The heavyweight division has been the backbone of boxing since its inception. Giving the fans unbelievable knockouts and wars throughout the years. Who are the top ten heavyweights of all-time?

Honorable Mention: Larry Holmes

Larry Holmes just missed the top ten but it is not due lack of skill or resume. He was one of the most skilled heavyweights of all-time. The Georgia native was a master of distance, keeping his opponents on the end of that long jab.

He used his 81″ reach to dominate his opponents on his way to becoming one of the longest reigning heavyweight champions of all-time. Holmes won the WBC belt via split decision over Ken Norton in June of 1978 and didn’t lose until September of 1985.

During his career Holmes tallied wins over Ernie Shavers, Ken Norton, Muhammad Ali, Leon Spinks, and Trevor Berbick, among others. Holmes ended his career with a record of 69-6 with 44 knockouts.

10. Mike Tyson

Coming in at number ten is “Iron” Mike Tyson. Tyson was a wrecking ball in the heavyweight division with his fast and sudden combinations from his low base. At 5’10”, he is on the shorter side for the division but was able to get to his taller opponents with hooks and uppercuts that would bring down anyone.

Tyson still holds the record as the youngest heavyweight champion of all-time. He captured the WBC belt in a technical knock out win over Trevor Berbick in 1986 at only 20 years old. He would go on to become the unified champion in 1987 and hold on to both belts until 1990.

The Brooklyn, New York native would regain a heavyweight belt in March of 1996 after his knockout win over Frank Bruno. Tyson would finish his career with a record of 50-6 with 44 knockouts. Its officially 50-7, but I refuse to acknowledge the Jake Paul fight as a real thing.

When fans see a record of 50 wins and only 6 losses with 44 of those wins coming by knockout, along with being a two-time heavyweight champion, they believe Tyson should be higher on this list.

The reason Tyson isn’t higher on this list is that he peaked too early. He was at his best from 20-23. He dominated that the heavyweight division at a time where there was no competition for him. The best two wins on his resume are over a 38-year old Larry Holmes coming off of back to back losses a year and a half layoff. The other standout win was over Michael Spinks who was also coming back off of a long layoff and the last fight of his career was against Tyson.

Anytime there was a legit challenge for Tyson, he lost. He lost against Buster Douglas, against Evander Holyfield twice, when Holyfield was passed his prime. In the second bout against Holyfield, Tyson grew so frustrated that he bit a piece of Holyfield’s ear off, which led to a disqualification and suspension. Iron Mike also lost to Lennox Lewis via knockout.

Tyson didn’t fight some of the other top contenders of the 1990s, like David Tua, Tommy Morrison, Riddick Bowe, and Michael Moorer, among others. Tyson was great but not top five heavyweight of all-time great.

9. Tyson Fury

At number nine, we have the man who was named after Mike Tyson, Tyson Fury. Fury is currently 34-2-1 with 24 wins by knockout. He has only lost to one man, Oleksandr Usyk.

Fury is a very unique boxer, at 6’9″ with an 85″ reach, he boxes with the grace of a middleweight at times. He makes for a hard target to hit, even with so much mass. That unorthodox style gave his opponents fits as he moved up the rankings.

He started his career over in his home country of England, winning the Commonwealth title in July of 2011 in his first of eventually three wins over Derek Chisora. Fury would continue to dominate until he got a shot at the unified heavyweight championship of the world against Wladimir Klitschko in November of 2015.

The Gypsy King would defeat Klitschko by unanimous decision but the momentum of his career would stop as outside demons kept Fury out of the ring for over two years.

He returned to the ring looking like the time away did him good. He was quickly back in the title picture and took on long reigning WBC champion Deontay Wilder in a trilogy that boxing fans will always remember.

The first fight was a draw and Fury would win the second and third fight by knockout. Fury’s notable wins include three over Derek Chisora, two over Deontay Wilder, Dillian Whyte, and Wladimir Klitschko among others.

8. Oleksandr Usyk

This may seem like a premature placement as Oleksandr Usyk has only been a heavyweight for five years. Usyk’s first bout as a heavyweight was in October of 2019 when he defeated Chazz Witherspoon via a seventh round stoppage.

Usyk cleaned out the Cruiserweight division prior to joining the heavyweight ranks. Which put a target on his back coming into the division. This did not deter Usyk at all as he beat the best the division had to offer in a short period of time.

In five short years, he has already beaten the top guys in the division. He defeated Daniel Dubois, who is the current IBF champion. Usyk also defeated Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, two times each.

Being a small heavyweight for today’s division has actually worked to his advantage. Usyk uses his speed, footwork, and timing to keep his opponents off balance. The Ukrainian is very hard to hit with a clean shot.

He is currently 23-0 with 14 knockouts and has already proven himself as the best heavyweight of this generation.

7. Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson was the first African-American to win the world heavyweight title. I can only imagine the amount of hate he received for being the best black boxer in the world and beating white men on a regular basis in the early 1900s.

Johnson finished his career with an official record of 53-11-8 but it has been widely reported that he fought in dozens of matches that for one reason or another did not get count towards his official record.

The Galveston, Texas native was ahead of his time when it came to his combinations and movement. This made him the best boxer of his day and one of the best of all-time.

6. George Foreman

George Foreman had one of the most interesting careers in boxing history. At the beginning of his career, Foreman was the ultimate bully. Foreman was knocking out opponents left and right with his left and right.

He had freakish power and a long reach. Foreman was the bogey man as he knocked out the likes of Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, and Ron Lyles during the first stint of his career.

The one man that knew how to handle Foreman’s power and wear him down was Muhammad Ali. Ali used the famous “Rope A Dope” strategy to wear down Foreman and knock him out in the 8th round.

Foreman would suffer a second loss to Jimmy Young in March of 1977 and then retired from the sport. If Foreman stays retired after 1977, he may not be a top ten heavyweight of all-time.

He found his love for the sport again, 10 years later. In 1987, he made his return with a promise that he would become the heavyweight champion of the world. Foreman was very busy for an older fighter.

The Houston, Texas native would win 24 fights from March of 1987 till September of 1990 which earned him a shot at the heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield. Foreman would lose to Holyfield by unanimous decision but that did not stop him.

Foreman would claw his way back into title contention and eventually defeat Michael Moorer for the IBF Heavyweight title by knockout in epic fashion. Foreman was down on the scorecards when he hit Moorer with a straight right hand that floored him.

The master grill salesman would become the oldest heavyweight champion of all-time at 45 years old and continue his career for a few more years afterwards. Foreman finished his career with a record of 76-5 with 68 knockouts.

5. Rocky Marciano

Rocky Marciano was able to accomplish something that very few boxers have. He finished his career with an undefeated record of 49-0. Marciano fought from 1947-1955 and defeated all the best heavyweights of his era, including Joe Louis, Rex Layne, Ezzard Charles, and Archie Moore among many others.

4. Evander Holyfield

Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield had to prove that he was indeed the real deal for a big portion of his career. He started his professional career in the cruiserweight division where he dominated and was undefeated prior to moving up to heavyweight.

Holyfield had his first fight as a heavyweight in July of 1988 and he wasted no time climbing up the heavyweight ranks. The Real Deal was ready for a real title shot by 1990. Holyfield defeated James “Buster” Douglas to become the unified heavyweight champion of the world in October of 1990. He spent the next decade and change in the heavyweight title picture.

The Atlanta, Georgia native would go on to become the first and only four time heavyweight champion and defeat greats like George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Riddick Bowe, Michael Moorer, Mike Tyson (2x), and John Ruiz among others.

Holyfield ended his career with a record of 44-10 with 29 wins by way of knockout, seven of his 10 losses came after he was 38 years old. During his prime he was one of the toughest and most skilled heavyweights of all-time.

3. Joe Louis

Joe Louis, who also known as The Brown Bomber is a true legend among boxing fans. He held the heavyweight title from 1938 – 1950 and was a very active champion.

In those 12 years he defeated 25 opponents as he held on the belt. Louis finished his career with a record of 66-3 with 52 wins by knockout. He defeated the best of his era including, Max Schmeling, John Henry Lewis, Bob Pastor, Al McCoy, and Billy Conn among others.

Louis’ consistency and willingness to take on every challenge is why he is still remembered today, more than 70 years after his career ended.

2. Lennox Lewis

Lennox Lewis has one of the best resumes in boxing history. He used his signature jab, straight right hand combination to dominate the heavyweight division for 14 years.

Lewis reigned supreme during the 1990s and early 2000s, which has an argument to be the golden era of heavyweight boxing. He finished his career with a record of 44-2-1 with 32 wins by way of knockout. Lewis avenged both of losses by knocking out his opponents in the rematch.

The West Ham, London native defeated lots of very good to great fighters like Tony Tucker, Frank Bruno, Oliver McCall, Tommy Morrison, Ray Mercer, Andrew Golota, Shannon Briggs, David Tua, Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson, and Vitali Klitschko among others.

1. Muhammad Ali

This picture was taken after Muhammad Ali defeated Sonny Liston to the become the world heavyweight champion. Liston was a heavy favorite going into the bout and Ali told anybody that would listen that he was going to shock the world, which he did.

The ability to talk trash and back it up is a big part of why he is looked up to as an icon. Ali was known for quotes like, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” He truly had the ability to do that as he had the speed of a middleweight with legit heavyweight punching power. This unique combination of power and speed really made him a handful for his opponents.

Ali’s career is broken up into two parts, before being drafted to the Army and after. Ali refused to go into the Army during the Vietnam war. He was forced be out of the boxing for three years while dealing with the legal battle.

During the first half of his career, he defeated quality fighters like Sonny Liston, Ernie Terrell, Floyd Patterson, Cleveland Williams, and Archie Moore. In the second half of his career, a not as quick but smarter version of Ali defeated Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, George Foreman, Ernie Shavers, and Leon Spinks among others.

Ali ended his career with a record of 56-5 with 37 knockouts. The combination of style, charisma, and resume is why Ali is viewed as the greatest of all-time.