ESPN top 50 boxers questions!?

Question

http://boxing.about.com/od/history/a/50_greatest.htm

Why is Mike Tyson last on the list when without a doubt he could knockout almost every other heavyweight on the list?

Also Floyd Mayweather is 48..... when i am willing to bet money that he would school basically all welterweights there including sugar ray robinson whom is 1st on the list..

There are many other present day fighters who are a lot better than the old fighters, yet over 80% of list are old fighters which I think is dumb.... What are your peoples thoughts?

Answer 1

How is Roberto Duran above Sugar Ray Leonard. Didn't he make him say "no mas". Great fighters don't quit in their corners. I also agree about the old fighters. What about Julio Cesar Chavez ,Roy Jones Jr not even in the top 20? I know Roy's fighting past his prime but check his record in his prime. Mike Tyson below Erik Morales?

Answer 2

tyson always seems to be remembered for his bad fights douglas holyfield lewis mcbride its too bad because tyson could of been in the top 3 had he stayed on the right track another thing people use against him is hes a rapist  they brag about how he lost 3 out of his 4 losses when lost much of his rings skills the real kick in the head is for mike tyson hes so stupid he destroyed his own career look up things he did to destroy his  career with the assistance of don king truly sad  tyson unfortunately will always be remembered for his faults more than his success

Answer 3

This may not be quite the answer you are hoping for...

Tyson....

You are right.

He had knockout power in both hands, and should rank in the top 10 or 20 all time heavyweight lists (and he usually does).

This poll is broader in scope. It includes other weight classes and besides ring performance, it includes achievements, dominance, and mainstream appeal.

As we all know, Tyson's ratings in these latter categories suffers, so there is your answer. He is a great fighter who falls short of this particular poll's criteria that is beyond pure boxing talent.

You are also right that there are some strange decisions in the rankings.

Sugar Ray Robinson, however, is not one of them.  It is tempting to dismiss old fighters. The obvious advantages of modern conditioning, widespread use of steroids (yes, Tyson used them), and scientific approaches to boxing technique, would seem to ensure that modern boxers be superior.  

But, when you see rankings done by those who know the sport, the old names are still there. Even when modern champions are asked to contribute.

George Foreman, for example, ranks Joe Lewis as the top heavyweight of all time, and he insists by a very, very  wide margin. Lewis is universally considered the hardest puncher in  history.

Another old fighter on the list you provided, the pathetically  skinny 167 pound Irish runt who looks like he should be a school teacher instead of a fighter named Billy Conn, nearly beat heavyweight Joe Lewis in the latter's prime. Watch the video on youtube. It is one of the most amazing battles you will ever see, and Lewis wins only because Conn gets overconfident (and that is according to Lewis).

As much as I admire Tyson as one of the most powerful and talented fighters of all time, I am absolutely sure that Tyson would have had his hands quite full with the tiny Conn. And while Tyson might win (and might not), he certainly would have lost against Lewis, Jack Johnston, and Jack Dempsey.  

What people forget about the old fighters is the following:

-they were smaller, so people assume they must be weaker, and yet they lived in a more physically demanding era where hard labour was a part of daily life. They were therefore strong and had great stamina.

-the old films we see now are of low quality, so old fights have an amateur look compared to today.

-they old fighters hit in a different way (read Dempsey's book on the topic where he laments the loss of punching power that boxing used to have). If you doubt this, watch Joe Lewis, Marciano, and Dempsey training on the heavy bag on youtube. George Foreman is the perhaps the only recent boxer with that kind of power.  

-the old fighters had much more ring experience than modern boxers because they fought much more often. Check out Archie Moore's career.

Boxing has improved a lot in the last eighty years. Better equipment, superior training, available steroids, and scientific boxing knowledge give modern boxers certain advantages.

But sometimes talent overcomes advantages. Tyson had natural talent to spare. But so did Robinson, and much beyond Mayweather or any other boxer in any other division historically. He is, and perhaps always will be,  #1 on every universal all time pound for pound list you can name.

Answer 4

1. Sugar Ray Robinson

2. Henry Armstrong

3. Muhammad Ali

4. Joe Louis

5. Willie Pep

6. Benny Leonard     Jake Lamotta should be somewhere here

7. Jack Johnson

8. Sam Langford

9. Roberto Duran

10. Harry Greb

11. Sugar Ray Leonard

12. Jack Dempsey

13. Gene Tunney

14. Ezzard Charles

15. Joe Gans

16. Jimmy Wilde

17. Rocky Marciano

18. Roy Jones Jr

19. Floyd Mayweather Jr

20. Micky Walker

21. George Foreman

22. Stanley Ketchel

23. Archie Moore

24. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr

25. Jimmy McLarnin

26. Marvin Hagler

27. Barney Ross

28. Alexis Arguello

29. Sandy Saddler

30. Terry McGovern

31. Carlos Monzon

32. Billy Conn

33. Joe Frazier

34. Pernell Whitaker

35. Ruben Oliveras

36. Ted Kid Lewis

37. Jose Naoples

38. Thomas Hearns

39. Emilie Griffith

40. Larry Holmes

41. Tony Canzoneri

42. Eder Jofre

43. Bernard Hopkins

44. Lennox Lewis

45. Pascual Perez

46. Evander Holyfield

47. Bob Fitzsimmons

48. Kid Chocolate

49. Salvador Sanchez

50. Mike Spinks          Spinks is Higher than Tyson.

51. Marcel Cerdan          awful list

52. Pancho Villa

53. Wilfredo Gomez

54. Kid Gavilan

55. Jake Lamotta    Not here

56. Khaosai Galaxy

57. Ike Williams

58. Mike Tyson

59. Charlie Burley

60. Carlos Zarate

61. Miguel Canto

62. Fighting Harada

63. Aaron Pryor

64. d**k Tiger

65. Danny Lopez

66. Joe Galzaghe

67. Carmen Basilio

68. Carlos Ortiz

69. Ricardo Lopez

70. Barbados Joe Walcott

71. Flash Elorde

72. Mike McCallum

73. Vincente Saldivar

74. George Dixon

75. Felix Trindad

76. Bob Foster

77. Wilfred Benitez

78. Oscar DelaHoya

79. Erik Morales

80. Hector Camacho

Answer 5

Pernell WHITAKER 44???

Sal Sanchez NOT on the list?????

Answer 6

Rocky Marciano should be bumped into the top 10.  

Manny Pacquiao should have at least made the top 50.  His recent  victims- Barrera and Morales made it.

Tyson would have been higher if he didn't go to jail and also biting Holyfield's ear off didn't help his cause.

Answer 7

I am just glad Floyd "Money" Mayweather made the list.

Answer 8

I think it is a bit odd.  I have an amusing thought that says that Teddy Atlas influenced the decision to rank Tyson no higher than 50th.  Floyd's mouth, not his boxing, cost him several spots.  Also, I think they were looking at total number of fights.

I think Tyson should be top 15, I'd rank him #9, I think May could be as high as 8 or as low as 13.

Theodore... while Euro countries might win more medals, you are comparing the talent pool of a couple dozen countries to America.  When you compare country to country, America's medal count is disproportionately higher than European countries, and for good reason, America has more people than any European country (but less than the sum total of the European countries).  That said, this is about professional boxing, not amatuer and olympic boxing.  It is much different without the headgear on.  With the exception of the Heavyweights, the titles are hard to come by in Europe.

Answer 9

ok i see ur points but can i ask u something man???is not shoking to u that 99% of them are americans while usa has win 25% of boxing medals in olympics while europe has 60%???and is not shoking to u that after 1998 7 more countries from europe were allowed to be professional (added to uk-italy-germany) europe now holds what 70% of the important divisions??:)

Answer 10

Tyson should be there. Mayweather should also.

but rankings are very questionable. Sugar Ray is a good number 1. Muhammad has every right to claim that position however. as for marciano... him being 14th is ridiculous, the only heavyweight champ to retire undefeated marks him as a true champion. he should be top 5. & Joe Louis is top 5 for sure.

Answer 11

it's opinion . based on who they think deserves it. obviously tyson went through alot.trouble in his prime that's why many don't consider him great becuz he couldn't keep out trouble.if he was trouble free u could see him in top 10 or maybe even 5.. i have him top 10 already but they think different just like everyone else.