Wilbur’s 100 Greatest Heavyweights of All Time: 70-61
By Brian Wilbur
Thanks for checking into RSR as I continue my countdown of the 100 greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. The professional records of the competitors are getting better and better as we move towards #1. This week as I list numbers 70 through 61, there is a nice cross section of history with representatives from the 1930’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. I hope you enjoy reading and please continue emailing me with your feedback. Without further ado, I will jump into #70.
70. Nino Valdes
Valdes, the big Cuban heavyweight contender from the 1950’s, is a guy who does not appear very impressive when you first glance at his record. He had 19 losses, many of which came during the peak of his career. Despite the losses, Nino was only one win away from receiving a shot at Rocky Marciano’s world title belt after putting together an impressive string of wins from 1953 to 1955, including a decision win over the great Ezzard Charles. He was a heavy fisted slugger, though a bit slow. Some have called him a poor man’s Sonny Liston, although that analogy is not entirely accurate because Valdes did not have the dominant jab or solid chin that Liston had. Valdes lost his title eliminator bout to Archie Moore but immediately wanted to get back in the mix. What happened next is a good history lesson for boxing match makers. Without any kind of tune up, Valdes’ management team threw him in against a string of top ten contenders and he ended up with a disappointing 2-5 record during that time. There is no shame in taking a chance and losing to another excellent fighter, but you rarely see a manager match their boxer that tough after losing a big fight anymore. Promoters and managers are more careful with their fighters, opting for confidence building bouts, and we can thank Nino Valdes in part for that. After the high profile losing streak, Nino fought on for a couple more years with moderate success before retiring for good in 1959.
Most Famous Fight(s): UD10 over Ezzard Charles in 1953, 15 round points loss to Archie Moore in 1955.
Notable Wins: KO4 over Heinz Neuhaus in 1953, TKO2 over Tommy “Hurricane” Jackson in 1954, TKO3 over Don Cockell in 1955.
69. Gerry Cooney
Cooney was one of the most popular heavyweights of the 1980’s despite a very brief time as a highly regarded contender. Cooney came out of nowhere to demolish some of the old guard of excellent and notable contenders from the 1970’s. Perhaps the reason for Cooney’s immense popularity was his devastating left hook that created highlight reel knockouts. However, many attribute Cooney’s tremendous impact and popularity with the public to his ethnicity. Gerry was a white American heavyweight who had legitimately fought his way in to the top 10. Larry Holmes, the recognized champion at the time, was desperate for a marketable opponent. In a brilliant but ethically questionable move, promoter Don King exploited the race difference of Cooney and Holmes to bring attention to the title defense. As a result, Cooney vs. Holmes became one of the most anticipated, lucrative, celebrated boxing matches of the 1980’s. The fight lived up to expectations as it was a back and forth battle. Cooney would have been up on cards going into the 13th if not for 3 points deducted for low blows. Holmes pulled out a dramatic TKO in the 13th and afterwards Cooney was a non-factor in the division until his retirement.
Most Famous Fight(s): TKO13 loss to Larry Holmes in 1982.
Notable Wins: TKO1 over Ken Norton in 1981, KO1 over Ron Lyle in 1980, TKO4 over Jimmy Young in 1980.
68. Ray Mercer
Mercer was a decorated amateur who represented the US Army and won the Gold medal at heavyweight in the 1988 Olympics. When I think of “Merciless” Ray I think of big time power, a granite chin, and one of the best jabs in history. His pro career was confusing since he would fight neck and neck with some of the greatest heavyweights of all time, but then in the next fight have an embarrassingly bad performance against a non-descript opponent. I blame Ray’s sluggish footwork and lack of focus for his inconsistent pro career. Despite the shortcomings, which include losses to Jesse Ferguson and an ancient Larry Holmes, Mercer proved to be one of the best contenders of his era. His brutal wars with Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield were great action fights and showed that he was just about equal to the legends on those particular nights.
Most Famous Fight(s): UD10 loss to Evander Holyfield in 1995, MD10 loss to Lennox Lewis in 1996.
Notable Wins: TKO5 over Tommy Morrison in 1991, KO9 over Francesco Damiani in 1991, UD10 over Tim Witherspoon in 1996.
67. Tony Tubbs
Tubbs was one hell of a prize fighter for the brief moments in time when he had his head on straight and was not consumed by his cocaine habit. “TNT” had a nice jab, a good 1-2 combo, and was light on his feet for a big man. That was enough to make him the WBA Champion in 1985. But Tony degraded, mentally and physically, quickly thereafter. He came in significantly overweight and out of shape in two of his three career title fights, which contributed to his losses to Tim Witherspoon and Mike Tyson. Tubbs did most of his best work in the 1980’s but did have a coupe highlights in the 1990’s despite being past his prime. Tony was robbed against a young Riddick Bowe in their 1991 bout and won the “People’s Choice One Night Heavyweight Tournament” in 1993.
Most Famous Fight(s): TKO2 loss to Mike Tyson in 1988, UD15 over Greg Page in 1985.
Notable Wins: UD10 over Bonecrusher Smith in 1985, UD10 over Bruce Seldon in 1992.
66. Tommy Loughran
Loughran is known more as a great light heavyweight than a heavyweight. He was a surprisingly worthy rival to the likes of pound for pound all time greats Harry Greb and Gene Tunney at 175 pounds. After that, Loughran developed further and dominated the light heavyweight division from 1927 to 1929 until vacating the title to fight as a heavyweight for the big bucks. Tommy perfected the art of counterpunching and was as slick as they come. He used his tremendous boxing skills to hold his own against bigger opponents. The size disadvantage of 80+ pounds in his only heavyweight title fight against Primo Carnera proved to be too much. Loughran however, gave every other top contender all that they could handle.
Most Famous Fight(s): UD15 loss to Primo Carnera in 1934.
Notable Wins: UD10 over Max Baer in 1931, 10 round points win over Paulino Uzcudun in 1931, SD15 over Jack Sharkey in 1933, UD12 over Arturo Godoy in 1935.
65. George Chuvalo
The term “rugged” is an overused term in boxing and a term that promoters use to try to make their journeyman opponent sound dangerous. I think that the term rugged should be reserved for the truly tough bastards like George Chuvalo. You could not hurt Chuvalo. He had, arguably, the best chin in the history of the heavyweight division. Despite two stoppage losses, one to Joe Frazier and the other George Foreman, Chuvalo was never knocked off of his feet throughout his entire pro career that spanned 22 years and 93 bouts. The sturdy Canadian had short arms and limited boxing skills, but he kept coming no matter what you threw at him and could deliver bombs if there was an opening. His era was a Golden age of greatness so he never won the world title, but did manage to win the Canada heavyweight title on multiple occasions.
Most Famous Fight(s): UD12 loss to Muhammad Ali in 1966.
Notable Wins: MD12 over Mike DeJohn in 1963, TKO11 over Doug Jones in 1964, KO7 over Jerry Quarry in 1969, UD10 over Cleveland Williams in 1971.
64. Ernie Schaaf
Schaaf would not blow you away with his overwhelming physical talents. The former Navy man had a square jaw, great fundamentals, and was very difficult to hit cleanly. He frustrated his opponents with his consistent attack and sound defense. Tragically, Schaaf died at the very young age of 24 due to injuries suffered in the ring. Ernie suffered a brain hemorrhage after losing a bout to Primo Carnera in 1933 and died four days later. Some, however, suggest that the brain damage stemmed from a 1932 match against Max Baer since Schaaf complained of headaches ever since that loss to Baer. Either way, the boxing world lost a terrific young pug with heaps of potential on that Valentine’s day in 1933. Schaaf’s career was still very impressive despite the sad and abrupt end.
Most Famous Fight(s): UD10 over Max Baer in 1930, MD10 loss to Max Baer in 1932.
Notable Wins: Two points wins over Tommy Loughran in 1930, SD10 over Jim Braddock in 1931, 10 round points win over Tony Galento in 1932, 15 round points win over Paulino Uzcudun in 1932.
63. Jimmy Bivins
Bivins, a member of boxing’s hall of fame, defeated a large handful of the best contenders and champions of his era at both heavyweight and light heavyweight. However he never received a title shot in either weight class, which is one of the biggest injustices in boxing’s history. Bivins, who stood about 5’9”, was tired of being overlooked at light heavyweight despite being the number one contender, so he moved up to heavyweight. He was clearly a blown up light heavyweight fighting at a disadvantage, yet he was so good that he still found success against top caliber opposition. Defense was his key to winning against bigger opponents. Bivins was very good at judging distance and dodging his opponent’s power punches. Against the odds, Jimmy worked his way up to become the number one contender at heavyweight as well as light heavyweight. Still he did not receive a title shot and then later faded as time eroded his skills.
Most Famous Fight(s): SD10 loss to Jersey Joe Walcott in 1946.
Notable Wins: KO6 over Archie Moore in 1945, UD10 over Lee Savold in 1942, SD10 over Bob Pastor in 1942.
62. Archie Moore
Moore had a very long lasting and distinguished career. His longevity boggles the mind and makes you wonder if he had access to the fountain of youth. His fighting style was very unique, sometimes called the crab stance that allowed him to absorb punches which could have contributed to his extremely long career. Moore began his career in 1935 as a middleweight, earned a reputation as one of the top light heavyweights of all time during the 1940’s, continued his dominance at light heavyweight while moonlighting as a heavyweight in the 1950’s, and was still going strong in the early 1960’s despite being in his mid 40’s. Moore fought in 220 pro bouts and holds the record for the most knockouts ever by a pro boxer with 131. Though mostly known as a light heavyweight, and arguably the best one ever, Moore also beat a handful of top rated heavyweight contenders. He did enough to merit two shots at the title, against Rocky Marciano and Floyd Patterson, though he lost both.
Most Famous Fight(s): KO9 loss to Rocky Marciano in 1955.
Notable Wins: TKO9 over Jimmy Bivins in 1947, 15 round points win over Nino Valdes in 1955, UD15 over Joey Maxim in 1954.
61. Zora Folley
Critics of Floyd Patterson’s reign as the Heavyweight Champion say that he ducked the best heavyweights of his era. Folley was one of the three main contenders at the time (along with Eddie Machen and Sonny Liston) that Patterson’s people shied away from. Zora could fight, and though his chin was only average, he did not have any weaknesses. Folley could box, jab, punch, defend, and had enough size to bully if he had to. By 1958, Folley and Machen were head and shoulders above everyone else in the heavyweight rankings and decided to fight each other in an attempt to get Patterson to finally fight one of the two. The match was a stalemate draw that fans thought was uninteresting, and Patterson used the lack of action as an excuse not to fight either man. Folley finally got a title shot nine years later against a prime Muhammad Ali but had no chance in that fight, especially since Zora was past his best.
Most Famous Fight(s): KO7 loss to Muhammad Ali in 1967, KO3 loss to Sonny Liston in 1960.
Notable Wins: UD10 over Nino Valdes in 1956, UD12 over Eddie Machen in 1960, UD10 over George Chuvalo in 1964.
Thanks again for reading. Stay tuned for the continuation of my heavyweight countdown.