OT: Who is the greatest boxing heavyweight of all time?

[TheBluest]

I'll rep Holmes, Ali, and Holyfield

Holyfield's the best cruiserweight of all time (Although he didn't have much competition here). I wouldn't go much further other than he was a very good boxer at heavyweight.

I felt he was always at a disadvantage in size in most of his heavyweight fights but he brawled like a Warrior. One of the last throwback heavyweights of our era. I like his heart probably out of all heavyweights next to Frazier.

[AirPaden]

Who do you feel is the greatest boxing heavyweight of all time (regardless of era) and why? State your case.

Pics are appreciated!

The Greatest Boxing Heavyweight of all time, is none other than the " Louisville Lip" Muhamad Ali. Ali had an amazing mindset to go along with incredible skills as a Heavyweight. The man had some of the fatest hands I have seen in the heavyweight division, not to mention one of the best straight right hands.

My brother sparred with Ali right before Ali's fight with George Foreman. Don't get me wrong, I loved my brother( may he rest in peace) and thought he was a pretty good fighter, but when Ali heard Bundini Brown yell out "30 seconds champ" I had to close my eyes, because an ass whoopen was about to commence, It did not matter what heavyweight was in the ring, Ali would just go off like a possessed man.

Ali gets my vote by a long shot. Just imagine how many wins he would have had, had it not been for him getting drafted.

God Bless Ali, The best heavyweight there ever was!

Peace,
C

[TheBigBoss]

Muhammed Ali, Rocky Marciano, and Joe Louis in any order are my top 3 of all time. Although Marciano is probably my favorite of all time. Talk about heart, this guy's nose was practically hanging off of his face in his rematch against Ezzard Charles, when he pulled off the knockout despite the fact that the ref was going to stop the fight if he made it out of the round.I think he deserves more consideration here. Also, I think that Tyson's prime was too short to get any top 5 consideration imo.

[can o peas]

soda popinski

[GONYK]

I'm glad someone gave Jack Johnson his props early in this conversation. If anyone can track down the footage of Jack Johnson's fight with Tommy Burns, you will see dominance personified. He made James "The Great White Hope" Jeffries concede that he could have never beaten Johnson. The man was a monster.

My vote in this thread though went to Ali.

[donkki]

Tyson

[mjhp911]

Oh man, I'm really biting my tongue on this. But there is no debate on this one. He's the greatest of all time.

anyone who saw both Ali and Tyson in their prime would say it's easily Ali AND ali would have beaten him 8 or 9 times out of 10.

end that discussion.

best of all time?

Dunno didn't see all of them, but wasn't Ali the greatest athlete of the century by ESPN? that says something, no?

Unfortunately, I think they had Mike taking top honors. Freakin' hacks. Ali should be the greatest sport figure of all time. Followed by Ruth. Don't even get me started on Mike. I think Wilt is the greatest hoopster of all time.

[TKF]

Who do you feel is the greatest boxing heavyweight of all time (regardless of era) and why? State your case.

Pics are appreciated!

The Greatest Boxing Heavyweight of all time, is none other than the " Louisville Lip" Muhamad Ali. Ali had an amazing mindset to go along with incredible skills as a Heavyweight. The man had some of the fatest hands I have seen in the heavyweight division, not to mention one of the best straight right hands.

My brother sparred with Ali right before Ali's fight with George Foreman. Don't get me wrong, I loved my brother( may he rest in peace) and thought he was a pretty good fighter, but when Ali heard Bundini Brown yell out "30 seconds champ" I had to close my eyes, because an ass whoopen was about to commence, It did not matter what heavyweight was in the ring, Ali would just go off like a possessed man.

Ali gets my vote by a long shot. Just imagine how many wins he would have had, had it not been for him getting drafted.

God Bless Ali, The best heavyweight there ever was!

Peace,
C

Nice story bro. And I wish your brother was around to share some of his stories with us.. thank you for sharing that...

on't get me wrong, I loved my brother( may he rest in peace) and thought he was a pretty good fighter, but when Ali heard Bundini Brown yell out "30 seconds champ" I had to close my eyes, because an ass whoopen was about to commence,

LOL.. I wonder what your brother was thinking when he heard that as well.....??

[TKF]

-ali did have power but he hardly ever sat down on his punches cuz he was always punching off his back foot
-was ali slicker? maybe, but he relied too much on his reflexes. holmes had the much better, more technically sound defense.
- holmes ALSO had the ability move and control the ring. IMO, he was the better ring general becuz he stayed disciplined and never resorted to tactics like rope-a-doping or holding/smothering like ali. he always maintained his distance and was perfectly content with controlling the entire fight with the best jab in the history of heavyweight boxing.

Holmes and his jab were deadly for guys who stood right there and boxed in front of them. Ali moved a lot, gave angles, he was so hard to hit. Holmes was not that fast... I just think that Ali would be too quick, to slick and would connect more on a more stationary holmes. Also also had a good jab as well. that fight with both in their primes would have been great..

[RHODEY]

My vote is for Jack Johnson. Not only was he technically unrivaled but he had to deal with blatant and institutional racism from the earliest part of the 20th century. He was a MAN in every sense of the word. Ali was courageous , but this guy took it to the next level. If any of you want to learn more I suggest you check out the amazing documentary "Unforgivable Blackness" http://www.pbs.org/unforgivableblackness/

[moocow007]

I'd have to go with Ali as well. Just the whole package. No one was better than Ali as a complete boxer. Tyson and Foreman were the hardest punchers but not the greatest heavyweight.

[Ignitowsky]

Given the support for Ali, it's hard not to mention Joe Frazier, who gave Ali all he could handle over the course of their 3 fights.

[moocow007]

Given the support for Ali, it's hard not to mention Joe Frazier, who gave Ali all he could handle over the course of their 3 fights.

Yeah very true Frazier was something else as well. Was kinda of like a boxer ahead of his time. A bull dog that just kept coming at you and coming at you will powerful swings and an street fighter attitude. As much as opposing fighters would be afraid of a Tyson or Foreman punch, I'd imagine most were scared **** by how Frazier just kept attacking and attacking you like a rabid dog.

[kane2021]

My vote is for Jack Johnson. Not only was he technically unrivaled but he had to deal with blatant and institutional racism from the earliest part of the 20th century. He was a MAN in every sense of the word. Ali was courageous , but this guy took it to the next level. If any of you want to learn more I suggest you check out the amazing documentary "Unforgivable Blackness" http://www.pbs.org/unforgivableblackness/

Jack Johnson is a guy that should be a MONSTER name in regards to black history. And this is coming from a puerto rican. That man did things VERY EARLY in history. And he was man enough to say, what? Police cut his fight films cause he was beating people to bad. He walked around town with white womans and a SMILE! Im not saying dating a white woman is a MLK feat. But pre 1900's? Talk about giving your people early courage to say "you know what, maybe we CAN do something about this". IMO Jack Johnson is a monumental figure in american history. More so then Ali. Its just that he did it at a time where papers where the main form of communication and entertainment. My history might be incorrect but I dont even think radio was big then. Ali came at a time that communications allowed broader audience. So MANY more people got to see, and here Ali. Without a guy like Jack Johnson so early you have to wonder. I give Jack Johnson, the man, the highest respects. I feel its a name that ALL people should know. Much respect due.

[aveboogie7]

Surprising to see no votes for Lennox Lewis.....

In their prime, do you favor a Marciano, Louis or Tyson over a 6'4" 235lbs Lewis?

[AirPaden]

Who do you feel is the greatest boxing heavyweight of all time (regardless of era) and why? State your case.

Pics are appreciated!

The Greatest Boxing Heavyweight of all time, is none other than the " Louisville Lip" Muhamad Ali. Ali had an amazing mindset to go along with incredible skills as a Heavyweight. The man had some of the fatest hands I have seen in the heavyweight division, not to mention one of the best straight right hands.

My brother sparred with Ali right before Ali's fight with George Foreman. Don't get me wrong, I loved my brother( may he rest in peace) and thought he was a pretty good fighter, but when Ali heard Bundini Brown yelled out "30 seconds champ" I had to close my eyes, because an ass whoopen was about to commence, It did not matter what heavyweight was in the ring, Ali would just go off like a possessed man.

Ali gets my vote by a long shot. Just imagine how many wins he would have had, had it not been for him getting drafted.

God Bless Ali, The best heavyweight there ever was!

Peace,
C

Nice story bro. And I wish your brother was around to share some of his stories with us.. thank you for sharing that...

on't get me wrong, I loved my brother( may he rest in peace) and thought he was a pretty good fighter, but when Ali heard Bundini Brown yell out "30 seconds champ" I had to close my eyes, because an ass whoopen was about to commence,

LOL.. I wonder what your brother was thinking when he heard that as well.....??

He probably said, time to run. lol We often joked about it. Gonna see if I can dig up some photos, I have one of me putting my clinched fist in near Ali's chin. I was bold, but he didn't mind, he actually enjoyed it.

TKF, you are a class act. Nice to have you as a moderator

Peace,
Air

[moocow007]

Surprising to see no votes for Lennox Lewis.....

In their prime, do you favor a Marciano, Louis or Tyson over a 6'4" 235lbs Lewis?

It's really really really hard to compare Marciano or Louis against a modern day fighter (Marciano and Lewis would have been outweighed by a ton). I would take a prime time Tyson over Lewis though. Physically Lewis had the most potential but he really never lived up to the billing. He'd have gotten his clock cleaned by a young Mike Tyson IMHO. As to whether he could have stood against Frazier, Ali or Foreman in their prime? No. Same results. Don't think he could have withstood a prime time Frazier or Foreman's pounding nor a prime time Ali's overall boxing ability.

[Johnny Firpo]

Joe Louis said "it hurt to even bump into him."

"It was once claimed during tests in the 1960s, that his right hand punch contained as much explosive energy as an armour piercing bullet."

"He used to train on a custom made 300lb heavy bag - about three times what most heavyweight's punchbags weigh. He had to work harder to move the bag around - this is most probably how he developed so much punishing power."

"He had amazing stamina. He would run all year round, keeping himself in shape. He would even run six or seven miles on Christmas morning! Before fights, he'd often up that to fifteen miles - much more than any other heavyweight did or does. So, no wonder he could fight all night long. He had a great workrate, often throwing ninety punches per round. He'd have some rounds where he'd throw one hundred and twenty shots!"

Archie Moore - "It was like fighting an airplane propeller."

"He was a destroyer, he ruined people. None of his opponents were ever the same again. He beat them up, rearranged their bone structure and knocked them out. He was perhaps the most devastating and destructive champion of all time."

[j4remi]

Surprising to see no votes for Lennox Lewis.....

In their prime, do you favor a Marciano, Louis or Tyson over a 6'4" 235lbs Lewis?

I consider him the most overrated Heavyweight of all time actually. Goddamn, this thread's been up a while and I have yet to get involved.

For my money, and I consider myself a damn good investor, I'll take Joe Louis. Had he not been foolish with his money and forced to fight well beyond his prime (Marciano loss is the most obvious example of this), his record would be far more impressive. At his best, I think he was incredibly dominant and just a force. There's a GREAT documentary about his career and money woes. It's not as stylish as Mike's great new documentary but it is a must see for boxing enthusiasts. The name escapes me.

Marciano deserves nothing but respect, but imho, he's just not as great in his prime as guys like Ali, Louis or Johnson.

Tyson in his prime was the scariest thing the ring has ever seen...oh wait, Foreman might have that honor. I think Tyson is terribly overrated and I'm a HUGE fan of Mike. I'm still not convinced he could beat a combination puncher with a good jab and height. Ali would beat him. Ali was the most fun to watch and just a serious beast. It's always fun when they show him on espnclassic just breaking down fighters for clumps of rounds before they go down. For my money, he's number 1b, but I lean toward Louis.

[RHODEY]

My vote is for Jack Johnson. Not only was he technically unrivaled but he had to deal with blatant and institutional racism from the earliest part of the 20th century. He was a MAN in every sense of the word. Ali was courageous , but this guy took it to the next level. If any of you want to learn more I suggest you check out the amazing documentary "Unforgivable Blackness" http://www.pbs.org/unforgivableblackness/

Jack Johnson is a guy that should be a MONSTER name in regards to black history. And this is coming from a puerto rican. That man did things VERY EARLY in history. And he was man enough to say, what? Police cut his fight films cause he was beating people to bad. He walked around town with white womans and a SMILE! Im not saying dating a white woman is a MLK feat. But pre 1900's? Talk about giving your people early courage to say "you know what, maybe we CAN do something about this". IMO Jack Johnson is a monumental figure in american history. More so then Ali. Its just that he did it at a time where papers where the main form of communication and entertainment. My history might be incorrect but I dont even think radio was big then. Ali came at a time that communications allowed broader audience. So MANY more people got to see, and here Ali. Without a guy like Jack Johnson so early you have to wonder. I give Jack Johnson, the man, the highest respects. I feel its a name that ALL people should know. Much respect due.

No doubt. It's sad that he doesn't get the notoriety or respect....