was in the proper hands unless his was with Ali.

4. Larry Holmes - Vastly overlooked; probably the greatest longevity in the sport's history. Many people assumed, that because there weren't many huge names in his time he didn't fight stiff competition. Again, the conditioning was vastly different after the respective retirements of the kings of the 70's.

5. Joe Frazier - In all fairness, he defeated his biggest challenger in their first bout, when many felt that Joe Frazier was just a paper champ. He clipped the Butterfly's wings when he won a battle with Muhammad Ali. Were it not for George Foreman, or Ali fights 2 and 3, Joe may have reigned undefeated. Those were his only losses after all.

Honorable Mentions:

Sonny Liston - He dominated the boxing scene by simply destroying all comers. I almost put him at number 5, but Joe Frazier remained a truly quality fighter until the end. Were it not for the deep depression and connections to organized crime, he probably would have given Ali a better showing. However, as with the following fighters, a great champion keeps his focus on what's important to him.

Mike Tyson - He got to 37-0 as champ before the cataclysmic end to the most promising career in sports history took place in Japan. Again, eras aside, he was drawing more viewers and competition to the sport than anyone before him. A great champion, however, wouldn't have allowed Japan or the canning of Rooney to take place, which is why he's not on the top portion of this list.

Lennox Lewis - Regardless of who he fought or what rematches did or didn't take place, he retired with very few losses. However, a great champion would have taken on all comers, which is why he was left off of the top portion of the list.

There are others, but I'm weary of this post at the moment, so I'll wait a while.

[Two Fisted Piston]

marciano because he was undefeated champ and no-one else has done that yet and it will be a long time before it is repeated

What if Valuev retired tommorrow would that count?

[dangerousity]

Ali
Lewis
Louis
Holmes
George

[Da Iceman]

Ali
Lewis
Louis
Holmes
George

wheres marciano on your list?

[RAESAAD]

I respect Lennox Lewiss' record alot because he beat all the top guys of his time except Moorer and bowe because he never faced them and his only losses were avenged by tko/ko but there are many great HW champions so it is hard to say whose record is the best.

[Brassangel]

It is a difficult vote to make. Each fighter's resume is defined by a number of variable things. As far as who beat the most hall-of-famers, you'd probably have to go with Muhammad Ali. Then again, the fighters of the 60's and 70's struggled greatly with the journeymen and mid-range fighters of that era as well. Could have just been a lack of preparation while looking forward to a future epic trilogy with a bigger name.

If you consider knockouts, then guys like Rocky Marciano, George Foreman, and Mike Tyson hover near the top of the list for flattening so many of their opponents.

When in doubt, I guess you could just go by wins vs. losses.

[Da Iceman]

thats what i was goin by