In a review of the Lewis-Tyson fight, Larry Merchant stated that Lennox Lewis is now one of the Top 10 heavyweight boxers of all-time. The Top 4 (in order) who transcended the sport are:
Muhammed Ali (Cassius Clay)
Joe Louis
Jack Johnson
Jack Dempsey
Then he named the next 6 (in no particular order):
Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Rocky Marciano, Joe Frazier and I can’t remember the other 2 (Tyson is not one of them).
Does anyone remember who his last 2 were?
I’m a boxing fan but don’t know much about its history. The above list is just one person’s opinion. Does anyone have any other opinions on who should be added or removed from his list? In fact, I’d be interested to see other people’s Top 10 lists. If you’re a boxing fan or historian, please contribute.
I’m not much of a boxing historian either, but I would think George Foreman should be on there. Also maybe Larry Holmes. He suffers from being from almost the same era as Ali, but he was good. Sonny Liston too.
I think it depends on whether you are talking about how good they were at their best or how good their career was. Marciano probably had the best career while Ali was probably the best at his zenith.
I don’t see how anyone could put Frazier over Foreman considering what happened during their two fights.
Am I the only person who despises Larry Merchant, or did he get a brain cell implant recently?
With respect to boxing I’m probably not that much better than Mr. Merchant, but here’s my picks:
Ali
[sub]On top for transcending the sport and for transcending sport.[/sub]
Jack Johnson
[sub]For establishing defense as part of the sport. He was called a coward for being wily (oh yeah, and for being black and not ashamed of it.)[/sub]
Joe Louis
[sub]I’m sorry, but being the first black is important, not to mention that he was a great fighter and good sport (except for against Schmeling… maybe.)[/sub]
Mike Tyson
[sub]You don’t have to like him, but he carried the sport for years.[/sub]
Jack Dempsy
[sub]Who isn’t familiar with the long count?[/sub]
Rocky Marciano
[sub]Barely knew how to fight and was still undefeated.[/sub]
George and Joe
John Sullivan
[sub]First gets you on my list.[/sub]
James Figg
[sub]I know, he preceded weight classes by centuries, but he did get the ball rolling…[/sub]
Making lists like this is fun, and I do it all the time, but we have to remember how meaningless they all are.
Comparing athletes from different eras is really silly, when you get right down to it. For the most part, today’s athletes are bigger and stronger than the stars of yesteryear. I mean, suppose that, in their primes, Mickey Mantle, Don Hutson, George Mikan, Bill Tilden and Joe Louis had stepped into time machines, and travelled to the year 2002. Could those guys be competitive today?
Reality? No. Not a chance. Mickey Mantle would look feeble next to the steroid-shooting musclemen in basebal today. The Detroit Lions’ worst receiver is probably much bigger AND a lot faster than Don Hutson was. George Mikan would get pushed around by backup centers in today’s NBA. Bill Tilden probably couldn’t beat either of the Williams sisters, let alone the top male tennis players. And if Joe Louis were foolish enough to fight Lennox Lewis, Lennox would flick that long jab again and again. Little Joe Louis would never get close enough to land a punch.
But while today’s stars are almost always superior physically, we tend to rate them according to how dominant they were in their prime, as well as how much impact they had on society at large. I mean, I think Larry Holmes in his prime would’ve beaten Muhammad Ali in his prime… but Holmes made no impression on society at large, while Ali, Dempsey and Joe Louis certainly did.
Given all that… I’d say Ali, Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey are the 3 greatest heavyweight champs ever. Jack Johnson doesn’t belong in the top 4, or even the top 20. Only political correctness dictates that he be ranked so high.