Let the debating begin....
I
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 56,525
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From: Westside til I die
Hmm...tough call. I think had things been different, Mike Tyson would have been the greatest that ever lived. He was the best physical boxing talent the world has ever seen, but lacked the mental side.
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Senior Member
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,925
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From: Sacramelto, home after 10 years in Texas
Tyson was a stupid, sociopath version of Joe Frazier. Ali at his peak would have beat Tyson like a rented mule. Too much speed, power and ability to take a punch. Ali, maybe Jack Johnson. Shame about the man putting both of these guys down, just because they were too outspoken. We missed out on seeing Ali at his peak, because he was not hip to going to Vietnam
pukimonster
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 9,967
Likes: 2
From: Milwaukee, WI
I think that Tyson is way overhyped. He's good, the best heavyweight boxer of the late 80s/early 90s, but you can only do so much at 5'11". It's easy for a "big" heavyweight to keep him at distance, frustrate him, and close in on him in the mid/late rounds (like Douglas and Lewis did). In the current heavyweight division, he still does have the potential to be the champ. He can't beat Klitschko, but Byrd and Brewster can, and Tyson would be able to take it from either of them...
Tyson won so many of his early fights because people tried to stand up and box him toe to toe (Berbick, Spinks). Berbick and Spinks both were able to beat him, but they hunted a puncher, and they were dealt their fate. Two of his greatest victories were against all-time greats who were past their prime: Spinks and Holmes.
To answer the question, I think that Larry Holmes was the best heavyweight ever. He was not as fast as Ali, but he had the same style, the same ability to frustrate his opponents, same footwork and body movement, plus two things that Ali didn't have: power and defense. Larry Holmes did hundreds of rounds with Ali as a sparring partner, which helped his technique a lot. In his early victories, he was out-boxing veterans like Ken Norton and Roy Williams, which proved his validity as a true champion. His victories over Ali, Mike Spinks and Trevor Berbick further proved his greatness. His first loss didn't come until ~37-38 years old against Cory Spinks. He lost to Tyson when he was 40, which is way over the hill for any heavyweight.
My top five heavyweights of all time:
1: Larry Holmes
2: George Foreman
3: Muhammad Ali
4: Joe Frazier
5: Sonny Liston
Tyson won so many of his early fights because people tried to stand up and box him toe to toe (Berbick, Spinks). Berbick and Spinks both were able to beat him, but they hunted a puncher, and they were dealt their fate. Two of his greatest victories were against all-time greats who were past their prime: Spinks and Holmes.
To answer the question, I think that Larry Holmes was the best heavyweight ever. He was not as fast as Ali, but he had the same style, the same ability to frustrate his opponents, same footwork and body movement, plus two things that Ali didn't have: power and defense. Larry Holmes did hundreds of rounds with Ali as a sparring partner, which helped his technique a lot. In his early victories, he was out-boxing veterans like Ken Norton and Roy Williams, which proved his validity as a true champion. His victories over Ali, Mike Spinks and Trevor Berbick further proved his greatness. His first loss didn't come until ~37-38 years old against Cory Spinks. He lost to Tyson when he was 40, which is way over the hill for any heavyweight.
My top five heavyweights of all time:
1: Larry Holmes
2: George Foreman
3: Muhammad Ali
4: Joe Frazier
5: Sonny Liston