Without any doubt, boxing was the most popular sport by far at one moment. Many experts on this field credit this fact to the appearance of Muhammad Ali and his rise to become one of the best boxers ever. Surely, his exceptional boxing skills weren’t the only thing that made him so interesting. He was a colorful character and many people perceived him as an idol of sorts.
But he was not the only one who made this sport so popular. Mike Tyson was the next big champion adored by people from all over the world. Just think about how many times people discussed what’s the best boxer of all time. Certainly, you’ve heard quite a lot of times. But, making any kind of historical ranking is not complete without introducing criteria that influence the final ranking.
It needs to be said that many different periods have their champions who have managed to become the best during that time. Just think about the seventies and Ali. In case you would like to take a look at a certain period where you can learn all there is about the best fighters from a certain period, be sure to take a look at sportsbettingsites.com. Based on this information, we would like to provide you with a list of the greatest heavyweight boxing champions of all time. Let’s take a look at it.
Table of Contents
1. Joe Louis
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The first one we would like to talk about is Joe Louis. The reason being that his reign as a champion was the longest one. Furthermore, he managed to defend his title 25 times in a row, which is, once again, a record that still stands to this day. Last but not least, his 26th title is the highest ever. He was a champion between 1937 and 1947.
His best-known match is against Max Schmeling back in 1938. He managed to beat his opponent in the first round by a knockout. What makes this story even more interesting is that Max Schmeling represented Germany which was under Nazi Regime at the time. His career numbers are 66 wins, 3 defeats, and 52 KOs.
2. Muhammad Ali
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What can be said about Muhammad Ali other than we don’t already know? Not too much really. He is the first superstar among boxers, and his popularity has dropped to this day and age. He is the only boxer to hold a lineal champion on three different occasions. Furthermore, we can see that his 22 titles are ranked in the third place on the all-time list.
He is often described as an exceptional athlete who had really fast movement which made him possible to get his opponents tired pretty quickly. Not only that, he was a really strong guy. Plus, he had unparalleled determination. Without a doubt, his best-known match was held in 1974 against George Foreman. During his exceptional career, he managed to win 56 matches, lost 5 of them, and have 37 KOs.
3. Larry Holmes
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Before Larry Holmes was defeated by Michael Spinks back in 1985, he managed to defend his title 20 times, which is a high number. Throughout his career, he managed to win 21 titles. When Larry Holmes is brought up by experts in this field, we can say that he had the best jab in the history of the sport. Also, he was more than capable of throwing powerful punches while he moved. So, only a small number of athletes were competent enough to defend against them.
Larry Holmes’s most popular match was the one against Ken Norton in 1978. When he won in that match, he managed to become a champion in his category. Even though Norton was one of the most capable boxes of his time, Holmes managed to beat him in this match. At the end of his career, the numbers were 69 wins, 6 losses, and 44KOs.
4. Lennox Lewis
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The nineties are often described as one of the best eras in the history of the sport. During that time, Lennox Lewis was the best fighter, without a doubt. The fact that supports this claim of ours is that he managed to win 15 titles during the nineties. He managed to win against some of the best athletes in the history of the sport, like Mike Tyson, and Evander Holyfield. That alone can provide us with evidence of just how good he was.
We’ve mentioned that he managed to beat Evander. In a match that was organized in 1999, he managed to beat this exceptional fighter by unanimous decision. The reason why this match was organized in the first place is that a year before that, their previous encounter ended with a draw. His win at that match is the one that positioned him as the best fight in this era. His career numbers are 42 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw, and 32 KOs.
5. Wladimir Klitschko
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Wladimir Klitschko, the younger brother of Vitali, is one of the best fighters in this category ever. He managed to win his first title back in 2008, and he managed to defend it 17 times in a row. The only fighter who has more titles than Wladimir, who has 24, is Joe Louis. When he ended his professional career in 2017, the number of his career were 63 wins, 3 losses, and 53 KOs.
The most memorable match of his career was against Kubrat Pulev in 2015. Even though Wladimir was 38 years old at the time, he shows some really good form and managed to win in that match.
Not only that, it is strange just how easy he was able to win at that match. Throughout the years, he managed to win so many titles and honors. Certainly, he can be described as one of the most complete fighters ever.
The Bottom Line
Here, we’ve provided you with top-five heavyweight boxing champions ever. Those athletes have managed to win so much silverware through their careers and they are rightfully found their place on this list of ours. We hope you find this list of ours interesting.
