Larry Merchant has been around the sport of boxing forever. Well, not quite, but it sure seems like it. Merchant has been around for decades, for sure, and the writer, commentator and passionate fight fan has seen some of the greats in the flesh, up close and personal. Now aged 93 and having overcome a health scare a few months back, Merchant, a man who is always well worth listening to whenever he talks boxing, has put out his Top 10 greatest ever heavyweights in list form.
Boxing coach Ben Doughty shared the list and what Merchant had to say to accompany it, via social media. Merchant, who says he “probably won’t be around for too much longer,” decided it was time to put forth his list. And, as is the case with any list of this kind, it won’t hit the spot for everyone. Indeed, fight fans can really take things personally at times, especially if a fighter they admire is absent from a greatest this or a greatest that list.
But Merchant knows what he’s talking about, and as such his list is worth taking the time to read. Here it is, in reverse order, “my list of the best* heavyweights of all time,” as Merchant writes:
10: Joe Frazier
9: George Foreman
8: Mike Tyson
7: Evander Holyfield
6: Jack Dempsey
5: Rocky Marciano
4: Lennox Lewis
3: Joe Louis
2: Larry Holmes
1: Muhammad Ali
“*Taking into account technical ability and achievement. Obviously the list might look a little different if it was based on them fighting each other.”
So, what do you think of Larry’s list? For me, the omission of Jack Johnson is a big one, while there is no way I would rank Tyson above Foreman. But that’s just my opinion. Overall, Merchant’s list is a strong one, with little room for argument. Agree or disagree?
Again, I’d have Johnson in there, but it would be tough deciding who to take out to make room for Jack. And I would have Foreman not only higher than Tyson, but at least a couple of places higher in the Top 10 than Merchant ranks “Big George.”
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