Who is the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time?

Question

Who is the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time?

Answer 1

Mike Tyson, when he was 20. He only got to stay 20 for 365 days, but when he was, I doubt anyone could've beat him.

Answer 2

muhammad ali made good fighters look ordinary.

in his 30's he beat foreman, frazier, norton, shavers & lyle.

Answer 3

Mohammed ali was the greatest heavy weight there is no doubt about it, just look at the level of competition he has faced, he beat has beaten some of the greatest boxers in history, he has taken punches from the hardest hitters (,foreman and sheavers) he has faced fast and sleek fighters (norton and patterson) he has fought even the most aggressive and intimidating fighters (frazier and liston) as well as many other good boxers

and he beat them all

Joe Louis is a great but even his level of competition does not match ali's

Rocky marciano's level of competition is not even worth comparing, his toughest opponents were and old ezzard charles and an even older archie moore (joe louis was just an old guy fighting for money by then) he was tough but nowhere close to some of ali's opponents

Ali was definetely the greatest.

Answer 4

Muhammad Ali easily,  he was in the greatest era of boxing.   He defeated more great fighters than any other heavyweight.   Joe Frazier twice, George Foreman, Ken Norton twice, Sonny Liston twice , Floyd Patterson twice, Bob Foster, Earnie Shavers, & Archie Moore.  

There is no other heavyweight in history that can state that he beat that many heavyweight contenders.

Answer 5

Mohammed Ali

Answer 6

Rocky Marciano , of course.

Additional:   with forty-three knockouts to his credit (an 87.76% knockout rate), remains the only heavyweight champion in boxing history to retire having won every fight in his professional career.

BTW--I ran into Muhammed Ali in the airport in Las Vegas years ago--literally ran into him.  He gave me his autograph.

Answer 7

Muhammad Ali is not just the greatest boxer of all time but the greatest sportsman of all time

Answer 8

"sigh"  We do this quite often lately.   It HAS to be THE most asked question on this site.   Here goes again

MUHAMMAD ALI

Ali and Joe Louis stand well above the rest of the division.  Now you have your

TOP 10 in no certain order.

Jack Johnson

Jack Dempsey

Rocky Marciano

Sonny Liston

Joe Frazier

George Forman

Larry Holmes

Mike Tyson

Evander Holyfield

Lennox Lewis

NONE of these 10 would go undefeated in a series of battles against the others on this list.   Lennox Lewis and Larry Holmes would be at or near the top because they would suffer fewer losses than the others.  

Dempsey and Frazier would be near the bottom because they would suffer more losses than the others.  Styles make fights so some who would lose to many would also beat others.  

A good example of this is Marciano, Frazier and Tyson.  While Rocky will always be ranked above both Tyson and Frazier,  there is no guarentee of who would win IN THE RING.  If they were closer to the same size,  its easy to pick Marciano over Tyson.  Tyson is much faster and more accurate and punches harder.   Marciano has much better stamina.  Mike has a better chin than both of them.  

Tyson 217,  Frazier 205, Marciano 188.  

There is a 29 pound difference between Tyson and Marciano so its not impossible to see Tyson winning early.  Being closer to his size,  Frazier could possibly survive the early onslaught and grind Tyson down in the later rounds.  He could also be KO'd by Marciano given the fact that Rocky has power in BOTH hands vs Frazier's dominant left.  

This is just ONE example.  The outcomes could very well be very different.  The same or similar could hold true for Lennox Lewis, George Forman and Sonny Liston.  

Gene Tunney and Ezzard Charles would be the best of the rest.  But neither would remain in the Top 10 because they would suffer too many losses.   Neither is big enough to overcome the size difference.    

Tunney could possibly out run Forman or Liston in the early rounds.  But how likely is that when either could change the fight with one punch?   Charles could possibly gut out a close decision against Holmes or Holyfield.  He's better in every way than Michael Spinks, who beat a post-prime Holmes.  But how likely is it that Charles could win over Holmes or Holyfield?

A few other champions might score a win over someone in the top 10.  I could see a diciplined, conditioned Riddick Bowe giving Liston or Frazier a rough night.  But how often was Bowe in shape or serious about boxing.  Any man who has a KITCHEN custom build IN HIS BEDROOM cant be serious IN THE RING.  

Ken Norton might score a win or two but I dont see him having much success with this group.  Forget the ALi fights.  Ali was well past his prime in all the Norton fights.   Had he never been exiled there might only have been ONE fight with Norton and nothing further to prove.  Look at Norton's record against other top level heavyweights.  

It is what it is.  

Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis stand WELL above the rest.  

Ali has Louis' number

He's the greatest.

Answer 9

Muhammad Ali.

Answer 10

I'd go with Ali.  He added a lot of class to the division and attracted attention beyond the circle of hard-core fans.  He showed us a heavyweight can be an intelligent boxer, not just a banger.

Answer 11

Lennox Lewis

Answer 12

Carapicho Ludwig from my home town of bringhurst, IN

he was idolized by EVERYONE and then he did die.  he died of bladder implosion.

Answer 13

MIKE TYSON

Answer 14

Tyson only faced one style.Upright head hunters from our slumping modern era.The crouch fighters, body punchers, rocks and master counter punchers died out in the 1970's, so as good as tyson might have been we can never be sure...

Ali beat all of boxings styles.

Twice.

Once as a young man.

Then with his body old, he found a way to beat them again.

That is the greatest accomplishment concievable, and given heavyweight boxing has slumped so badly now, it will never be repeated.

Answer 15

Terry Knods(nods)-greatest mind in boxing-oh my