Who was the best heavyweight fighter of all time? Marciano,Louis, Tyson, Ali?

Answer 1

Of course Marciano was the best ever. He even beat Ali and never lost a fight.
Tyson lost his fights to all good boxers.
Louis was great.

Answer 2

I once heard someone say that the two best heavyweights there have ever been are Cassius Clay and Muhammad Ali. And it is hard to go against Marciano who was 49-0 and has a victory over Louis (an old Louis).

I remember Ali with Howard Cosell looking at all the past heavyweight champs and Ali would say they were good, but he would whoop all of them...that is, until he saw Marciano. Ali still thought he could beat him but admitted this guy would give him problems.

It's hard to compare heavyweights of different eras. but in my opinion 12 years and 9 months with 20+ title defenses puts Louis at the top.

strange thing b/t Louis, Tyson, Ali is that all 3 missed a few years of their prime. Louis for WW2, Tyson for jail, and Ali for Vietnam War.

The great thing about boxing is that one punch changes everything (which is why boxing is so appealing; whether you are winning or losing the fight could end at any moment). because of this, you cant say that Tyson or Marciano couldnt beat these guys. Marciano was losing for 12+ rounds before he knocked out Jersey Joe Walcott and won the title. Plus Marciano's chances always improved as the fight went on (wish the same was true for Tyson, but he faded as fights went on.)

Honorable mentions: Gene Tunney. he beat Dempsey twice and only lost once to Harry Greb, whom he later beat...4 times after that. Also I think Lennox Lewis and Holyfield would have given any of the former greats problems...not sure if they would have won.

Answer 3

Marciano was good undefeated at 49-0. Joe Louis battled racism and held the heavyweight championship longer than anyone but Muhammad Ali was the greatest of all time. Ali was THE greatest. He fought during the golden era of the heavyweight division and dominated. He cleaned out the heavyweight division 3 times and caputred the heavyweight title on all 3 occasions. He was a political figure too. He beat some of the greatest heavyweights of all time. He even knocked out the seemingly invincible George Foreman who is one of the hardest punchers of all time. Lets not forget his trilogy with Joe Frazier or defeating Sonny Liston twice, even knocking him out in the first round. He bounced back from almost all of his losses to beat those who beat him. People might not have liked his cocky attitude but i think thats what made him so great. He got to saying he was the greatest and people got to believing it. Thats part of the reason why he was so great. He could predict what round he was gonna knock his oppenent out in. Muhammad Ali is hands down the greatest heavyweight of all time.



P.S. - I just noticed you had Tyson on there. Tyson is definetly not on the top 10. He was good, but he showed no heart and couldn't rebound from a loss. I think if he woudl've took things a little slower he probably could've became great. He was the champ at 20 and as mentally unstable as he was, it was a disaster from the start. Tyson is not great.

Answer 4

Ali was the best boxer in the history of boxing. Louis, Jack Johnson, and Marciano are next in the heavyweight division. I agree that Tyson doesn't belong in the top ten of heavyweights.

Answer 5

Louis with Ali a very close second. Marciano was undefeated but was a pretty small guy as heavyweights go. Tyson shouldn't even be on any list of best boxers..........period.

Answer 6

Rocky Marciano

Answer 7

It boils down to 2 boxers
Ali & Joe Louis
The rest can sort it out for themselves

Who would win between those 2?
It would depend on whether Ali's speed could keep him away from Louis
If Ali kept his speed up for 15 rounds he wins on points
If Louis catches up with him it probably doesnt go the distance
Louis was a devestating puncher. Better than anyone Ali fought including Foreman. I say that because although Foreman was a bigger hitter than Louis , His punches were much more readable. Louis hit very hard and quite fast.

It would be my dream fight
" Ladies and gentleman fighting for the Heaveyweight Chapionship of the World..........Mohammed Ali and Joe louis"

Answer 8

The best was Joe Louis. He was by far the most superior boxer of the group. He battled through tough times against tough competition.
Ali was undeniably great and faced to stellar competition but I think Louis gets the edge from longevity of time ruling the division.
Marciano was the only undefeated champion but his legacy suffers from weaker competition than some of the others.
Tyson doesn't belong on this list. I wouldn't even place him in the top 10 all time. While he was a devastating puncher he had a flawed game that was exposed by Buster Douglas and he never recovered.

Answer 9

Ali was the best. Before he was stripped of his title, he was extremely fast, agile, and had good power. He beat some of the best heavyweights of all time and deserves to be called the greatest of all time.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. His hands can't hit what his eyes can't see.


Update -- Ali never lost to Marciano. That was a computer generated fight.

Answer 10

Muhammad Ali was, in his words, the greatest. Not only was he a top notch boxer in the ring but he was great outside of the ring also. No one has really brought to the sport quite like this man did. His intelligence inside the ring (Rope-A-Dope anyone?) and mind games before his fights (taunting Sonny Liston during the weigh-in for example) was unparallelled. Marciano may have left undefeated but Ali was the best pound for pound, round by round, and noun by noun.