Leaving Tyson off the list of top 10 heavyweights is like...

[Yacob]

Gene Tunney and Dempsey would both be either Light Heavies or small cruiserweights who'd get mugged by people like Usyk

 

[Jet40]

I have said it for years, Tyson is overrated by the public. Experts have a better understanding. But not the list provided. Lewis is a top 5 Heavyweight.

 

[The Merchant]

I watched that old ESPN documentary on the top 10 heavyweights of all time and Mike Tyson didn't make the list.

10. Larry Holmes
Joe Frasier
George Foreman
Ezzard Charles
Rocky Marciano
Gene Tunney
Jack Johnson
Jack Dempsey
Muhammad Ali
1. Joe Louis

The insanity of that aside...who is the Tyson of MMA?


Cro Cop?

Not having Lewis on that List is the real crime.

 

[The Merchant]

Holmes, Ali and Louis are the only guys on that list that have a chance to beat unified Tyson.

Foreman would fuck Tyson up, You not heard that Tyson in his prime was scared shitless of Foreman in his 40's? He told his promoter "you fucking fight him if you like him that much"

 

[PalmStrike]

Foreman would fuck Tyson up, You not heard that Tyson in his prime was scared shitless of Foreman in his 40's? He told his promoter "you fucking fight him if you like him that much"

Fat George?

Fat George and Big George are the perfect example of a fighter having two careers...

...like pre Rooney Tyson and post Rooney Tyson.

Remember now, Tyson did win the belt again after getting out of prison.

Let us also not forget that Tysons unified reign is still the 3rd most defended reign in boxing history.

8 unified defenses.

 

[The Merchant]

Do you know what youre talking about though?

In 1986 Tyson went the distance with Mitch Green and James Tillis in consecutive fights...TWO WEEKS APART... winning both by decision.

Yeah and got booed to fuck during the green fight. I remember watching it.

 

[KeepItRealist]

80s heavyweights sucked. Tyson was a fearsome fighter, but he came along at the right time.

 

[wilKO]

I go back and forth with Tyson, he was an absolute savage for a small window in time, then shit just kind of unraveled for him. Is Holyfield really not top 10? I admittedly don't know much about some of the older guys, but Holyfield by longevity and will alone was super impressive.

Holyfield spent a long time at Cruiserweight. He and Charles are the 2 GOAT CWs.

 

[KeepItRealist]

Gene Tunney and Dempsey would both be either Light Heavies or small cruiserweights who'd get mugged by people like Usyk

Same could be said of Ali/Louis and people like the Klitschkos in their prime.

It's hard to judge, because things have changed so drastically over time in how boxers are trained, matched and so on.

Louis has the title defense record, but the majority are no hopers. Dempsey was inactive for years due to the lack of opponents and a selfish manager.

 

[IndyCovaHart]

Where is Tyson Fury?

 

[smart.feller]

Stop watching documentaries filmed in 1982...

 

[Maroli]

Do you know what youre talking about though?

In 1986 Tyson went the distance with Mitch Green and James Tillis in consecutive fights...TWO WEEKS APART... winning both by decision.

I'm absolutely shocked Mitch Green wasn't comatose after that.

Anyway, this is a legacy ranking, not a 'talent' ranking. If it were 'who was the most talented HW' or 'best technique in their prime' list, Tyson would be near the top. Fact is, he was a wrecking ball during a weak time in the division and had a short prime. And yes, prime vs prime he beats most, if not all, fighters on that list.

 

[Jet40]

Do you know what youre talking about though?

In 1986 Tyson went the distance with Mitch Green and James Tillis in consecutive fights...TWO WEEKS APART... winning both by decision.

Interesting tidbit about Tillis. He claimed Ernie Shavers was the hardest hitter he ever faced. Foreman and Ali claim the same thing.

 

[The Merchant]

Fat George?

Fat George and Big George are the perfect example of a fighter having two careers...

...like pre Rooney Tyson and post Rooney Tyson.

Remember now, Tyson did win the belt again after getting out of prison.

Let us also not forget that Tysons unified reign is still the 3rd most defended reign in boxing history.

8 unified defenses.

Tyson was terrified of George.

I had to go into the archives for this one.

"At this time, Evander Holyfield was getting ready for his sixth fight as a heavyweight against Seamus McDonagh on June 1 in Atlantic City. On the day of the Holyfield-McDonagh fight, I went to grab something to eat with Georgie Benton, Lou Duva and Bobby Goodman. At the time, Goodman was, and still is, Don King's matchmaker. I've known Benton for many years, through him I met Duva, and was introduced to Goodman a couple weeks before Tyson fought Larry Holmes at the Convention Center in Atlantic City in January 1988.

While we were eating, Benton said, "Bobby, what's up with Foreman and Tyson, how come they're not fighting each other on the 16th? Isn't that the fight that King was trying to make?" He said, "Georgie, You'll never believe this but, Fuckin' Tyson is scared shit less of Foreman and wants no part of him. I was there when Don was trying to make the fight. He was telling Tyson that Foreman represented huge money, plus he was old and slow and would be no problem. Tyson got up and screamed at King saying, 'I'm not fight in' that Fuckin' animal, if you love the motherfucker so much, you fight him!'"

Goodman stated that Tyson said Foreman was much better than people thought, and was a dangerous fight for any of the top heavyweights. Goodman proceeded to explain how Tyson was calling Foreman a big con man, and explained that the grandpop act was just a front. He said Tyson saw Foreman as trying to set up the boxing world into thinking he was a pushover, knowing that he really wasn't. Tyson said Foreman was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Goodman continued to say that after seeing Tyson's response to King trying to push him into a fight with Foreman, he had no doubt that Tyson had fear of Foreman. He also said that from that point on, he felt that if Foreman and Tyson ever fought, Foreman would knock Tyson out!

Throughout the lunch Goodman, Duva, Benton, and myself shared stories and thoughts on the fight game. Out of the blue Goodman said, "Oh I remember why else Tyson wanted no parts of Foreman. He said that King had found out from Steve Lott that Tyson and Cus D'Amato used to watch the Frazier-Foreman fight over and over." He continued saying that Tyson loved that fight because he was awed by Foreman's power and Frazier's toughness and how he kept getting up after every knockdown. He also said that Lott told King that Cus sat alongside Tyson saying, "It's suicide against Foreman if you're short and fight a swarming attacking style like Marciano or Frazier," never figuring that Foreman could be a possible Tyson opponent down the road. He said that Cus said the only fighters who had a chance against Foreman were, tall rangy fighters who could fight him from a distance while moving away from him, and no way any swarmer could beat Foreman by going to him."

 

[Gambit MMA]

lennox lewis has to be on the list, same for wlad

and id say cro cop is a decent example. known for being very skilled and elite for a hw, but doesnt have the resume or career defining wins over the competition to argue as belonging in the top 5 or 10. he pretty much has barnett 3x, igor, aleks, coleman, a bloated wanderlei, herring, fujita and sakuraba.

only barnett is really ranked sometimes in the top 10 at hw. none of the rest make the cut. and barnett is left out of quite a few peoples all-time hw top 10's

 

[Aluminati]

Mike Tyson's potential was almost as legendary as Erick Silva's.

 

[The Merchant]

lennox lewis has to be on the list or its a sham, same for wlad

and id say cro cop is a decent example. known for being very skilled and elite for a hw, but doesnt have the resume or career defining wins over the competition to argue as belonging in the top 5 or 10. he pretty much has barnett 3x, igor, aleks, coleman, a bloated wanderlei, herring, fujita and sakuraba.

only barnett is really ranked sometimes in the top 10 at hw. none of the rest make the cut. and barnett is left out of quite a few peoples all-time hw top 10's

I'd say Vitali was the better of the two. That fight with Lewis on short notice was a blood bath.

 

[yookfarb]

How long have we boxed under the queens of maryberry rules? 300 years?

Ezzard Charles and Gene Tunney... you may have never heard of them but they must have been great fighters, it's unbelievable what they accomplished and who they fought

Tyson for all of his greatness and cultural impact... did not go 65-1, did not start out as a featherweight, didn't rack up 100 pro fights in 10 years, did not win olympic gold as an amateur, etc.

 

[ookii]

I get putting him above Holmes(cause he beat him) Tyson wins in boxing math there. But Holmes had fewer losses and was undefeated before Tyson beat him. People might be overrating the 70s legends(besides Ali who wasn't himself obv) he beat and that might be why he's there it ain't insane.

Holmes was 39 compared to Tyson's prime years in his early 20s when they fought

 

[Source]

LOL Gene Tunney at number 5 and he only fought at HW twice against the same guy, an old semiretired version of Dempsey.

That's like saying that Hendo is top 5 HW just for defeating Fedor in 2011. So stupid. That list sucks


We don't have one yet. Tyson was very special

I agree I was surprised to see Tunney on that list. To be fair he was only 2 years younger than Dempsey.