Is this the best ever heavy weight boxer?

[BensGrandad]

Went to Vegas to see Lewis fight David Tua and Foreman was the analyzer on a TV channel and after the fight someone near us asked him if he was going to come out of retirement and fight Lennox his answer was' do I look stupid I wouldnt have fought him when I was in my prime let alone now'.

 

[Biscuit]

I think that the best ever is between 2 Ali and Lennox Lewis with Ali just getting the nod.

Tyson was scared of Lewis and made lots of shouts about wanting to fight him but never did anything about getting his men to arrange the fights when both men were in their prime.

All the oldies like Rocky Marciano, Joe Loius, Willie Pastrano etc were all much too small to fight Lewis who would have clubbed them around the ring. Ali would have beaten them for speed and power.

Lennox Vs Ali

Now that would be a fight... (in there prime obviously!)

 

[Icy Gull]

I think that the best ever is between 2 Ali and Lennox Lewis with Ali just getting the nod.

.

Both Joe Frazier and George Foreman at their peaks would have beaten Lennox Lewis quite comfortably imo.

 

[Frutos]

All the oldies like Rocky Marciano, Joe Loius, Willie Pastrano etc were all much too small to fight Lewis.

At least Marciano and Louis were World Heavyweight Champions, Pastrano was only ever a Light-Heavyweight Champion who fought a few Heavyweights (Brian London, for example).

In my view, the best heavyweight ever was Ali. His fights with Frazier were fantastic (especially the legendary Thrilla In Manila), and I think that, at his peak, he could have dealt with pretty much anything thrown at him by anybody.

He beat two of the hardest punchers in heavyweight history in Sonny Liston and George Foreman, so I can't imagine that Tyson would have held any real fear for him at his best.

Let's extend this little debate to who people's favourite boxers were/are outside of the heavyweight ranks.

I would say that my personal favourite was the man they called 'JC Superstar' Julio Cesar Chavez. At his peak, he was awesome (although like so so many other fighters, he fought on far longer than he should have), and he just gets it for me ahead of the likes of De La Hoya, Barrera, Hearns and Hagler.

Also, in another little strand, who would people say was/is the the hardest puncher in boxing history? I'd have to go with Julian 'The Hawk' Jackson, most famously of course for his brutal one punch flattening of Herol 'Bomber' Graham, and also for the way he beat Terry Norris and others.

 

[hopkins]

Tysons not even in the top 10. Was brilliant up to the age of 22 but from the 1st Bruno fight onwards apperently didnt train and believed his own hype. He was a bully and when someone comes along whos not scared (Holyfield) the fights over.

Ali was the best heavyweight in my opinion before the war draft issue. Moved like a welterweight and after the war he relied to much on the rope a dope but still beat all before him (in rematches anyway).

Lewis was good but you shouldnt be beaten by the likes of McCall and Rahman and squeze past a shot Holyfield in the 2nd fight, no to mention that Klitschko was beating him until the cuts stopped it.

Weve not even mentioning Louis, Johnson, Dempsey or Holmes.

One of my favourites outside the heavies was aaron pryor non stop punching and beat arguello twice (and Sugar Ray wouldnt go anywhere near him !)