Top 12 heavywights h2h all-time

[Simurgh]

Good list.

I have Ali at no 1. Maybe it's nostalgia as well but I believe that Ali in his prime beats anyone. He really is the special one and GOAT.

From 2 to 4 I would need to put big guys. So there it would go Lennox, Wlad, Foreman and Vitali. They would have a great chance against any fighter from any area.

Joe Louis is the greatest or second greatest HW taking into account all his accomplishments. H2H I have him slightly lower but he would be a very tough opponent for anyone.

I don't rank Holmes highly as many do but I still think he would be able to hold his own against many, though I rank him lower than Lennox, Wlad and Foreman.

Tyson is definitely the second most special fighter in my book. In his very prime he would have a great chance of beating anyone including the big guys. Although he was way past his prime against Lennox in the first few rounds he showed he can cause a lot of problems even to much bigger fighters. The way he got Holmes out was impressive.

Holyfield, Frazier and Liston would have a lot of success but I see them loosing most of the fights against the above fighters. Of course it is possible that some of them would be just wrong for some fighter listed above (Holyfiled just had Tyson's number).

That's pretty much it. It's not exactly numeric but this gives some indication how I see it H2H.

I don't rank Bowe highly - not in Top10.

[LacedUp]

I like this list, but would make a few changes.

Swap around Wlad and Vitali, swap Frazier and Tyson and Liston shouldn't be as high imo.
I respect the fact that he was a strong guy, but H2H he would have been put to sleep by any of the modern great super heavies.

His reach wasn't the best and his movement was static. Also, his best wins were over Floyd Patterson and I don't think those wins are good enough to position him higher than the Klitschkos. But that's just my opinion. I was never a big fan of Liston.

I really do think he was a poor mans Mike Tyson.

[JAB5239]

I like this list, but would make a few changes.

Swap around Wlad and Vitali, swap Frazier and Tyson and Liston shouldn't be as high imo.
I respect the fact that he was a strong guy, but H2H he would have been put to sleep by any of the modern great super heavies.

His reach wasn't the best and his movement was static. Also, his best wins were over Floyd Patterson and I don't think those wins are good enough to position him higher than the Klitschkos. But that's just my opinion. I was never a big fan of Liston.

I really do think he was a poor mans Mike Tyson.

His reach was amongst the best in history my friend. 82 inches if I remember correctly.

[JAB5239]

Good list.

I have Ali at no 1. Maybe it's nostalgia as well but I believe that Ali in his prime beats anyone. He really is the special one and GOAT.

From 2 to 4 I would need to put big guys. So there it would go Lennox, Wlad, Foreman and Vitali. They would have a great chance against any fighter from any area.

Joe Louis is the greatest or second greatest HW taking into account all his accomplishments. H2H I have him slightly lower but he would be a very tough opponent for anyone.

I don't rank Holmes highly as many do but I still think he would be able to hold his own against many, though I rank him lower than Lennox, Wlad and Foreman.

Tyson is definitely the second most special fighter in my book. In his very prime he would have a great chance of beating anyone including the big guys. Although he was way past his prime against Lennox in the first few rounds he showed he can cause a lot of problems even to much bigger fighters. The way he got Holmes out was impressive.

Holyfield, Frazier and Liston would have a lot of success but I see them loosing most of the fights against the above fighters. Of course it is possible that some of them would be just wrong for some fighter listed above (Holyfiled just had Tyson's number).

That's pretty much it. It's not exactly numeric but this gives some indication how I see it H2H.

I don't rank Bowe highly - not in Top10.

Thanks for posting your own list. Where would you rank Bowe? H2h he is definitely top 15 for me, maybe higher if I put more thought into it.

[Weltschmerz]

There are very few who'd beat prime Tyson, but I think prime Vitali could do it.

[JAB5239]

There are very few who'd beat prime Tyson, but I think prime Vitali could do it.

But of course you do.

[Hitman932]

I love Joe Louis and rank him as one of the greatest, if not the greatest HW of all time. That is based off his success during his era.

If we're talking about fantasy matchups though I can't imagine him beating the modern giants like Lewis or the Klitschkos.

People also seem to rank Wlad higher than Vitali on these kind of lists because of his career accomplishment but if we're looking purely at 1 on 1 i think Vitali would fair better against most of the ATG because of his ability to absorb punishment.

[KidDinamita]

Here is my top 12 list of Heavyweights (obviously not everyone will like the list)

1. Joe Louis - Very smart, technical fighter and had speed. Fought the best of that era and only had 3 loses of 69 fights.

2. Muhammad Ali - I don't rank him #1, he always said he was the greatest and I think he brainwashed a lot of people that he is #1. He also fought the best of that era. 5 loses of 61 fights.

3. Larry Holmes - A guy with a great jab, fought past prime Ali but he also fought a lot of undefeated fighters. Great knockout ratio and was a very fast fighter. 6 loses of 75 fights.

4. Gene Tunney - From what I read no one mentioned this guy. Almost undefeated, only 1 defeat that revenged it 5 times. Although he was not always a heavyweight I still rank him high and that he could beat a lot of the greats. 1 Lose of 86 fights with 4 draws.

5. Jack Dempsey - Had a great knockout ratio, fought a lot of greats and was a very smart fighter then people think. 10 loses of 83 fights.

6. Joe Frazier - Excellent defense, speed, power and one of the best left hooks in boxing. He had endless stamina (in my opinion), beat Muhammad Ali and also IMO beat him 2 times. Won an olympic gold medal (all by knockout) 4 loses of 37 fights.

7. Sonny Liston - Also a great powerful guy with a very very long reach. He was a bit of a mystery but still will rank him in the top 10. 4 loses of 54 fights.

8. George Foreman - Powerful fighter, retired and came back to win the title he lost to Ali. Was the oldest to win a World Championship belt. 5 loses out of 81 fights.

9. Mike Tyson - Was unbeatable in his prime when he used to train with Kevin Rooney. Fought great opposition and is the youngest heavyweight champion of the World (previously by Floyd Patterson). Had great defense and possessed tremendous speed. 6 loses of 58 fights.

10. Lennox Lewis - Great fighter, very long reach and revenged both loses and draw. Fought a past prime Mike Tyson but also fought great opposition. 2 loses of 44 fights with 1 draw.

11. Wladimir Klitschko - Powerful fighter (only 9 went the distance of 59 wins), fights frequently although he is 37 years of age. Uses his jab a lot and is one of the longest reigning heavyweight champion of the World. Most people say he is a boring fighter, but IMO it is his style that suits him well.

12. Jack Johnson - Don't know a lot about this fighter and not a big fan of him. He was the first coloured heavyweight champion of the World and was a very controversial character. He great power, stamina and fought a lots of rounds compared with today's rules. (should be ranked higher but I am not educated a lot about Johnson).

[LacedUp]

His reach was amongst the best in history my friend. 82 inches if I remember correctly.

84 if I remember correctly. He had long arms, but he was too slow to use it. Because of his slow movement and stalking style, he used his hammer right hand as his main weapon. I've read about who got their teeth knocked out by his jab, but I haven't seen it myself. Most of the footage I find on Liston is post Patterson and I don't think that version warrants a place in top 10 H2H.

[Weltschmerz]

I love Joe Louis and rank him as one of the greatest, if not the greatest HW of all time. That is based off his success during his era.

If we're talking about fantasy matchups though I can't imagine him beating the modern giants like Lewis or the Klitschkos.

People also seem to rank Wlad higher than Vitali on these kind of lists because of his career accomplishment but if we're looking purely at 1 on 1 i think Vitali would fair better against most of the ATG because of his ability to absorb punishment.

I agree with this post.

In my mind, no HW in history beats Vitali, given Vitali is injury free.