Strongest era in HW Boxing?

[spacetime]

My vote is the 60s. The lesser boxers looked way better than the 70s and beyond. I've watched enough Cassius Clay and Liston fights alone to conclude that. The lesser fighters could really box...

The strength of an era should be measured by how strong the "weaker" boxers are. The best boxers will invariably be strong in any era, so that's not a good criteria.

What say you guys?

 

[XThe GreatestX]

70s is usually ranked as the top era
90s is usually ranked number 2

After that.....maybe joe louis’s era?

 

[burningspear]

Remember when Lewis could have lost to Mercer..

 

[spacetime]

70s is usually ranked as the top era
90s is usually ranked number 2

After that.....maybe joe louis’s era?

70s is ranked nr 1 due to the trio of Ali, Frazier and Foreman. I argue that the level of the opposition however wasn't as strong as in the 60s, even though Liston and Patterson are not as strong champions in most peoples eyes.

 

[spacetime]

Remember when Lewis could have lost to Mercer..

So? Mercer isn't a journey man

 

[spacetime]

I was impressed by several lesser boxers in the 60s. Cleveland Williams, Doug Jones, etc

 

[djacobox372]

90s

Lewis, Bowe, Holyfield, Tyson

Foreman, Mercer, Holmes, Morrison, Tua, Ike, Golota, Ruddock, Rahman

 

[wilddeuces]

My vote is the 60s. The lesser boxers looked way better than the 70s and beyond. I've watched enough Cassius Clay and Liston fights alone to conclude that. The lesser fighters could really box...

The strength of an era should be measured by how strong the "weaker" boxers are. The best boxers will invariably be strong in any era, so that's not a good criteria.

What say you guys?

Based on their B sides? I'm not opposed to this, but if that's the case, then the Thirties get a real strong push here.

 

[Streeter]

Klitchko era is under rated.

 

[Seano]

70's ali era and it's not close.

 

[ssx]

70’s for sure. Other than that, most other eras are a coin flip on what you like. 90’s is a good era too as mentioned above.

 

[spacetime]

70's ali era and it's not close.

I don't think guys like earnie shavers, Peralta etc are as a boxer anywhere near the level of Terell, Jones, Williams etc

 

[nastyleft]

70s, 80s and 90s was a magical 3 decades in the heavyweight division.

 

[eternaldarkness]

I don't think guys like earnie shavers, Peralta etc are as a boxer anywhere near the level of Terell, Jones, Williams etc

shavers might not have to skill of terrell or williams, but they carried nowhere near the punch of shavers.

 

[spacetime]

shavers might not have to skill of terrell or williams, but they carried nowhere near the punch of shavers.

That doesn't make him a good boxer.

 

[Married...With Boxing]

Even at best it's going to have warts and naysaying about how bad it's gotten and grumbling about dry spells. But by decade, I take seventies, followed by nineties and then after that it's pretty muddled. When you add up times with a color line, with huge sabbaticals with guys sitting on THE title, the multiple belt insanity, the beginnings of widespread coke usage among the titlists, then the bulk era where guys who used to make 175 were making 225 and guys that made 200 were hitting 270 in "Regular" title attempts (something like that) and you can see why any era suffers if you want to assess it fully.

But:
Frazier, Foreman, Ali, Norton
Quarry, Bonavena, Chuvalo, Bugner, Lyle, Shavers, Young and really look at the work Holmes did in the late seventies, despite being rated as an eighties champion, being also a seventies champion. Whether some or most of their best was in the sixties or eighties, you look at the decade of the seventies with all of these guys doing great work...Golden era. Even a sixties prime Patterson gave rich contribution to the 70's, much like Holmes and Foreman gave to the nineties.