Ranking the Best Heavyweight Fight from Every Decade in the Last Century

The heavyweight division has been stirring back to life in recent years. The tilt scheduled for this weekend in England between Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora should add a valuable piece to the revival.

Traditionally, the big men have been the glamour division of the sport. So many of boxing's greatest contests took place at heavyweight.

A heavyweight champion who resonates with the American public would go a long way to bringing the sport back to the prominence it deserves.

2010-Present: Artur Szpilka KO 6 Mike Mollo, 2-1-2013

The two-fight series between Artur Szpilka and Mike Mollo in 2013 was extremely valuable for reviving interest in the heavyweight division. Both battles were broadcast on Friday Night Fights, giving American fans a pleasant reminder of how exciting a heavyweight brawl can be. 

Fought at U.S. Celluar Field in Chicago, this was a hometown rivalry to be sure. Mollo is a Chicago native. The Polish Szpilka has made the Windy City his North American base and is wildly popular with the city's large, boxing-mad Polish community. 

Mollo came out on fire against the undefeated prospect, dropping him twice before Szpilka caught up to the game journeyman and put him away with 2:45 left in Round 6. 

The rematch, fought later in the year, was nearly as good. Szpilka won by Round 5 stoppage after surviving another early knockdown.

2000-2009: Lennox Lewis TKO 6 Vitali Klitschko, 6-21-2003

I was very tempted to fudge things on this entry and list James Toney's 2003 decision over Vassiliy Jirov at cruiserweight. In the old days, before the addition of the newer weight classes, that would have qualified as a heavyweight tilt. And it was a truly great fight. 

In general, the heavyweight action in the first decade of this century was uninspiring, to put it mildly. Even my selection here, Vitali Klitschko's Round 6 TKO loss to Lennox Lewis, was stopped prematurely on cuts just as it was shaping up to be a true classic.

Still, it was very entertaining as long as it lasted. Fighting on short notice, Klitschko took it to the aging champion and looked poised for the upset. However, Lewis showed guile and continued to target the Ukrainian's badly cut eye, making the stoppage inevitable.

Lewis could have received a very large payday for a rematch but chose to retire instead. 

1990-1999: Riddick Bowe UD Evander Holyfield, 11-13-1992

For fans of my age, who are not quite old enough to remember most of the great heavyweight wars of the 1970s, Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe's rivalry was our consolation. The first two of their three fights stand alongside the greatest of all time.

Although the second fight, won by Holyfield via majority decision, was closer on the cards, the first fight was still better. Nearly every second of the entire fight was a hard-contested battle. 

Holyfied was in his classic, pit-bull mode, getting right in the larger man's face and attempting to impose his will. When I rewatch that fight, or even think about it, it still shocks me that Bowe never went on to become an all-time great champion. 

The Bowe who won this fight would have been a tough opponent for any heavyweight who ever lived.

1980-1989: Mike Weaver KO 15 John Tate, 3-31-1980

The late 1970s and first part of the 1980s were dominated by Larry Holmes. But there were other high-class big men and belt-holders in the era. The heavyweight crop of the decade gets underrated as a whole, due to being sandwiched between the legendary 1970s and the superb 1990s.

My choice for the best heavyweight fight of the 1980s happened within the first few months of the decade. John Tate was a bronze medalist for the legendary 1976 Olympic team. In 1979, he captured the vacant WBA belt by defeating Gerrie Coetzee.

Mike Weaver was his first defense. Weaver was fresh off from an impressive showing in a loss to Holmes. But for most of his challenge against Tate, he seemed to be sleepwalking.

The first three-quarters of the fight looked like a coronation for Tate, as the 6'4" champion used his length and technical skill to hammer away at the plodding, inactive Weaver.

But in the championship rounds, Weaver begin to land his heavy shots and press for a dramatic, come-from-behind stoppage. He rocked Tate badly in the 12th and 14th. In Round 15, he finally connected with a perfect left hook to pull out one of the great desperation knockouts in heavyweight title history.

1970-1979: Muhammad Ali TKO 14 Joe Frazier, 10-1-1975

The first fight between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, in 1971, was perhaps the most anticipated sporting event in history. Their third, and final, meeting lacked the same buildup. But in the ring, the two legends pushed each other like never before, creating the most epic heavyweight title fight in history. 

The two rivals set the record for punches thrown in a heavyweight fight. Frazier showed his characteristic ability to apply aggressive pressure while Ali piled up scoring with his quick jab and straight right. After a last, heroic stand by Frazier in Round 13, his trainer, Eddie Futch, threw in the towel, to protect Frazier from further damage after his eyes had swollen shut. 

I actually watched the highlight video included here with my three-year-old nephew the other night. Before the end of it, he was saying "I'm Joe Frazier." That shows how the drama of a fight like this transcends time and generations. 

1960-1969: Floyd Patterson KO6 Ingemar Johansson, 3-31-1961

Floyd Patterson was the first man to win the heavyweight title twice. He was the youngest heavyweight champion in history, prior to Mike Tyson. He was also trained by Tyson's mentor, Cus D'Amato. 

Patterson's first run as champion ended in 1959, when he ran into Ingemar Johansson's brutal right hand. The Swedish Johansson called the punch his "Toonder and Lightening," while other's called it "The Hammer of Thor."

He rocked Patterson with the punch in Round 3 of their first meeting and knocked the champion down seven times in the round before winning by TKO. Patterson came back in 1960 to knock out Johansson and reclaim to belt. 

Their third meeting was a straight slugfest. Johansson knocked Patterson down twice in the first round, but Patterson recovered and dropped the Swede at the end of the first. After five more hard-fought rounds, Patterson put the challenger down for the count in Round 6. 

Patterson would be knocked out twice by Sonny Liston and never reclaim the belt, though he remained a top heavyweight star of the 1960s. His 1965 battle with George Chuvalo would be my choice for the second-best heavyweight fight of the decade. 

1950-1959: Rocky Marciano KO 13 Jersey Joe Walcott, 9-23-1952

The only man to ever retire as the undefeated heavyweight champion, Rocky Marciano called his big overhand right "Suzie Q." The punch saved his bacon so many times, it definitely deserved a nickname all its own. 

No time was this more true than when he captured the belt from Jersey Joe Walcott in 1952. For the first 12 rounds of the fight, the cagey champion handed the upstart Brockton Blockbuster a boxing lesson. 

Then, in Round 13, Marciano finally caught up to Walcott, scoring one of the most iconic knockouts in boxing history. 

1940-1949: Joe Louis KO 13 Billy Conn, 6-18-1941

In 1941, the flashy, slick light heavyweight champion, Billy Conn, came extremely close to altering the entire course of boxing history when he moved up to challenge legendary champion, Joe Louis. For the first 12 rounds, Conn used his speed to move in and out of range, frustrating the most dominant heavyweight champion to ever lace up the gloves.

But Conn couldn't leave well enough alone and protect his lead in the championship rounds. Somehow, he got it into his head that he should go for broke and attempt to knock out Louis. 

As a result, when Round 13 started, he abandoned his stick-and-move strategy and started trading with the much bigger man. It was the worst mistake he ever made. With a suddenly stationary target, it did not take Louis long to lock in with his always dangerous right hand. 

Louis staggered Conn with a big right to the top of the head. Seeing his prey now wounded, Louis finished him off with a furious volley of punches, putting the challenger down for the count at 2:58 of the round. 

1930-1939: Jim Braddock UD 15 Max Baer, 6-13-1935

I was tempted to put Joe Louis' 1938, Round 1 KO of Max Schmeling in this spot. As an event, I consider it one of the most important sports moments in U.S. history. The nation set aside its ugly racial history and rallied behind Louis as "our guy" on the eve of World War II, as "The Brown Bomber" smashed "Hitler's favorite fighter" in front of a raucous crowd in Yankee Stadium.

But it wasn't much of a fight. James Braddock's heroic win over champion Max Baer, in 1935, was a far better bout in pure boxing terms. 

And The Cinderella Man, Braddock, was emblematic of the era in his own way. At the height of the depression, the heavy underdog became a surprise hero to the nation.

An over-confident and under-trained Baer got far more than he bargained for against the determined Braddock. It still took an incredibly gutsy effort for Braddock to grind through and beat the bigger, more athletic champion.

It remains one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight history.  

1920-1929: Jack Dempsey KO 2 Luis Firpo, 9-14-1923

In the 1920s, Jack Dempsey trailed only Babe Ruth as the biggest sports star in the country. The Manassa Mauler fought with a reckless, frantic style that enchanted boxing fans and allowed him to establish record gates that would not be approached for decades. 

His showdown with The Wild Bull of the Pampas, Luis Firpo, was his most anticipated fight. And it more than lived up to expectations. Noted boxing historian Nat Fleischer called it "the most dramatic in the history of the heavyweight division" in his book The Heavyweight Championship.

Dempsey floored the game Firpo seven times in the opening round. The battered and bloody Firpo kept coming, and the giant Argentine knocked Dempsey clean through the ropes before the end of the opening round. 

Dempsey came back and scored two more knockdowns before putting the challenger away in Round 2. 

1910-1919: Jack Johnson KO 15 Jim Jeffries, 7-4-1910

When Jack Johnson became the first black heavyweight champion in the first decade of the 20th century, racist America lost its mind. A desperate call went out for a "great white hope" to knock the brilliant Johnson down a peg. 

After Johnson had easily handled any likely challenger, former champion Jim Jeffries was dragged out of a six-year long retirement. Jeffries had been a great champion but had long ago passed out of fighting condition. 

Still, his return made for the most anticipated fight in history. New records were set for fighter pay. Between film rights and percentage of gate, Johnson took in well over $100,000. 

The fight itself was all Johnson. Johnson vs. a prime Jeffries would have been a classic fight, though the edge would still have to go to Johnson. Johnson in his well-conditioned prime against a Jeffries who had been on the farm growing fat for over half a decade was a farce. 

1900-1909: Joe Jennette TKO 49 Sam McVea, 4-17-1909

I've gone back slightly beyond 100 years in the past for this fight, because no list of great heavyweight battles should fail to mention it. If you are  a boxing fan and don't know about this one, you need to. 

Joe Jeannette and Sam McVea were two of the great heavyweight fighters of their era. However, as black men they were locked out of the title picture in the United States. 

In France in their era, there was a greater acceptance of fighters of African heritage. Both men were able to make a better living fighting in Paris than in their home country. 

In Paris, McVea and Jeannette faced off for the "Black Heavyweight Championship of the World." McVea actually won their first meeting by a decision. When they faced off in a rematch, it was a "fight to the finish," meaning it could only end in a knockout.

Descriptions of their 46-round fight defy belief. The Boxrec entry on this fight gives a great accounting of various contemporary reports on the battle, with some reporting as many as 38 total knockdowns over the course of the fight.