NFT: Greatest Fighters of all time- By Division

[Ed Vette]

Lots of great fighters mentioned in this article. Some were conspicuously missing, like Jack Dempsey, Sam Langford and Stanley Ketchel.

I can agree with or at least understand the rankings. Some fighters were underrated imo. Like Lenox Lewis and Bob Foster. Too bad Stevenson never fought professionally due to Cuba. Holyfield was a warrior and on any best day had a chance to beat anyone.

https://www.ringtv.com/627200-division-by-division-the-greatest-fighters-of-all-time/

[ozzie]

OK, I won't pretend I have even heard of most of those guys, but I did watch my fair share of boxing growing up but it was mostly the "Big Names" when they were televised and the Olympics. The older guys (before my time) I heard about from my dad. I loved it when Ali, Frazier, Ken Norton, Holmes & Foreman were all active. I also loved the Hagler / Hearns fights. I agree, too bad Stevenson never turned pro. I think he would have been a force.
According to my Dad, Joe Louis was the greatest. I was a Frazier & Hagler fan myself.
Hard to believe Mike Tyson isn't on this list. That guy was a wrecking machine and most who stepped into the ring with him were afraid.

[PSUBeirut]

Not even a mention of Mike Tyson???  Yikes. 

[DaveBrown74]

Not even a mention of Mike Tyson???  Yikes. 

Seriously. I don't consider myself a boxing guru or anything, but to not have Tyson in the top 5 heavyweights of all time seems crazy to me.

[Ed Vette]

Tyson's fights were setups when Cus was in charge. Buster Douglas exposed him. I taped the Holmes fight and have it on record from Holmes corner to let him do it. The third asked "let him do what?" "Never mind" Ending in a knockout. Holmes was a great heavyweight who carried the division after the tough fighters aged. In their prime, he couldn't carry Ali's jock. Tyson was all hype unless he faced bums like Marvis Frazier. That fruit fell far from the tree.

[DaveBrown74]

Just so I'm clear, when you say "setups", do you mean they were fixed? Are you saying Holmes took a dive/lost on purpose when he got KO'd by Tyson?

[Ed Vette]

Just so I'm clear, when you say "setups", do you mean they were fixed? Are you saying Holmes took a dive/lost on purpose when he got KO'd by Tyson?

Most of his opponents were hand picked. He couldn't handle a strong boxer like Buster Douglas. He intimated a lot of his opponents before they even touched gloves. He had to bite off Holyfield's ear just to stay in the fight.

I played that VCR recording many times and it just looked fishy to me. I don't know for sure but I do believe Holmes took a dive.

[Ed Vette]

Most of his opponents were hand picked. He couldn't handle a strong boxer like Buster Douglas. He intimated a lot of his opponents before they even touched gloves. He had to bite off Holyfield's ear just to stay in the fight.

I played that VCR recording many times and it just looked fishy to me. I don't know for sure but I do believe Holmes took a dive.

It was odd that Holmes didn't use his sledgehammer jab that night. Although, it could have gone down like this.
https://fightsaga.com/fightsaga/news/tyson-vs-holmes-how-don-king-stacked-the-odds-for-iron-mike/

The whole thing seemed to me like a setup to ride the Tyson Star by Don King.

[DaveBrown74]

Most of his opponents were hand picked. He couldn't handle a strong boxer like Buster Douglas. He intimated a lot of his opponents before they even touched gloves. He had to bite off Holyfield's ear just to stay in the fight.

I played that VCR recording many times and it just looked fishy to me. I don't know for sure but I do believe Holmes took a dive.

Really interesting. I have never heard that theory, but again, I've never been much more than a casual boxing fan.

Here is a clip of the KO in question. Looks real enough to me, but again I don't have the experience/expertise to say otherwise:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8RQyP_BdOE


I feel like the Tyson/Holyfield fight was late in Tyson's career and he was kind of a screw-up at that point. Wasn't that like 1996 or 1997?

I remember him being utterly dominant in the late 80s. That one fight he had against Michael Spinks (who never lost to anyone else in his career) was ridiculous. Tyson just abused him and KO'd him in the first round. I watched that live with my Dad that night, and I remember feeling like Tyson would have beaten anyone at the time... he was an animal that night.

[Ed Vette]

Really interesting. I have never heard that theory, but again, I've never been much more than a casual boxing fan.

Here is a clip of the KO in question. Looks real enough to me, but again I don't have the experience/expertise to say otherwise:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8RQyP_BdOE


I feel like the Tyson/Holyfield fight was late in Tyson's career and he was kind of a screw-up at that point. Wasn't that like 1996 or 1997?

I remember him being utterly dominant in the late 80s. That one fight he had against Michael Spinks (who never lost to anyone else in his career) was ridiculous. Tyson just abused him and KO'd him in the first round. I watched that live with my Dad that night, and I remember feeling like Tyson would have beaten anyone at the time... he was an animal that night.

No doubt that Tyson was a beast under Cus. Any fighter who didn't have the stamina or the ability to keep him off was doomed. But picture him against George Foreman in his prime or Holmes in his prime.

[Ed Vette]

A Tyson- Joe Frazier fight would have been a good one. Ali would have boxed his pants off. Norton didn't have the chin but Lennox Lewis would have beaten him easily.

It's hard to match fighters from previous eras, like Dempsey and Marciano. Tyson would have held his own, I think.

After Cus, he fell off the cliff.

[DaveBrown74]

No doubt that Tyson was a beast under Cus. Any fighter who didn't have the stamina or the ability to keep him off was doomed. But picture him against George Foreman in his prime or Holmes in his prime.

Totally get it, and I can't really argue your point. Having said that he never really got that opportunity. I have heard more knowledgeable friends of mine speculate that he would have been a tough out for almost anyone in their primes back in the late 80s the way he was fighting. Clearly the Buster Douglas upset is problematic for that argument, but Tyson was clearly a troubled guy with serious issues who may have simply been off that night. When he was on, and in his prime, I think he was absolutely ridiculous. Here is the Spinks first round KO. Keep in mind Spinks wasn't some stiff. This guy was 31-0 in his career outside this fight.

Start at 9:50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN9bpOV9beQ

[Ed Vette]

Totally get it, and I can't really argue your point. Having said that he never really got that opportunity. I have heard more knowledgeable friends of mine speculate that he would have been a tough out for almost anyone in their primes back in the late 80s the way he was fighting. Clearly the Buster Douglas upset is problematic for that argument, but Tyson was clearly a troubled guy with serious issues who may have simply been off that night. When he was on, and in his prime, I think he was absolutely ridiculous. Here is the Spinks first round KO. Keep in mind Spinks wasn't some stiff. This guy was 31-0 in his career outside this fight.

Start at 9:50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN9bpOV9beQ

Spinks looked like a lamb being led to slaughter. Didn't even warm up or had broken a sweat. Although he was the perfect opponent for Tyson being a counter puncher who starts off slowly.

[ozzie]

It was odd that Holmes didn't use his sledgehammer jab that night. Although, it could have gone down like this.
https://fightsaga.com/fightsaga/news/tyson-vs-holmes-how-don-king-stacked-the-odds-for-iron-mike/

The whole thing seemed to me like a setup to ride the Tyson Star by Don King.

I hadn't heard anything about what was said in the above article, although I can certainly believe it.
I was never more than a casual fan, but I do remember being turned off to the sport because of Don King.
He always seemed shifty to me and, in my opinion only, was one of the worst things to happen to the sport.
I guess he was a good as a promoter, but I never really thought he was doing what was best for the sport.

[Ed Vette]

I hadn't heard anything about what was said in the above article, although I can certainly believe it.
I was never more than a casual fan, but I do remember being turned off to the sport because of Don King.
He always seemed shifty to me and, in my opinion only, was one of the worst things to happen to the sport.
I guess he was a good as a promoter, but I never really thought he was doing what was best for the sport.

I was a huge fight fan and Don King drove me away too. In addition, pay per view and $$$ also killed the sport.