*** FLASHBACK – this article originally appeared on dmboxing.com on September 8, 2008

By David Martinez / Boxing Historian

I have rated many fighters in many different divisions, eras, and ethnic groups. One of my first ranking features that I posted on this Web site (see Archives / August 2007 or Rankings on menu to view) was my view of the top ten heavyweights of all time (i.e.) “Rating the Heavies”, in which I have gotten some criticism for not including Mike Tyson in my elite group.

First let me say that it is always a pleasure to write what I have seen in my 48 years of following boxing as a sport I deeply love. I have seen every heavyweight champion fight, either by living during his era, by film or by speaking with individuals who actually saw these champions fight, even at the turn of the 20th century. I respect everyone’s opinions and, of course, have mine to tell after having studied this very subject, giving a great degree of research on my part.

As I get older, the majority of people who have disputed that Tyson could have beaten Ali or Holmes if they fought in their primes are mostly people whom, if I asked, “Who was Cassius Clay?”, would not know the answer any more than they would know that George Reeves was the first Superman. This simply tells me that they never knew the fighter that beat a more feared man than Tyson ever was, that being Sonny Liston, and who also survived the biggest knock down in his career in the 1963 Henry Cooper fight, and all when he was Cassius Clay.

Continue reading Why Mike Tyson is NOT in My Top Ten →