AI Names & Ranks 10 Greatest Heavyweight Boxers in History

In today’s day and age, the boxing world has some fantastic competitors across multiple weight classes. However, it is, and has always been, the heavyweights that have drawn the most attention and money towards the sport over the years.

Names like Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, and Anthony Joshua have been some of the biggest names in the sport today and are establishing themselves as household names who may go down in the list of greats in boxing history somewhere down the line. However, how do they compare to some of the greats, and do they make the cut just yet?

Well, according to AI, none of them are worthy just yet of making the top 10 list of greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. So without further ado, let’s see who is worthy of making said list.

10 Evander Holyfield

Boxing record: 44-10-2 (1 NC)

Evander Holyfield goes down as one man who made boxing history, but it’s not for actions of his own in the ring despite being an undisputed champion. Holyfield boasts victories over names like George Foreman and even Mike Tyson, with one of his victories becoming one of the most infamous boxing moments ever as Iron Mike bit his ear, taking a chunk out of it in the process. A run of defeats when past his peak harmed his chances at ranking higher on the list, with Holyfield scoring 29 knockouts, finishing with a record of 44-10-2.

9 Mike Tyson

Boxing record: 50-7 (2 NC)

Iron Mike Tyson takes home a record of 50 wins, with 44 of those coming via knockout, and seven losses to his name. The 58-year-old found himself going into a fight recently in a situation where he was not the sole centre of attention. Both fighters were the subject of conversation for his meeting with Jake Paul, where the 27-year-old won via unanimous decision in what many blasted as a lacklustre event. However, we cannot forget just how good Mike Tyson was back in his prime, and we mustn’t let the shambles that was the Jake Paul fight cast a shadow over his iconic and legendary career.

8 Joe Frazier

Boxing record: 32-4-1

The year 1971 saw Joe Frazier compete in what many labelled as the ‘Fight of the Century’ when he met Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden. Until he met George Foreman in Jamaica, Frazier had been on an unprecedented streak of 29 fights where he claimed victory, but results soon began to drop following that defeat. Boasting an impressive record of wins, the heavyweight only won three of his final seven fights, losing three and drawing his final meeting with Floyd Cummings.

7 Lennox Lewis

Boxing record: 41-2-1

Lennox Lewis was an astounding combination of a man who could be agile and light on his feet while standing six feet and five inches tall. Lewis won gold at the 1988 Olympics and boasted an impressive statistic of beating every man he had ever faced in the ring, including Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. The 58-year-old has differed from some of the greats of his time as he has never been swayed by the temptation to return for one last dance the way some of the greats from his era have. Before Oleksandr Usyk achieved it earlier this year by beating Tyson Fury, Lewis was the last undisputed heavyweight champion of the boxing division, which happened way back in 1999.

6 George Foreman

Boxing record: 76-5

George Foreman has managed to be the face of more than just boxing, being the marketing face of the Foreman Grill. However, he was part of one of boxing’s most legendary nights, known as the “Rumble in the Jungle.” After a 10-year hiatus from the sport, he returned with an astounding accomplishment of 24 straight victories, 22 of which came through knockout. Sadly, however, his career ended in defeat when he lost to Shannon Briggs in 1997 by majority decision. That doesn’t take away from the fact, though, he was incredibly 40-0 heading into the huge fight with Muhammad Ali, which he lost via knockout.

5 Larry Holmes

Boxing record: 69-6

Larry Holmes may have felt some pressure on his shoulders with the expectations placed on him to emerge in the world of boxing. Holmes was once a training partner of the great Muhammad Ali, and his sparring sessions must have come in handy as his skill gets him on this list, too. His crowning achievement comes through his 19 consecutive title fight victories over seven years. Just like Foreman, he also built up an incredible unbeaten run, heading into his fight with Michael Spinks with a record of 48-0. However, what followed was three straight defeats, two to Spinks and one to Mike Tyson. He did then recover and win six in a row before losing to Evander Holyfield. His last fight came in 2002, which was a victory against Eric Esch.

4 Jack Johnson

Boxing record: 54-11-8 (4 NC)

Jack Johnson made history as boxing’s first world heavyweight boxing champion of colour, with his 1910 fight with James J. Jeffries dubbed the ‘Fight of the Century.’ Johnson competed at the height of Jim Crow’s boxing era, with Johnson losing his title in 1915 to Jess Willard. The era of boxing has bizarre events noted during his matches, with his final fight with Brad Simmons seeing both men barred from ever competing in Kansas again. Due to the era that he boxed in, Johnson has plenty of ‘unofficial’ fights under his belt, as well, but it’s believed his professional record stands at 94 fights, 54 wins, 11 losses, eight draws, and four no contests. The other 17 fights on his resume are classed as ‘newspaper decisions/draws’, which are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.

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3 Rocky Marciano

Boxing record: 49-0

Rocky Marciano is the only member of this list to have gone his entire career undefeated. After defeating Joe Louis for his heavyweight championship, the only way was up for Marciano, who went on to retire with a career record of 49-0. Of those 49 wins, Marciano won 43 of his fights via knockout and could stake a claim higher on this list. For only six fights to go the distance is quite remarkable, so it’s only right that the American lands so highly on the list of greatest heavyweights in the sport’s history.

2 Joe Louis

Boxing record: 66-3

Joe Louis goes down in the sport’s history as not only one of the greatest ever heavyweights to lace up a pair of gloves, but also one of the hardest punchers to ever take up the sport. After racing to a 24-0 record, Louis would lose his first fight in 1936, before then going on a 14-year unbeatean streak to take his record to an incredible 58-1. Defeat to Ezzard Charles was then followed up by eight consecutive wins, before his final appearance in the ring took place in 1951. Ironically enough, his final fight in the sport came against the man featured just before him on this list, Rocky Marciano, with the contest ending in defeat for Louis via TKO in the eighth round.

1 Muhammad Ali

Boxing record: 56-5

Who else but this man to top this list? The words float like a butterfly sting like a bee rang true with so many in the world of boxing, and still do to this day. Ali not only goes down as one of the greatest to ever compete in the world of boxing, but he goes down as one of the greatest sporting personalities. Facing off with some of the greatest in the sport, some of whom are on this list, was exactly how Ali made himself to be a name that would circulate for generations to come. No one likes boxing without liking Muhammad Ali.