Enclosed are my top 15 ranked heavyweights by 20-year intervals. The criteria for the ranking as follows.
1 ) Head to head vs. the field, which is strictly my personal opinion. 40%
2 ) Resume of wins and losses, excluding losses that happened when a fighter was passed their prime. 30%
3 ) The distinction of the fighter as champion by beating top contenders in title matches if applicable. 20%
4 ) Historians input, which matters most to fighters, not on film. 10%
I will try to list each fighter only once, placing him closest to his prime years. I am also open to shifting the ratings a bit, as this is the 1st draft. So constructive feedback with explanations is most welcome.
1885-1905 Pioneer era: The transitional time between bare knuckles and London Prize-ring rules to Queensberry rules.
1.Jeffries
2.Fitzsimmons
3A. Jackson - No film in the ring, only walking around.
3B. Corbett
5. Sullivan - Mock sparring and hitting a bag only
6. Sharkey
7. Slavin - No film
8. Ruhlin
9. Goddard - No film
10. Griffin - No film
11. Maher - Was filmed, never saw him
12. Choynski - filmed in sparring only
13. Hart - No film on
14. McCoy - Was filmed in the ring, spars with Corbett
15. O’Brien
1906-1925 Black and white filmed era:
1. Dempsey
2. Tunney
3. J Johnson
4. Langford
5. Wills
6. Jeanette
7. McVey
8. Willard
9. Greb - Training clips only
10. Gibbons
11. Burns
12. Miske - No film on, I think
13. Godfrey
14. Norfolk
15. Smith
1926-1945 Great Depression to World War II: An era where war and the great depression in the USA hurt boxing. I have trouble with the bottom of this list, as the depth is rather thin.
1. Louis
2. Charles
3. Schmeling
4. M Baer
5. Carnera
6. Godfrey
7. J Sharkey
8. Bivins
9. Schaff
10. Conn
11. *****
12. Pastor
13. Farr
14. Loughran
15. Galento
1946-1965 Golden age era:
1. Liston
2. Marciano
3. Patterson
4. Walcott
5. Charles
6. Johansson
7. Moore
8. Ray - No film on, only a radio broadcast
9. Terrell
10. Machen
11. Folley
12. Williams
13. H. Johnson
14. Valdes
15. D Jones
1966-1985: TV expansion to Cable and PPV: This era is loaded with talent, great fights an some memorable upsets.
1. Ali
2. Holmes
3. Foreman
4. Frazier
5. Norton
6. Witherspoon
7. Thomas
8. Quarry
9. Page
10. Coetzee
11. Shavers
12. Lyle
13. Cooney
14. Young
15. Weaver
1986-2003: 12 round era and super heavyweight era. This era had tremendous depth and a lot of talent.
1. Lewis
2. Holyfield
3. Tyson
4. Bowe
5. Ibeabuchi
6.Byrd
7. Moorer
8. Mercer
9. Douglas
10. Tua
11. Morrison
12. Bruno
13. Rhaman
14. Ruiz
15. McCall
2004-2024 – Eastern European dominance era. While this era has 4 years left, there has been a shift. Once the iron curtain in Eastern Europe fell both the amateur and professional ranks have been dominated by Eastern Europeans. Only 4 Americans made the top 15.. Since many of the below fighters career’s are over, and future talent in the amateurs will arrive, this list will likely look very different come 2026. It is possible young pros such as Hrgovic or an older pro such as Usyk will rate in the next 4 years. Hopefully, we will all be here to debate it!
1A. V Klitschko
1B. W Kltischko
3. Povetkin
4. Joshua* Still active
5. Fury* Still active
6. Chagaev
7. Sanders
8. Ibragimov
9. Wilder * Still active
10. Haye
11. Adamek
12. Chambers
13. Brewster
14. Peter
15. Valuev
1 ) Head to head vs. the field, which is strictly my personal opinion. 40%
2 ) Resume of wins and losses, excluding losses that happened when a fighter was passed their prime. 30%
3 ) The distinction of the fighter as champion by beating top contenders in title matches if applicable. 20%
4 ) Historians input, which matters most to fighters, not on film. 10%
I will try to list each fighter only once, placing him closest to his prime years. I am also open to shifting the ratings a bit, as this is the 1st draft. So constructive feedback with explanations is most welcome.
1885-1905 Pioneer era: The transitional time between bare knuckles and London Prize-ring rules to Queensberry rules.
1.Jeffries
2.Fitzsimmons
3A. Jackson - No film in the ring, only walking around.
3B. Corbett
5. Sullivan - Mock sparring and hitting a bag only
6. Sharkey
7. Slavin - No film
8. Ruhlin
9. Goddard - No film
10. Griffin - No film
11. Maher - Was filmed, never saw him
12. Choynski - filmed in sparring only
13. Hart - No film on
14. McCoy - Was filmed in the ring, spars with Corbett
15. O’Brien
1906-1925 Black and white filmed era:
1. Dempsey
2. Tunney
3. J Johnson
4. Langford
5. Wills
6. Jeanette
7. McVey
8. Willard
9. Greb - Training clips only
10. Gibbons
11. Burns
12. Miske - No film on, I think
13. Godfrey
14. Norfolk
15. Smith
1926-1945 Great Depression to World War II: An era where war and the great depression in the USA hurt boxing. I have trouble with the bottom of this list, as the depth is rather thin.
1. Louis
2. Charles
3. Schmeling
4. M Baer
5. Carnera
6. Godfrey
7. J Sharkey
8. Bivins
9. Schaff
10. Conn
11. *****
12. Pastor
13. Farr
14. Loughran
15. Galento
1946-1965 Golden age era:
1. Liston
2. Marciano
3. Patterson
4. Walcott
5. Charles
6. Johansson
7. Moore
8. Ray - No film on, only a radio broadcast
9. Terrell
10. Machen
11. Folley
12. Williams
13. H. Johnson
14. Valdes
15. D Jones
1966-1985: TV expansion to Cable and PPV: This era is loaded with talent, great fights an some memorable upsets.
1. Ali
2. Holmes
3. Foreman
4. Frazier
5. Norton
6. Witherspoon
7. Thomas
8. Quarry
9. Page
10. Coetzee
11. Shavers
12. Lyle
13. Cooney
14. Young
15. Weaver
1986-2003: 12 round era and super heavyweight era. This era had tremendous depth and a lot of talent.
1. Lewis
2. Holyfield
3. Tyson
4. Bowe
5. Ibeabuchi
6.Byrd
7. Moorer
8. Mercer
9. Douglas
10. Tua
11. Morrison
12. Bruno
13. Rhaman
14. Ruiz
15. McCall
2004-2024 – Eastern European dominance era. While this era has 4 years left, there has been a shift. Once the iron curtain in Eastern Europe fell both the amateur and professional ranks have been dominated by Eastern Europeans. Only 4 Americans made the top 15.. Since many of the below fighters career’s are over, and future talent in the amateurs will arrive, this list will likely look very different come 2026. It is possible young pros such as Hrgovic or an older pro such as Usyk will rate in the next 4 years. Hopefully, we will all be here to debate it!
1A. V Klitschko
1B. W Kltischko
3. Povetkin
4. Joshua* Still active
5. Fury* Still active
6. Chagaev
7. Sanders
8. Ibragimov
9. Wilder * Still active
10. Haye
11. Adamek
12. Chambers
13. Brewster
14. Peter
15. Valuev
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