In wake of tomorrows highly anticipated rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury, I thought I would release my first Top 5 list. I will release a Top 5 list every Friday from here on out. First up to pay homage to the great match we are in store for tomorrow, I rank my Top 5 heavyweight fighters of all time. My criteria for this list is as follows: overall record, quality of opponents, ability to rise to the occasion in the big spots, and body of work. So without any further delay , let’s get into it!
5. “Smokin” Joe Frazier- Frazier was atop his game during the “Golden Age of Heavyweight Boxing”. He beat everyone that came at him including Muhammad Ali in their first meeting (Ali won the next 2 meetings). Known for his absolutely devastating left hook, Frazier took on all challengers on his way to a world title in 1970. He defeated Ali in “The Fight Of The Century” in 1971. It wouldnt be until 2 years later that Frazier would drop the title to George Foreman in 1973. He would never reclaim it, falling twice against Ali and once more to Foreman. He retired for good in 1981 with a career record of 32-4-1.
4. George Foreman- Foreman was an accomplished amateur boxer, winning an Olympic gold medal in 1968, before going on to take over the professional Heavyweight division. 5 uears later he won the heavyweight crown with a second round knockout of Joe Frazier who was undefeated at the time. He lost his title at the “Rumble In The Jungle” in 1974 to Muhammad Ali. Foreman would retire and take an entire decade away from boxing. In 1994, Foreman made a comeback and reclaimed the heavyweight title knocking out Michael Moorer, becoming the oldest champion in boxing history at age 45. He is still the oldest heavyweight champion of all time but his record for oldest in any weight class was broken by Bernard Hopkins. Foreman would retire in 1997 with an astonishing career record of 76 wins and 5 losses, 68 wins coming by way of knockout.
3. Joe Louis- “The Brown Bomber” reigned supreme in the heavyweight division as champion from 1937 to 1949. During that span, Louis successfully defended his title 25 times, never waivering as the top dog. He retired with an amazing record of 66 wins and 3 losses. It is worth noting that Louis served his country with honor from 1942-1945 as a member of the US Army, no doubt skewing his final career record from having a few more tally’s in the win column and extending his record of successful title defenses.
2. Rocky Marciano- Marciano is the only heavyweight champion to ever retire undefeated. He amassed a record of 49-0 with 43 knockouts over his career. He had big wins over Joe Walcott and Joe Louis during this time. Known for his “inside” fighter mentality using body and yes, arm shots, he wore every fighter down he faced usually ending the fight in the later rounds by way of knockout. Roxky Marciano is still only 1 of 2 fighters with a minimum of 40 fights to retire undefeated (the other being Floyd Mayweather).
1. Muhammad Ali- Is there really any surprise here? Ali is widely regarded as the greatest of all time, most notably by himself as he made well known throughout his career. He is the only 3 time lineal champion ever as a heavyweight. He scored big wins in some of the most iconic fights of all time including “The Thrilla In Manila” over Joe Frazier and “The Rumble In The Jungle” over George Foreman. Ali still in my opinion the greatest of all time finishing his career with a record of 56 wins and 5 losses.
So there it is. My first ever top 5. Of course this list is subject to change over time. Starting tomorrow night, I believe whoever is victorious is well on their way to cracking this list before it is all said and done!! Stay tuned for my recap of the action and.much more from MacDaddySports!!
To The Rack With Mac 