Which Heavy Champ Fought The Most Top Punchers?

[mcvey]

In your opinion,which of the Heavyweight Champions faced the most top level punchers in his career?

[Jack Dempsey]

Ali?

Shavers, Foreman, Liston

[SuzieQ49]

1. Muhammad Ali- Moore, Foreman, Liston 2x, Frazier 3x, Lyle, Shavers, Patterson 2x, Williams, Mac Foster, Lavorante,
2. Lennox Lewis- Morrison, Klitschko, Tua, Tyson, Mercer, Akinwande, Briggs, Rahman 2x, Mccall 2x, Bruno, Ruddock, Grant
3. Jersey Joe Walcott- Louis 2x, Ray 3x, Murray, Marciano 2x, Layne, Fox 2x, Pack, Sheppard 2x, Gomez, Simon, Hoff

[Senya13]

Lennox.

[Bokaj]

For me it's Lewis and it's quite clear. Tua, Tyson, Briggs, Morrisson, Vitaly, McCall, Rahman etc. He took on the hardest punchers in the hardest punching division in HW history.

[DocDevil]

i got go along with Jack Dempsey and Suzie Q.Ali,fighting guys like Liston,Foreman, Shavers Cleveland Williams,Mac Foster,etc,were outsatnding high percentage ko artists.That isn't even counting guys like Quarry,Frazier and Floyd Patterson.

[Hydraulix]

Ali- Liston, Foreman, Shavers, Frazier, Norton

Holmes- Tyson, Shavers

Lennox- Tua, Tyson, Mercer

Holyfield- Lewis, Tyson, Foreman

[Senya13]

Calling ancient lhw Moore, literally shot Williams, blown-up lhw Patterson, Frazier with his less than mediocre punching power (for a hw) and Lavorante top punchers is a bit of a stretch. Guys like Mac Foster there were tens of heavyweights with as much power during the 1990s-2000s.

[DocDevil]

It could also be said Tyson wasn't near the puncher he was when he fought Lewis.

[MRBILL]

In your opinion,which of the Heavyweight Champions faced the most top level punchers in his career?

Ali and Holy......... No dount there....:good

MR.BILL:hey:deal

[Bokaj]

It could also be said Tyson wasn't near the puncher he was when he fought Lewis.

Atually I'm quite certain was a harder puncher at that point than he was in his prime.

[Muchmoore]

For me it's Lewis and it's quite clear. Tua, Tyson, Briggs, Morrisson, Vitaly, McCall, Rahman etc. He took on the hardest punchers in the hardest punching division in HW history.

I don't know though. Lewis is definently no lower than 2 on this list, but Ali might have him beat.

Shavers, Foreman are on pretty much every list as top 5 all time punchers, and Liston is frequently listed in there too. Lewis didn't fight three punchers of that caliber.

[Muchmoore]

It could also be said Tyson wasn't near the puncher he was when he fought Lewis.

Tyson was inferior to his former self in nearly every aspect, but pure power wasn't one of them. He bulked up in the late ninetees and power was what kept him as a contender. Watch him KO Botha for proof.

[heehoo]

Muhammad Ali without a doubt.

[cpnasty]

Ali

[DocDevil]

Sorry nothing personal,I am sticking up for the fighters of the sixties and seventies, early eighties.Outside of Foreman's comeback in the 90's,I know or watched little of boxing,I quit watching because of the watered down half dozen versions of world titles.To totally disregard the power of the Foster's Mac and Bob,Shavers,Foreman,Frazier etc is a bit of a stretch.But this forum is all opiniated,and every decade had it's share of big bangers.

[mcvey]

Think I'll go with Lennox.

[ChrisPontius]

1. Muhammad Ali- Moore, Foreman, Liston 2x, Frazier 3x, Lyle, Shavers, Patterson 2x, Williams, Mac Foster, Lavorante,
2. Lennox Lewis- Morrison, Klitschko, Tua, Tyson, Mercer, Akinwande, Briggs, Rahman 2x, Mccall 2x, Bruno, Ruddock, Grant
3. Jersey Joe Walcott- Louis 2x, Ray 3x, Murray, Marciano 2x, Layne, Fox 2x, Pack, Sheppard 2x, Gomez, Simon, Hoff


I made a thread a long while ago on this topic with an extended evaluation per champion, and i got to exactly the same top3. Walcott is the surprise here; when i started going through the numbers, i did not even expect Walcott to make the top5.

[DocDevil]

Started counting Ali's competion,came up with 454 knockouts after 7 guys.Don't really have the patience for this.

[Senya13]

Liston's getting a little overrated as a puncher too, numbers do matter, and his numbers are not very impressive. Both his punching power and offensive ability are somewhat blown out of proportion.

[MrMarvel]

Ali.

He faced Liston, Williams, Frazier, Foreman, and Shavers.

[MrMarvel]

How on earth does Layne get ranked a top heavyweight puncher? You guys need to look at the opponents. Layne doesn't get to 50 percent and he faced a lot of tomato cans.

[TheGreatA]

Don't forget Ali opponent LaMar Clark who KO'd 42 men in a row and had a 91.5 KO%.

:lol:

[DocDevil]

Don't think Mercer's power was exceptional

[TheGreatA]

I don't think of Henry Akinwande and Michael Grant as top punchers.

Akinwande also only has a 55% KO ratio and never knocked out a live body except chinny Jeremy Williams.

Grant was a big guy and had an impressive record. He didn't stop too many top men though aside from Golota who quit in a fight he was winning.

[Russell]

Grant badly broke Corey Sander's nose and had it pouring blood like a faucet, and in general was hitting him with shots that were putting other fighters who Sander's had fought (Maskaev, for starters) punches to shame.

[TheGreatA]

Grant badly broke Corey Sander's nose and had it pouring blood like a faucet, and in general was hitting him with shots that were putting other fighters who Sander's had fought (Maskaev, for starters) punches to shame.

Sanders was pretty tough but I'm not sure if this proves Grant's punching power.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Savarese went the distance with Grant and Grant landed about 300 punches on him.

[Russell]

Savarese wasn't the easiest guy in the world to put away. Remember his last fight with Holyfield?

[SuzieQ49]

How on earth does Layne get ranked a top heavyweight puncher? You guys need to look at the opponents. Layne doesn't get to 50 percent and he faced a lot of tomato cans.

"Throw out the record book on Layne, he was a rugged brawler with a quick, very heavy right. As he got shopworn and discouraged, more and more, he got outworked and beaten down.

But, when he first raged out of Utah -- full of piss and vinegar -- he'd have been a handful for anybody. He could crack with that right."- John Garfield

[Flea Man]

Bizarre that Lewis fought so many great punchers yet got K.O'd by McCall and Rahman, two very average punchers.

Lewis was not in bad shape for the first McCall fight, but when unmotivated could be caught, and at HW that's all it takes.

But for me, it's Lewis. Tyson was still a seriously dangerous puncher (if not a great boxer by that point) and Tua, Mercer, Hell, even Frank Bruno are right up there too.

I would say Lewis, then Ali, although a case for Ali can be made easily.

[ChrisPontius]

Bizarre that Lewis fought so many great punchers yet got K.O'd by McCall and Rahman, two very average punchers.


Boxing is bizarre. Ali fought Foreman, Liston, Shavers and Frazier, yet who had him on queer street? Cooper.

Same for Holmes, he fought Shavers, Cooney, Tyson and Mercer, Witherspoon at one point had him more hurt than any of those, except for Tyson, had.


The bottomline? At heavyweight, anyone can punch and even a "light" hitter is dangerous when landing the right shot.

[Bokaj]

I don't know though. Lewis is definently no lower than 2 on this list, but Ali might have him beat.

Shavers, Foreman are on pretty much every list as top 5 all time punchers, and Liston is frequently listed in there too. Lewis didn't fight three punchers of that caliber.

I really like the 70's crowd, but I think they might just be a tad bit overrated as punchers. Don't get me wrong, Foreman and Shavers had brutal power, but I think you have a couple of guys in the 90's with just as much if not even more power.

The older, heavier Tyson had lost in just about every other apartment, but his power was really something else. I fotget who it was he lifted off the canvas with a brutal uppercut - it was one of the guys he met before Lewis. Then you also have Tua, Morrisson, Briggs etc.

Let's say that those was the four are the most powerful punchers Lewis met. I think they had a bit more power on average than Ali's four most powerful opponents - Foreman, Shavers, Liston and Williams. But where Lewis really pulls clear is with his second tier of powerful opponents - Vitaly, Mercer, Bruno and Ruddock (he perhaps belongs in the first tier actually). Ali has what? Frazier, Lyle, MacFoster. There's a clear difference here.

I just can't see it any other way than that Lewis met the most powerful punchers.

[turpinr]

i would say ali is the clear winner ,with............
foreman,liston,shavers,williams,lyle,frazier,cooper,foster(mac & bob)

not all fought ali at his peak and not all landed with a lot of pubches but the list is still impressive !!

[Muchmoore]

I really like the 70's crowd, but I think they might just be a tad bit overrated as punchers. Don't get me wrong, Foreman and Shavers had brutal power, but I think you have a couple of guys in the 90's with just as much if not even more power.

The older, heavier Tyson had lost in just about every other apartment, but his power was really something else. I fotget who it was he lifted off the canvas with a brutal uppercut - it was one of the guys he met before Lewis. Then you also have Tua, Morrisson, Briggs etc.

Let's say that those was the four are the most powerful punchers Lewis met. I think they had a bit more power on average than Ali's four most powerful opponents - Foreman, Shavers, Liston and Williams. But where Lewis really pulls clear is with his second tier of powerful opponents - Vitaly, Mercer, Bruno and Ruddock (he perhaps belongs in the first tier actually). Ali has what? Frazier, Lyle, MacFoster. There's a clear difference here.

I just can't see it any other way than that Lewis met the most powerful punchers.

Yeah, in terms of depth of quality punchers Lewis definently has Ali beaten so he probably deserves the nod.

[he grant]

Throw Evander in there ...

Tyson
Bowe - very underated as a puncher
Lewis
Mercer
Moorer
Foreman - still a hell of a hitter
Cooper - an under achiever who could blast
Alex Stewart - a decent hitter

The shots he took from Tyson, Lewis and Bowe were unreal ... Evander had an all time chin in my book .

[SuzieQ49]

Good call on Evander, he would be 4th on my list.


Foreman - still a hell of a hitter

you think your maybe over exaggerating slightly? I mean he knocked out alot of tomato cans, but when he stepped up in competition...the only member of Ring Magazine top 10 he knocked out was michael moorer. Alex Stewart, whom tyson knocked out in one round went the distance with george and bloodied him up. Axel Shulz, Glass Jaw Morrison, Briggs, Grimsley, Savarese all these "fringe" contenders foreman was unable to kayo... Why did his knockout percentage take such a drop once he stepped up to face contenders?


I check my boxing registar and the only guys listed as top 10 when foreman fought them were Tommy Morrison and champions Evander Holyfield and Michael Moorer. I was suprised to find Axel Shulz and Shannon Briggs were not in the top 10 when foreman fought them.

[lefthook31]

Doesnt matter if they have no skills. Lewis probably faced the most of them, just due to the evolution of man physically, but many were either severely lacking in the skill department or past their best. What good is it if you cant deliver it.

If you put them on the punching machine at the circus they would all win prizes though. :hey

[DocDevil]

Boxing is bizarre. Ali fought Foreman, Liston, Shavers and Frazier, yet who had him on queer street? Cooper.

Same for Holmes, he fought Shavers, Cooney, Tyson and Mercer, Witherspoon at one point had him more hurt than any of those, except for Tyson, had.


The bottomline? At heavyweight, anyone can punch and even a "light" hitter is dangerous when landing the right shot.


I think Mercer is over-rated,but another guy who had Holmes down was Renaldo Snipes.There was talk of a long count in that one.Snipes had a great quote,"it takes 10 seconds to win the championship,it took Larry Holmes 14 seconds to defend it".

[janitor]

Facing a large number of punchers is over-rated.

Punchers generaly are over-rated.

A fighter with top end power and nothing else is as much use as a piss pot with a hole in the bottom.

There have been many champions who have taken the bombs of limited punchers but got into hot water against a technician with fair power.

[SuzieQ49]

A fighter with top end power and nothing else is as much use as a piss pot with a hole in the bottom.

There have been many champions who have taken the bombs of limited punchers but got into hot water against a technician with fair power.

excellent point

[Bokaj]

Facing a large number of punchers is over-rated.

Punchers generaly are over-rated.

A fighter with top end power and nothing else is as much use as a piss pot with a hole in the bottom.

There have been many champions who have taken the bombs of limited punchers but got into hot water against a technician with fair power.

Absolutely. That makes wonder why Foreman made it so far, though. Was it through smart management or wasn't he as limited as he looks? Was there a method to his madness so to speak? He's very much an enigma for me.

[SuzieQ49]

That makes wonder why Foreman made it so far, though. Was it through smart management or wasn't he as limited as he looks? Was there a method to his madness so to speak? He's very much an enigma for me.

careful. Your about to recieve a piece of Mr. Marvel/Chris ******'s mind LOL

[Bokaj]

careful. Your about to recieve a piece of Mr. Marvel/Chris ******'s mind LOL

Hell, just good proof I'm doing something right:cool:

[MAG1965]

Holmes-Tyson,Shavers,Cooney

[leverage]

Ali without a doubt. He fought liston, frazier, williams, foreman, shavers, quarry and other known punchers.

[Mendoza]

In your opinion,which of the Heavyweight Champions faced the most top level punchers in his career?

Holmes, Ali, Holyfield, and Lewis.

[ChrisPontius]

Snipes had a great quote,"it takes 10 seconds to win the championship,it took Larry Holmes 14 seconds to defend it".


Holmes was given the (in my opinion, rightful) benefit of the doubt; i hadn't heard that quote before though, excellent. :lol: