Top 5 defensive hw's of all time!

[butterfly1964]

Here's my list.

1. Joe Louis
2. Jack Johnson
3. Mike Tyson
4. Larry Holmes
5. Muhammad Ali

What's your list?

[RockyMarcianofan00]

Here's my list.

1. Joe Louis
2. Jack Johnson
3. Mike Tyson
4. Larry Holmes
5. Muhammad Ali

What's your list?

ok now your just being wierd
Muhammad Ali must have had bad defense
i didn't notice this until angelo dundee said it

he never blocked,parried, the only defense that he had was head movement and footwork, later in his career he rope-a-dope'd people but that was just bending in on the ropes and take punches which i'll say he did well against foreman

Defensive wise the only real thing he had was a good offense by keeping people away with speed and his reach and footwork

why isn't Dempsey or Marciano on that list too

Dempsey Role? Remember

My vote goes to good old joe louis

[butterfly1964]

ok now your just being wierd
Muhammad Ali must have had bad defense
i didn't notice this until angelo dundee said it

he never blocked,parried, the only defense that he had was head movement and footwork, later in his career he rope-a-dope'd people but that was just bending in on the ropes and take punches which i'll say he did well against foreman

Defensive wise the only real thing he had was a good offense by keeping people away with speed and his reach and footwork

why isn't Dempsey or Marciano on that list too

Dempsey Role? Remember

My vote goes to good old joe louis

ali knew how to avoid punches well and to command the ring. that's good enough for me.

[RockyMarcianofan00]

ali knew how to avoid punches well and to command the ring. that's good enough for me.

he knew how to move his head and dance i'm just saying "defensively" he came up short, not that he couldn't, he didn't

[K-DOGG]

For What It's worth....

1. Jack Johnson
2. Joe Louis
3. James J. Corbett
4. Gene Tunney
5. Ezzard Charles
6. Larry Holmes
7. Max Schmeling
8. Muhammad Ali
9. Mike Tyson
10. Lennox Lewis


It could be argued that Ali belongs below Tyson because Muhammad relied mostly on his reflexes instead of defensive skills; but the man was never stopped except for the Holmes fight, so he musta been doin something right.

[Past m' Prime]

For many of these fighters their defense was their offense. If you go by times stopped.
Jack Johnson 5
Joe Lewis 2
Ali 1
Tyson 3
Holmes 1
Jack Dempsey 0
Schmeling 5
Lennox Lewis 2
Ezzard Charles 7
James Toney 0
Gene Tunney 0

I don't guarantee 100% accuracy but they are close.
Draw your own conclusions.

[butterfly1964]

For many of these fighters their defense was their offense. If you go by times stopped.
Jack Johnson 5
Joe Lewis 2
Ali 1
Tyson 3
Holmes 1
Jack Dempsey 0
Schmeling 5
Lennox Lewis 2
Ezzard Charles 7
James Toney 0
Gene Tunney 0

I don't guarantee 100% accuracy but they are close.
Draw your own conclusions.

tyson was stopped 5 times, and dempsey was ko'd once.

[Verstyle]

tyson prided himself with his defense

[Verstyle]

tyson was stopped 5 times, and dempsey was ko'd once.

tyson was stopped five times??? i know u dont mean k.o

[Brassangel]

Ali was only stopped in the Holmes fight, but that wasn't because of his defense; the man could roll with punches and had an incredible chin. He had a level of physical fitness that gave him a remarkable recovery rate. Even Fight Night 3 for the 360 gives him the highest chin among heavyweights in the game.

Jack Johnson
Joe Louis
Gene Tunney
Mike Tyson
James Corbett
James Toney
Lennox Lewis
Ezzard Charles

In no particular order. Their defensive styles were different from one another, and varied based upon certain points of their careers. As technical boxers, Louis and Johnson had excellent defensive skills, while Mike Tyson was such a fireball that he was darn near impossible to hit. Different styles include different defenses. Great thread!