1. Muhammad Ali
2. Joe Louis
3. Larry Holmes
4. Jack Johnson
5. Rocky Marciano
I'd also like to chime in on some of the mythical matchups that were previously dicussed.
Jack Dempsey vs. Rocky Marciano: I'd personally take Dempsey, although Marciano probably has the slightest of edges in one shot power, durability, and conditioning. Dempsey has the greater handspeed and much more expansive arsenal of punches. I think Dempsey would probably land two punches to every one of Marciano's punches. It doesn't look any better for rocky when you add in the fact that Marciano was somewhat of a slow starter and that Dempsey threw punches in bunches from the very first bell. I'd say Dempsey by late stoppage on cuts.
Ray Robinson vs. Muhammad Ali, p4p: Muhammad Ali excelled and was so magnificent in the ring because of his tremendous physical gifts. Like Roy Jones, his speed and reflexes were so tremendous, he didn't need to learn conventional techniques. He could back up with his hands down, lead with hooks, etc. However, when a physically gifted unconventional fighter meets a conventional fighter that is just as gifted, the textbook fighter will most likely win. The same applies with Robinson-Ali. Ray was just as gifted, quick, but more powerful. He'd make Ali pay for his technical mistakes. Robinson by dec.
1. Louis - Can't argue with greatness
2. Marciano - Undefeated, hate the argument that he never beat anyone good, wrong he beat 3 or 4 hall of famers
3. Ali - sometimes over hyped he was a great but not the greatest, anybody that should have been TKO'd by Henry Cooper when in his pomp is not the greatest boxer of all time, he would struggle to make my top 10 of all divisions
4. Liston - the guy was possible still fighting when he was 50+, he would have been higher if he had not got mixed up with the mob re Ali fight, i'm sorry it was a dive for the bookmakers.
5. Lewis - True champion, best technical heavey possibly ever, lost a couple of dodgy ones but came back to confound his critics and prove his ability
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