IT’S the ultimate talking point among fight fans – who were the best in their weight divisions.
This week I reprint, with his permission, a recent column by one of the finest men in British journalism, Mike Lockley of Shropshire.
Mike, former deputy editor of Boxing News, wrote in the Birmingham Mail who he thought were the 10 best heavyweights who ever laced on a pair of sweaty boxing gloves.
His piece caused a stir, especially his reluctance to rank Mike Tyson among the 10.
Mike was deputy editor at Boxing News in the early 1980s and had the misfortune to be ringside for the Johnny Owen-Lupe Pintor tragedy in Los Angeles but the fortune to be ringside for the Clinton McKenzie-Des Morrison classic at York Hall.
A prolifically hard worker and brilliant writer, Mike is the kind who, for instance, recently travelled 50-odd miles in mid-winter just to have moody Roberto Duran grunt in Spanish at Mike’s efforts to interview him in Staffordshire.
Mike, ever the pro, still managed to get an article out of it for his paper the Birmingham Mail.
London readers of BN may never have heard of ‘Lockers’ but in Birmingham and the Midlands he is a journalistic legend who on a personal level has been a great friend, writing references for me even when he has been extremely busy.
No one has a bad word to say about him because he is a giver, not a taker.
And he really knows his boxing. He is up there with Bob Mee when it comes to reading a fight, in my humble opinion.
Here are his top 10 heavyweights in his own words, and I aim to follow weekly with his top 10s of the other weight divisions which he has written for the Mail. But, first the heavyweights.
Now what do you make of his top 10?
10. Mike Tyson.
I’ve begrudgingly bowed to pressure from the Mail’s sports desk, but it’s hard to make a case for Tyson to be listed among the all-time greats. He appeals to the casual boxing fans who enjoy spectacular knockouts. Tyson provided plenty of those, but against moderate opposition. Who did he beat of any note?
He won the heavyweight title against one of the division’s most mediocre champs in Trevor Berbick, lost it to Buster Douglas and was humiliated by Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis.
Many of the greats in the above list stayed too long in boxing and got beat, but they got beat by top fighters. They would not have lost to boxers such as Kevin McBride and Danny Williams. Tyson did.
In truth, Iron Mike was a great “on top” fighter, a bully boy. He looked spectacular dishing it out, but ran out of ideas and ambition against those who could stand-up to his power and hit back. Holyfield, brave, blast-proof and skilled, would’ve beaten Tyson at any stage in his career.
Mike Tyson was a TV myth, not a monster.
9. Lennox Lewis.
British fans still don’t know what they witnessed in Lewis, the nearest thing we’ve come to a heavyweight great, even though the Canadians had a greater claim on the towering fighter. He had the build, brains and ability. Just look who he beat – Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson, Andrew Golota, Vitali Klitschko. Lewis could be ill-disciplined – lack of application accounted for his losses to Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall – but at his peak, he was a perfect fighter.
8. Rocky Marciano.
You can’t argue with perfection – Rocky retired with a perfect 49-0 record, but you can argue with the quality of opposition. White and of Italian stock, he was box-office dynamite – and those around the champ did everything to ensure the dollars kept rolling in by feeding him a series of soft touches.
The only big names on his record – Joe Louis, Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott – were way past their prime when they faced Marciano. Even light-heavyweight Archie Moore dropped him. Yes, Marciano was strong, brave and exciting, but he was also small, clumsy and cut-prone. Would George Foreman and Larry Holmes have beaten him? Yes, easily.
7. Sonny Liston.
A brooding, malevolent figure who struck fear into the hearts of opponents. He was considered invincible following two one-round wins over Floyd Patterson in 1962 and ‘63. He also hammered top contenders Cleveland Williams, Zora Foley and Nino Valdes.
His standing in the game was irrevocably damaged by Ali. His second loss – a one round dive in ‘65 – was particularly shameful.
6. Joe Frazier.
Magnificent buzzsaw of a fighter who had the misfortune of sharing the ring spotlight with Ali. In 1971, Smokin’ Joe became the first boxer to beat him and that thunderous left hook also destroyed the very best the division had to offer in the mid 60s to early 70s. Quite simply, the man was never in a bad fight.
5. George Foreman.
This big hitting heavyweight’s legacy was forever tarnished by the loss to Ali, but he was one fearsome fighters – and one of the biggest hitters the division has known. He destroyed Joe Frazier in two rounds in 1973 to take the title, bludgeoned Ken Norton and even blasted out granite chinned George Chuvalo. What’s more, he regained the title by halting Michael Moorer in 1994, aged 45.
4. Larry Holmes.
The most underrated champ of them all, cursed for reigning immediately after Ali. Holmes had it all – including the best jab ever thrown by a heavyweight. Holmes reigned from 78 to ‘85, making 19 defences. What’s more, in 1992, after coming out of retirement, he took Evander Holyfield the distance.
Forget the loss to Mike Tyson – he was then way past his best. Similarly, forget the win over Ali – The Greatest was no longer great.
Holmes was vilified for announcing: “(Rocky) Marciano couldn’t carry my jockstrap.” Maybe he shouldn’t have said it, but he was right.
3. Jack Johnson.
In an era when black fighter were blocked from fighting for boxing’s greatest bauble, Johnson showed bravery – some may say belligerence – both inside and outside the ring. He enraged society by dating and marrying white women and delighted in taunting the rednecks who could not abide having a black champ.
Highly skilled and powerful, Johnson virtually had to chase reigning champ Tommy Burns around the world before shaming him into a 1908 title defence in Sydney, Australia. Burns was trounced, sparking a feverish search for a white fighter capable of knocking Johnson off his perch.
Was Mayweather-Pacquiao the biggest fight of all time? No, it was Johnson’s 1910 defence against James J Jeffries, a former champ lured out of retirement to “whup the negro”. In its preview, the New York Times wrote: ‘“If the black man wins, thousands and thousands of his ignorant brothers will misinterpret his victory as justifying claims to much more than mere physical equality with their white neighbours.”
Johnson destroyed Jeffries – a victory that sparked riots across America. Johnson won 73 of 104 contests, losing just 13.
2. Joe Louis.
A master technician – every move from every remaining film of the Brown Bomber in action could come from a boxing manual. The statistics speak for themselves. In a career spannig 1934 to 1951, Louis lost only three times in 69 fights. After taking the title from Cinderella Man Jim Braddock in 1937, he made 25 title defences and was champ for 12 years. OK, Louis embarked on a “Bum of the Month” spree of lacklustre opponents, but there are plenty of big name victims on his record. Men like Jersey Joe Walcott, Max Schmeling, Max Baer…
Influence outside the ring? Joe’s annihilation of Schmeling – revenge for a previous stoppage loss to the German – was one in the eye for Hitler’s master-race.
1. Muhammad Ali
No contest. The self-styled Greatest lived up to his billing. Fighting legends have to meet three criteria: their ability, the calibre of their opposition and their impact beyond the sport. Muhammad Ali ticked all boxes.
There has not been a faster heavyweight. Few have possessed his iron chin. Few have shown his bravery: how many other fighters would’ve risen in the 15th round from that Frazier left hook? How many would’ve battled Ken Norton with a broken jaw?
In Sonny Liston and George Foreman, Ali dismantled two men considered unbeatable, considered monsters. He also defeated Norton, Frazier, Floyd Patterson, Jerry Quarry, Ernie Terrell, Earnie Shavers. His stance against the Vietnam War – and boxing suspension that followed – pushed his profile beyond boxing.
Ali frequently announced: “I am the greatest.” He wasn’t kidding.
