The Heavyweight Championship of the World was once the athletic equivalent to King of the World. There was no greater feet than the biggest and baddest men on the planet settling the argument of who the best man is bare chested with their fists.
Personally, I have always preferred the talent depth and more complete skill sets of the welterweight and middleweight divisions. The heavyweight division rarely carries the same world class depth and it’s hard for big men to maintain their wind and discipline for 12-15 rounds at the highest level.
However, nothing captures the general public’s imagination like two really good big men facing off for boxing supremacy. When you put 200+ pound men in the ring, truly anything can happen as things can be turned upside down with one punch.
Just for fun I compiled my own subjective list of the top 10 heavyweight pugilists in history. Some hall-of-famers were left off. Sonny Liston, Mike Tyson, Ezzard Charles and Floyd Patterson were terrific in their own right but fall short.
11 men made the top 10. Yes, I took the cowards way out with two tied for 10th. But it’s my list so I did as I please. Lets start at number 10 and work our way up…
10-Evander Holyfield (44-10-2, 29 KO):
Signature wins/honors: 1984 Olympic Bronze Medal, Dwight Muhammad Qawi (twice at cruiserweight), James “Buster” Douglas, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Riddick Bowe, Ray Mercer, Mike Tyson (twice), Michael Moorer.
Signature losses: Riddick Bowe (twice), Michael Moorer, Lennox Lewis (really twice as Lewis was the victim of a bulls**t draw the first time).
The “Real Deal” just may be the best pound-for-pound fighter on this list. After debuting at light heavyweight he cleaned out the cruiserweight division before beginning his heavyweight campaign. He proved critics wrong destroying “Buster Douglas” for the title; he would hold at least part of the crown four times. Some of his losses (Bowe) cemented his warrior legacy as much as his wins (his first victory over Tyson being his biggest). Slightly undersized and lacking devastating heavyweight power his heart and determination were the only things more solid than his chin (watch the punches he stands up to against Bowe, Foreman and Tyson). If not for solid PED evidence, I would have him ranked closer to the top 5.
10-Larry Homes (69-6, 44 KO):
Signature wins: Ernie Shavers (twice), Mike Weaver (twice), Ken Norton, Muhammad Ali, Trevor Berbick, Leon Spinks, Gerry Cooney, Tim Witherspoon, James “Bonecrusher” Smith (twice), Ray Mercer.
Signature losses: Michael Spinks (twice), Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield.
The “Easton Assassin” may be the most under-appreciated of all heavyweight champions. His style was kind of Ali-light but with a better jab (arguably the best in heavyweight history). Holmes was never forgiven for taking apart a version of Ali that had no business in the ring. At his peak he was unfairly painted as the bad guy by his own promoter (Don King) in a win over Gerry Cooney which was sold as a race war. He lost his title in 1985 to Michael Spinks and was screwed in the rematch. He walked away disgusted before Don King bought him out of retirement to face a prime Mike Tyson. It was a terrible matchup for Holmes but he went out on his shield. He forged a more spirited comeback later upsetting Ray Mercer to earn a shot at Holyfield’s title. At 42 he represented himself well going the distance with the champ.
9-Jack Johnson (73-13-10, 40 KO)
Signature Wins: Sam Langford, Bob Fitzsimmons, Tommy Burns, Stanley Ketchel, James J. Jeffries.
Signature Losses: Jess Willard.
As an unapologetically successful black man, the “Galveston Giant” was the Floyd Mayweather of his time, accept this was at the turn of the century. Johnson was a pioneer in the ring as he was the first champion to adopt a more modern style. He was a total package of speed, power and skill. Many would rank him higher. My beef with him is that despite spitting in the face of racism, he actually avoided other dangerous and possibly better black contenders.
8-Jack Dempsey (54-6-9, 44 KO)
Signature wins: Jess Willard, Luis Angel Firpo.
Signature Losses: Gene Tunney (twice).
The “Manassa Mauler” is ranked by Ring Magazine as the 10th greatest P4P puncher in history. His power and stalking style made him one of young Mike Tyson’s idols. I urge you all to catch his fight with Luis Firpo; 11 knockdowns in 2 rounds. Dempsey was actually knocked out of the ring before coming back to finish the Argentine. Just to give you an idea of how much the heavyweight title once meant, at the peak of Babe Ruth’s popularity he was actually second to Dempsey. Some would have Dempsey ranked higher. However, though I think he would beat #6 head-to-head, his championship rein was inactive as he only defended his title six times in seven years. He also avoided black fighters. Some say this was more his management but the fighter is the boss when push comes to shove.
7. Gene Tunney (65-1-1, 48 KO)
Signature wins: Harry Greb (twice along with a draw and a no contest), Georges Carpentier, Jack Dempsey (twice).
Signature Losses: Harry Greb.
The “Fighting Marine” was somewhat to Dempsey what Holyfield was to Tyson. Though he proved to be the better man (Tunney took Dempsey’s title then won the rematch) his star was always eclipsed by the attention his chief yet inferior rival drew. Tunney was one of the few to retire as champ.
6-Joe Louis (66-3, 52 KO)
Signature wins: Primo Carnera, Max Baer, James J. Braddock, Max Schmeling, John Henry Lewis, Buddy Baer (twice), Billy Conn (twice), Joe Walcott (twice).
Signature losses: Max Schmeling, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano.
The “Brown Bomber” was a dominant package of speed, skill and power. Though he won the title from Braddock, he did not feel vindicated as champ until he avenged a KO loss to Nazi, Germany’s Max Schmeling (the two actually became close later in life). The win over Schmeling largely won over white America. He was instrumental to the morale of the American war effort (a civil rights icon without even trying). He famously said we would defeat the Nazis because we were “on God’s side” and fought numerous free exhibitions during the war. His payback? An overzealous IRS and his own financial blunders left him broke later in life. His competition was unremarkable until later in his career (his opponents were labeled the “bum of the month club”). He was given a gift decision against Walcott but came back to knock him out in the rematch before surrendering the title to Ezzard Charles. He stuck around past his prime before becoming the victim of a brutal knockout by Rocky Marciano (Marciano actually wept in Louis’ dressing room after knocking his boxing idol out).
5-Lennox Lewis (41-2-1, 32 KO)
Signature wins/honors: 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist, Razor Ruddock, Frank Bruno, Tommy Morrison, Ray Mercer, Oliver McCall, Andrew Golata, Shannon Briggs, Evander Holyfield (twice in reality), Michael Grant, David Tua, Hasim Rahman, Mike Tyson, Vitali Klitschko.
Signature losses: Oliver McCall, Hasim Rahman.
Another underappreciated champion. Lennox Lewis featured tremendous punching power and a jab to rival Larry Holmes. At 6’5 he moved impressively well. His only weakness was his suspect chin which was exploited by McCall and Rahman. He avenged both losses inside the distance. Though he held pieces of the heavyweight title, he was avoided by Tyson and Foreman. Riddick Bowe publicly threw the WBC belt in the trash rather than sign for an Olympic final rematch. When Holyfield lifted the WBA and IBF titles from Tyson, Lennox found his un-timid marquee opponent to unify the title. The first fight in Madison Square Garden was scored a draw with Lewis being the clear winner. He made it right winning the rematch (which was actually closer). A desperate Tyson finally faced him and Lewis destroyed him. After escaping Klitschko on cuts, Lewis also walked away with his championship intact. Some would rank him lower, but with his resume in the division’s second best era, he is a top 5 all time heavyweight.
4-Joe Frazier (32-4-1, 27 KO)
Signature wins/honors: 1964 Olympic Gold Medalist, Oscar Bonavena (twice), George Chuvalo, James “Buster” Mathis, Jerry Quarry (twice), Jimmy Ellis (twice), Bob Foster, Muhammad Ali.
Signature losses: George Foreman (twice), Muhammad Ali (twice).
“Smokin Joe” , with his relentless pressure style, head movement, body attack and murderous left hook is my favorite all time heavyweight. A converted southpaw, Frazier claimed the vacant title against Mathis after Ali was stripped. His peak was in the The Fight of the Century on March 8, 1971 when he stamped his victory over the undefeated and reinstated Ali dropping him in the 15th with a beautiful left hook. This was in my opinion the best heavyweight fight in history. He showed his championship heart the night he dropped the title to Foreman getting up from the canvas 6 times before the bout was stopped (the legendary Howard Cosell call: “down goes Fraziuh, down goes Fraziuh”). After an uneventful loss to Ali, they met in a rubber match in The Thrilla in Manila in 1975. Ali took the fight thinking Frazier was shot but Joe had one more night of “Smoke” left in him. After a back and forth 14 rounds in 120 degree heat, Frazier’s corner refused to let him come out for the 15th despite the former champ’s willingness. Ferdie Pacheco confirmed that Ali was begging Angelo Dundee to cut his gloves off before the 15th; this went ignored. Had both corners listened to their fighter, heavyweight history along with this list would be altered.
3-Rocky Marciano (49-0, 43 KO)
Signature wins: Roland La Starza (twice), “Jersey” Joe Walcott (twice), Ezzard Charles (twice), Archie Moore.
Signature losses: None.
The “Brockton Bomber” was an absolute truth machine. With his constant pressure, impeccable conditioning, strength beyond his size, cast iron chin, relentless body attack and power in both hands, Marciano may be the only heavyweight who could out-Joe Frazier Joe Frazier. At 189 lbs he would be a top 10 all-time p4p had there been a cruiserweight division in his time. A case can be made for him to land at #1 but his competition, while underrated was marred by some former elites like Joe Louis fighting him past their primes. He retired as undefeated heavyweight champ. He would be a live underdog against #1 as his style would give him fits; can’t make a case for him against #2 as it would be a stylistic nightmare for The Rock. The champ died tragically in a plane crash on August 31, 1969 (one day shy of his 46th birthday).
2-George Foreman (76-5, 68 KO)
Signature wins/honors: 1968 Olympic Gold Medalist, George Chuvalo, Joe Frazier (twice), Ken Norton, Ron Lyle, Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Jerry Cooney, Michael Moorer.
Signature Losses: Muhammad Ali, Jimmy Young, Evander Holyfield, Tommy Morrison.
Teddy Atlas said that if you combined the young version of Foreman physically with the older version of “Big George” mentally, you would have the perfect heavyweight; I agree 100%. After his Olympic win, Foreman began a menacing pro campaign with extreme strength, power and a great chin. His lack of movement and conditioning made him one dimensional, kind of a real life Clubber Lang. After dismantling Frazier to win the title he looked indestructible. Then Ali exposed his shortcomings mentally and physically. Foreman was a mess in Zaire, the site of The Rumble in the Jungle where he punched himself out before being knocked out in the 8th. He found getting a rematch elusive and walked away after a loss to Ellis to become a preacher. He returned fatter, older, slower, but more technically sound, mentally tougher and better conditioned. He earned a title shot against Holyfield and gave a better-than-expected showing in a losing effort. He later got a shot at Atlas-trained champion Michael Moorer who had lifted the title from Holyfield. Foreman ran to the ring facing down his demons in the exact trunks he wore in Zaire to endure 10 1/2 rounds of punishment before knocking the young champ out with a perfect right hand. At 45, Foreman was champion again. Atlas said in his book (Atlas: From the Streets to the Ring) that the punch spit Moorer’s mouthpiece.
1-Muhammad Ali (56-5, 37 KO)
Signature wins/honors: 1960 Olympic Gold Medalist, Henry Cooper (twice), Sonny Liston (twice), Floyd Patterson (twice), George Chuvalo (twice), Oscar Bonavena, Joe Frazier (twice), George Foreman, Leon Spinks, Ken Norton (twice), Jimmy Ellis, Ernie Shavers, Ron Lyle.
Signature Losses: Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Leon Spinks, Larry Holmes.
Full disclosure: I don’t like Ali. Not because of the draft issue; while I disagree with it I actually admire him for taking it on the chin (which stood up to some of the all-time great punchers) for his principles. I mainly dislike his racist treatment of Joe Frazier (whom he called a gorilla amongst other slurs) and Joe Louis (a true hero whom Ali referred to as an Uncle Tom).
However, just take a look at that resume. Though he got the benefit of 2-3 questionable decisions he beat a who’s who of heavyweight talent. His speed and agility were never scene before, nor since in the division. He had enough power to keep you honest but his greatest attribute was his mental toughness. He psychologically broke many opponents before the fight; win or lose Ali was never intimidated or lacking the supreme belief he would win.
While I think Marciano would have been very dangerous for him and I don’t believe he would have beaten Foreman had they fought on American soil, I gotta call him “The Greatest” when talking HEAVYWEIGHTS.
For all you Tyson lovers, I will explain in a future article why the deserved HOFer doesn’t make the cut. Talk soon.
-Marksman