10 Worst Heavyweight Champions of all time, guess who heads the list?

[IceTea]

http://www.maxboxing.com/Mulcahey/Mulcahey0518a05.asp

MJ

[IceTea]

10. John Ruiz - I don't care if Ruiz's manager, Norman Stone, invents a time machine which takes Ruiz back in time to knock out Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, and Jack Dempsey, all on the same night, Ruiz still rates as one of the worst heavyweights of all time for allowing two middleweights to win a portion of the world heavyweight title. For a century, Bob Fitzsimmons was the only middleweight to ever win the world heavyweight title, and then Ruiz allows it to happen not once, but twice within two years. Ruiz does have some quality wins, but the uninspired nature of the wins even degrades those victories.

9. Frank Bruno - Bruno took the lovable loser shtick to new heights in England, and was a worthy addition to the "Horizontal English Heavyweight" lineage. To look at Bruno is to look at a body that cries out to be heavyweight champion....the problem was that Bruno's brain locked up under the bright lights. Frank fought better than average opposition as he came up the European heavy circuit, and dispatched of his first 21 foes by kayo. Then "Bonecrusher" Smith knocked Bruno out after taking him into the deep water of the late rounds. Bruno battled back and lost a WBA shot to Tim Witherspoon, then a unified title opportunity against Mike Tyson. A proven loser on the world stage, Bruno was, of course, given another title shot, which he lost to Lennox Lewis in an all-British affair. Bruno finally won the WBC title when he survived the last three rounds, on guts alone, to defeat Oliver McCall on points. Bruno was summarily knocked out in his first title defense by Mike Tyson.

8. Pinklon Thomas - Let's start with his name. It contains the word pink, and Thomas often wore pink shorts - which hardly evokes fear in opponents - into the ring. There were so many mediocre heavyweights, who had no dedication, who managed to gain fractional shares of the heavyweight crown in the mid 80's so it is hard to choose one above the rest. Thomas did the least, even worse than Page, Weaver, Dokes, Smith, and Berbick. Thomas also makes the list because he had some real talent, but wasted it on drugs (he has since thankfully kicked the habit, and helped others do the same) and partying. Thomas was 24-0-1 (his toughest foe, Gerrie Coetzee, held him to the draw) when he challenged for the title, and won a very close majority decision over Tim Witherspoon. One title defense win over Mike Weaver is all Thomas had in him, as he lost his title to Trevor Berbick in his next fight, which might have been best for him in retrospect, as it delayed Thomas doing the wacky dance after getting hit by a Tyson hook. The loss did push back, for a year, an eventual knockout to Tyson when Thomas challenged Tyson for his old title.

7. Tony Tubbs - Tubbs' body reflected his surname....he was tubby all right. Then you add an obvious disregard for the truth in advertising laws by nicknaming himself "TNT"
(24 KOs in 57 bouts), and you have a good case for his inclusion in this top ten. Tubbs defeated underachiever Greg Page for the WBA title, in a bout that deserved to be banished to....I mean staged in Buffalo, New York. Tubbs expeditiously lost the title to Tim Witherspoon in his next fight, and dropped a third title shot to Mike Tyson two years later. Tubbs regressed to the point of losing NABF and IBO title shots, but don't count Tubbs out just yet, as he just won the 'West Virginia state heavyweight title' by defeating Brian Minto last December at age 46.

6. Leon Spinks - One great win does not a career make...even though twenty years from now the International Boxing Hall of Fame voters might think otherwise and put Leon next to Ingo, and Braddock. In retrospect, it might have been better for Leon if he had never won the title from Ali. He became the butt of jokes for late night comedians and did little to help his cause by continuously showing up on police blotters, and for the rematch with Ali. Leon was skilled, as his Gold Medal win at the 1976 Olympics suggests, but he was overwhelmed by the trappings of success after defeating Ali in only his eighth fight via split decision. The poor kid could not win after that, as he was stripped of his WBC title for fighting Ali in a rematch...and then lost his WBA title to Ali in their rematch! Spinks even dropped down in weight to the cruiserweight division to lose a title shot. This was a case of too much too soon. Too bad, because Leon was a could have been.

5. James Braddock - Braddock was a great man, and was a great story (as Hollywood is about to prove)...but Braddock was not a great boxer. Braddock's lone great win, over an uninterested and clowning Max Baer, does not take away from the fact that he was an average fighter. Braddock was a bit player in an era of average challengers, who all lived in the fearful shadow that Joe Louis cast upon the division. Braddock serves as a great example of The International Boxing Hall of Fame voters’ lack of research in picking its
enshrinees. The IBHOF obviously works upon name recognition over career achievement. Quick, name a world class heavyweight, Max Baer excluded, who Braddock defeated? Thank you, I rest my case.

4. Ingemar Johansson - Another International Boxing Hall of Fame enshrinee who would have to buy a ticket to enter if his last name was of Asian origin, or if he had fought below lightweight. In fact, Ingemar would have been right at home in the underachieving heavyweight era of the 1980's. Ingo had a great punch, there is no denying that, but he also had the great luck of running into the weakest chinned heavyweight champion of all time. Even so, he lost to Floyd Patterson two out of three times, and by knockout no less.

3. Jess Willard - Through no fault of his own, Willard's best title winning effort remains one of the most controversial fights of all time. Sadly, Willard's best win, over Jack Johnson for the title, is tainted by Johnson's claim that he threw the bout in order to regain entry into the United States. Willard's only other good win was over fellow contender Luther McCarty, and somehow two wins over George (Boer) Rodel served as primers for his title shot against Jack Johnson. Unfortunately for Willard, boxing historians remember him the most for the savage beating he endured at the hands of Jack Dempsey, when he lost the title in his second defense. Willard showed guts, heart, determination, resiliency, and spirit in that fight...but sadly little skill.

2. Marvin Hart - I don't claim to know about all the politics of 1900's boxing, however it had to be pretty bad for Marvin Hart to somehow box his way to the world title. Hart beat former light heavyweight champion Jack Root, who had previously beaten Hart, to win the vacant title, thus, becoming the only man to beat a light heavyweight to win the heavyweight title. Let's give credit to Hart for defeating Jack Johnson, before winning the heavyweight title, even if The Washington Post reported, "Hart's face was battered to a pulp, but Johnson's blows did not seem to have much sting to them." Seven months after winning the title, Hart lost it to Tommy Burns, reportedly losing 18 of the 20 rounds.

1. Primo Carnera - God love Primo, the man had no idea how bad he was. Carnera truly gave everything he had when he entered a ring....the problem was, Carnera did not have
much beyond his size. It might have been the ghost of Ernie Schaaf (who died after his bout with Carnera) that won the heavyweight title for Carnera when he knocked out Jack Sharkey. Sharkey claimed that he saw the image of Schaaf, with whom he was good friends, during his bout with Carnera. Sharkey stated, "I had no trouble with him in the second bout, but all of a sudden - and I can't convince anybody of this, even my own wife has her doubts, I think - I see (Ernie) Schaaf in front of me. I saw Schaaf. A vision. The next thing I know, I'd lost the championship of the world."Credit must be given to Carnera for this win, as it was not fixed and he legitimately landed a good - or lucky and spirit induced - uppercut which knocked Sharkey out. Hey, stranger things have happened in boxing! After all this is the X-files of sports.
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[Mr Big]

Great article! I must say that I agree with most of the picks. It's sad how John Ruiz managed to lose the title twice to two former middleweights in just two years when it had only happened once in more than a century prior to that. Maybe he should go for the hat trick and fight the winner of Bernard Hopkins-Jermaine Taylor.

While I agree with many of the fighters on the list, I don't consider Tubbs, Thomas, Bruno and Ruiz to be champions. At the time Tubbs and Thomas were supposedly champs, the real champion was Larry Holmes. When Bruno supposedly won his title, the real champ was either Lewis, Holyfield or Bowe. Ruiz has supposedly been champ when the real champ was either Lewis or Vitali.
Here's my list, restricted to the real champs.

1- Leon Spinks. Absolutely the worst overall heavyweight champ.
2- Jack Sharkey. Was KO'd by Primo Carnera. Swore to his death that the KO was legitimate.
3- Primo Carnera. Had some decent skills but a china chin.
4- Jess Willard. Had one great fight against Johnson, but was slow and plodding.
5- Jim Braddock. Was really a light heavy. Had his one moment in the sun by beating Baer.
6 - Max Baer. His greatest victory was over Max Schmeling, but was a crude, limited fighter.
7 - Marvin Hart. He did beat a prime Jack Johnson, but overall was not very successful.
8- Buster Douglas. The latter day Marvin Hart. Beat a prime Tyson, but that's it.
9 - Ingemar Johansson. Actually beat some good fighters, but had a poor chin and questionable stamina.
10 - Floyd Patterson. I loved to watch Floyd in the 60's as he was very good in many areas. But his chin really was bad so he was always at risk of being KO'd.

[boilermaker]

Solid article.

Because John Ruiz is contemporary and easy to remember, my instinct is to put him closer to number one...

[meade95]

Very good / entertaining read -

On somewhat of another topic, I'll tell you which HW I think was under-valued....Big Ron Lyle.

He didn't start fighting until he was 29 and damn was he in some fights. His chin was suspect but he definitely brought it each and everytime out.

Hell, came back at age 53 (looked in amazing shape) and won all 4 of his bouts before retiring again.

[jrftbl56]

I have to disagree with someone putting Floyd Patterson as one of the worst champs of all time the guy had incredible skills and lost to some of the greatest fighters of all-time.Another name that could be thrown in the mix is Lamon Brewster but thats only if u consider the wbo to even be a championship.

[CONN CHRIS]

You may all hand my head to me on a plate for this, But I think Michael Spinks deserves an honorable mention here. I liked Mike, but he wasn't much of a heavyweight champ.

He caught an aging Holmes at the right time. Defended against Holmes (who as I recall, looked very bad that night), Stefan Tangsted and Gerry Conney - then the 90 or so seconds with the other Mike.

He was not unskilled like some of the "champs" mentioned above, but he had some luck IMO in getting the title and folded against his first real opponent.



Christopher

[jrftbl56]

Although Spinks didnt have a great reign as champ he was a better fighter then the other guys mentioned and was a good light heavyweight so i dont think he belongs on this list.

[meade95]

Nevermind.

[jrftbl56]

Ron Lyle was a tough man his fights with Foreman and Ali showed that he was a true warrior i think he could very well be champion in todays era along with many other fighters of the 60's and 70's

[Mr Big]

Originally Posted by jrftbl56

Ron Lyle was a tough man his fights with Foreman and Ali showed that he was a true warrior i think he could very well be champion in todays era along with many other fighters of the 60's and 70's

No way Lyle beats Vitali. Klitschko KO 6.

[Bam Bam]

Originally Posted by Mr Big

No way Lyle beats Vitali. Klitschko KO 6.

naa

[meade95]

Originally Posted by Mr Big

No way Lyle beats Vitali. Klitschko KO 6.

Ahh - I don't know about that - I'd take Lyle - Vitali likes his large size advantage over most - Lewis busted him up good -

Lyle KO's Vitali - IMO -

It is amazing that he didn't start fithing until he was 29 - Yet faced everyone of the big fighters of the 70's (except Frazier)

[Bam Bam]

Originally Posted by meade95

Ahh - I don't know about that - I'd take Lyle - Vitali likes his large size advantage over most - Lewis busted him up good -

Lyle KO's Vitali - IMO -

It is amazing that he didn't start fithing until he was 29 - Yet faced everyone of the big fighters of the 70's (except Frazier)

Id take Lyle to Ko Vitali also, or stoppage...Lyle was a real bruiser and had alot of heart...

Vitali has only fought one big puncher so far in Lennox, and if he couldn't knock Lewis out with those shots no way he could hurt Ron Lyle. Lewis isn't exactly known for a having a chin of granite. Contrary to what many think, Vitali was on his way to getting KO'd in another 2 or 3 rounds.

[Buddy Whatshisname]

Originally Posted by Bam Bam

Id take Lyle to Ko Vitali also, or stoppage...Lyle was a real bruiser and had alot of heart...

Vitali has only fought one big puncher so far in Lennox, and if he couldn't knock Lewis out with those shots no way he could hurt Ron Lyle. Lewis isn't exactly known for a having a chin of granite. Contrary to what many think, Vitali was on his way to getting KO'd in another 2 or 3 rounds.

Lyle was a tough cookie, but he lost to Quarry, Young(twice), Ali, Foreman, and later to Lynn Ball and Gerry Cooney. His biggest wins were over Bonavena and Shavers.

Buddy

[Mr Big]

I still think that Vitali would have beaten Lyle. Too big. Too strong.

Also, I have the Klitschko-Lewis fight on tape, and have watched it at least a couple of dozen times. Vitali was dominant, as reflected in all three judges having him ahead 4 rounds to 2 at the time of the stoppage.

The look of relief on Lewis's face tells the story. He was taking a beating, and didn't have any more in the tank than Klitschko. As for the cut that stopped the bout, it was a puncture wound, caused by a piece of loose tape on Lennox's glove; not a punch. It's ridiculous that they stopped the bout with Vitali ahead. I've seen Arturo Gatti bleeding much worse and the doctors allow the fight to continue because he was winning.

[jrftbl56]

I agree with you Mr.Big i dont think that Lyle would have beaten Vitali i dont think Vitali would have KO'ed him i think Ron was a tough man and vitali probably could have taken him the distance and won a decision only because of Vitalis stand up style and great ability to excecute that style but my point was more to say that he could have held a title in todays era without a doubt. He would have easily beaten Bryd,Ruiz and Brewster. I agree that Vitali dominated Lennox.

[bear]

As far as title claimants go Bruce Seldon is very conspicuous in his absence from this, or any other listing of poor heavyweight champs. I'd also probably place Tony Tucker on one too.

Bear

Originally Posted by IceTea

10. John Ruiz - I don't care if Ruiz's manager, Norman Stone, invents a time machine which takes Ruiz back in time to knock out Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, and Jack Dempsey, all on the same night, Ruiz still rates as one of the worst heavyweights of all time for allowing two middleweights to win a portion of the world heavyweight title. For a century, Bob Fitzsimmons was the only middleweight to ever win the world heavyweight title, and then Ruiz allows it to happen not once, but twice within two years. Ruiz does have some quality wins, but the uninspired nature of the wins even degrades those victories.

9. Frank Bruno - Bruno took the lovable loser shtick to new heights in England, and was a worthy addition to the "Horizontal English Heavyweight" lineage. To look at Bruno is to look at a body that cries out to be heavyweight champion....the problem was that Bruno's brain locked up under the bright lights. Frank fought better than average opposition as he came up the European heavy circuit, and dispatched of his first 21 foes by kayo. Then "Bonecrusher" Smith knocked Bruno out after taking him into the deep water of the late rounds. Bruno battled back and lost a WBA shot to Tim Witherspoon, then a unified title opportunity against Mike Tyson. A proven loser on the world stage, Bruno was, of course, given another title shot, which he lost to Lennox Lewis in an all-British affair. Bruno finally won the WBC title when he survived the last three rounds, on guts alone, to defeat Oliver McCall on points. Bruno was summarily knocked out in his first title defense by Mike Tyson.

8. Pinklon Thomas - Let's start with his name. It contains the word pink, and Thomas often wore pink shorts - which hardly evokes fear in opponents - into the ring. There were so many mediocre heavyweights, who had no dedication, who managed to gain fractional shares of the heavyweight crown in the mid 80's so it is hard to choose one above the rest. Thomas did the least, even worse than Page, Weaver, Dokes, Smith, and Berbick. Thomas also makes the list because he had some real talent, but wasted it on drugs (he has since thankfully kicked the habit, and helped others do the same) and partying. Thomas was 24-0-1 (his toughest foe, Gerrie Coetzee, held him to the draw) when he challenged for the title, and won a very close majority decision over Tim Witherspoon. One title defense win over Mike Weaver is all Thomas had in him, as he lost his title to Trevor Berbick in his next fight, which might have been best for him in retrospect, as it delayed Thomas doing the wacky dance after getting hit by a Tyson hook. The loss did push back, for a year, an eventual knockout to Tyson when Thomas challenged Tyson for his old title.

7. Tony Tubbs - Tubbs' body reflected his surname....he was tubby all right. Then you add an obvious disregard for the truth in advertising laws by nicknaming himself "TNT"
(24 KOs in 57 bouts), and you have a good case for his inclusion in this top ten. Tubbs defeated underachiever Greg Page for the WBA title, in a bout that deserved to be banished to....I mean staged in Buffalo, New York. Tubbs expeditiously lost the title to Tim Witherspoon in his next fight, and dropped a third title shot to Mike Tyson two years later. Tubbs regressed to the point of losing NABF and IBO title shots, but don't count Tubbs out just yet, as he just won the 'West Virginia state heavyweight title' by defeating Brian Minto last December at age 46.

6. Leon Spinks - One great win does not a career make...even though twenty years from now the International Boxing Hall of Fame voters might think otherwise and put Leon next to Ingo, and Braddock. In retrospect, it might have been better for Leon if he had never won the title from Ali. He became the butt of jokes for late night comedians and did little to help his cause by continuously showing up on police blotters, and for the rematch with Ali. Leon was skilled, as his Gold Medal win at the 1976 Olympics suggests, but he was overwhelmed by the trappings of success after defeating Ali in only his eighth fight via split decision. The poor kid could not win after that, as he was stripped of his WBC title for fighting Ali in a rematch...and then lost his WBA title to Ali in their rematch! Spinks even dropped down in weight to the cruiserweight division to lose a title shot. This was a case of too much too soon. Too bad, because Leon was a could have been.

5. James Braddock - Braddock was a great man, and was a great story (as Hollywood is about to prove)...but Braddock was not a great boxer. Braddock's lone great win, over an uninterested and clowning Max Baer, does not take away from the fact that he was an average fighter. Braddock was a bit player in an era of average challengers, who all lived in the fearful shadow that Joe Louis cast upon the division. Braddock serves as a great example of The International Boxing Hall of Fame voters’ lack of research in picking its
enshrinees. The IBHOF obviously works upon name recognition over career achievement. Quick, name a world class heavyweight, Max Baer excluded, who Braddock defeated? Thank you, I rest my case.

4. Ingemar Johansson - Another International Boxing Hall of Fame enshrinee who would have to buy a ticket to enter if his last name was of Asian origin, or if he had fought below lightweight. In fact, Ingemar would have been right at home in the underachieving heavyweight era of the 1980's. Ingo had a great punch, there is no denying that, but he also had the great luck of running into the weakest chinned heavyweight champion of all time. Even so, he lost to Floyd Patterson two out of three times, and by knockout no less.

3. Jess Willard - Through no fault of his own, Willard's best title winning effort remains one of the most controversial fights of all time. Sadly, Willard's best win, over Jack Johnson for the title, is tainted by Johnson's claim that he threw the bout in order to regain entry into the United States. Willard's only other good win was over fellow contender Luther McCarty, and somehow two wins over George (Boer) Rodel served as primers for his title shot against Jack Johnson. Unfortunately for Willard, boxing historians remember him the most for the savage beating he endured at the hands of Jack Dempsey, when he lost the title in his second defense. Willard showed guts, heart, determination, resiliency, and spirit in that fight...but sadly little skill.

2. Marvin Hart - I don't claim to know about all the politics of 1900's boxing, however it had to be pretty bad for Marvin Hart to somehow box his way to the world title. Hart beat former light heavyweight champion Jack Root, who had previously beaten Hart, to win the vacant title, thus, becoming the only man to beat a light heavyweight to win the heavyweight title. Let's give credit to Hart for defeating Jack Johnson, before winning the heavyweight title, even if The Washington Post reported, "Hart's face was battered to a pulp, but Johnson's blows did not seem to have much sting to them." Seven months after winning the title, Hart lost it to Tommy Burns, reportedly losing 18 of the 20 rounds.

1. Primo Carnera - God love Primo, the man had no idea how bad he was. Carnera truly gave everything he had when he entered a ring....the problem was, Carnera did not have
much beyond his size. It might have been the ghost of Ernie Schaaf (who died after his bout with Carnera) that won the heavyweight title for Carnera when he knocked out Jack Sharkey. Sharkey claimed that he saw the image of Schaaf, with whom he was good friends, during his bout with Carnera. Sharkey stated, "I had no trouble with him in the second bout, but all of a sudden - and I can't convince anybody of this, even my own wife has her doubts, I think - I see (Ernie) Schaaf in front of me. I saw Schaaf. A vision. The next thing I know, I'd lost the championship of the world."Credit must be given to Carnera for this win, as it was not fixed and he legitimately landed a good - or lucky and spirit induced - uppercut which knocked Sharkey out. Hey, stranger things have happened in boxing! After all this is the X-files of sports.
For Questions or Comments
E-Mail Marty Mulcahey at mmulcahey@elpasotel.net
Discuss this Topic - Go to the forums

[IceTea]

As far as title claimants go Bruce Seldon is very conspicuous in his absence from this, or any other listing of poor heavyweight champs. I'd also probably place Tony Tucker on one too.

Good call! Emanuel Stewart once said that Bruce Seldon was physically the best heavy he ever coached. He was a great sprinter, weightlifter and the like. He could not handle the bright lights. I saw Oliver McCall eat him alive about 5 years before Seldon became a brief paper champion.

I thought Tucker had nice ability but was past his prime by the time he was champ.

Ruiz, though I like him, belongs on the list. I think he would have had serious issues with most of the heavies from the 80's because they all had decent movement. Ruiz is too heavy on his front leg and fighters like Tubbs, Page, Carl Williams, Holmes, Spinks, Dokes, and Berbick would have employed similar styles as Jones and Toney did to box to fairly one-sided wins. Ruiz also takes alot of righthands from the outside, Witherspoon would have knocked his head off with his looping right.

MJ