Boxing: Who are the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time?

There have been plenty of fantastic heavyweights in the past, and a future is forming for a lot in the present as they continue to pave their paths at the top of the division.

You think of the legends back in the day; Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Mike Tyson and then you think of the current guys who are creating their own legacy right now; the likes of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Oleksandr Usyk.

Remarkably, however, Frank Warren claimed in a recent interview with talkSPORT that Mike Tyson does not deserve a place in the top 10 all-time heavyweights.

Due to such a debatable opinion and subject, we’ve look into THE RING rankings, and we can now bring you the top 10 all-time heavyweights.

10 - Sonny Liston

Liston was an American boxer that started his professional career in 1953 and ended in 1970, sadly the year of his death.

He posed a fantastic left jab which would have any opponent and was one of the best boxers of his time.

From 54 fights, he won 50 and would be beaten by Muhammed Ali twice, Leotis Martins once and Marty Marshall once early on in his career.

9 - Mike Tyson

Frank Warren mentioned that he thinks Tyson was ‘overrated’ and would struggle against the likes of Muhammed Ali and George Foreman.

He slots in at number 9 nevertheless and let’s not forget became the youngest heavyweight champion at the age of 20.

When he became discouraged to fight, he was never the same and fell apart at the back end of his career. At the age of 53, he prepares for an exhibition fight against Roy Jones Jr on November 28.

8 - Joe Frazier

Frazier was another fantastic boxer in the 60’s and 70’s as he would hold his own against any boxer.

He was only beaten by Muhammed Ali and George Foreman, who beat the boxer born in Beaufort twice.

7 - George Foreman

A long-lasting legend of the boxing from the late 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and even the 90’s as Foreman fought in four different decades.

From 81 professional fights, Foreman sustained a 76-5 record which is impressive to say the least. A final loss to Shannon Briggs in November 1997 retired ‘Big George’ from boxing at the age of 48.

6 - Jack Dempsey

Dempsey defined boxing in the 1910’s and the 1920’s. Dempsey along with Babe Ruth were the two American stars that were worshipped in the roaring Twenties.

A record of 68 wins, 11 draws and six losses is not taken lightly as he was a figure that really promoted boxing and as he adapted his boxing style became more ferocious as time went on.

5 - Larry Holmes

Holmes had a fantastic boxing record after 48 fights as he remained unbeaten throughout.

Back-to-back losses to Michael Spinks and a loss to Mike Tyson put Holmes in a bad state, but still managed to finish his professional career with 69 wins and only six losses.

4 - Rocky Marciano

This man remained unbeaten all his career and ended it with a knockout in his final fight against Archie Moore.

His record of 49-0 was only beaten recently by Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather as Marciano’s record is the longest set by a heavyweight.

3 - Jack Johnson

This man was way ahead of his time in terms of pure boxing ability and style whilst in the boxing ring.

Another fighter that had a long career in terms of fights had as Johnson fought 96 times. He managed to win 71 times, draw 11 and lose 11 as three of his fights were deemed as no contests.