Boxing: 10 Historically Overrated Fighters

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5. Jack Johnson

Old-timers across the globe will be at risk of falling into cardiac arrest in the unlikely scenario they actually log onto the Internet and read this, but Johnson might be the most overrated boxer in the history of mankind. It is extremely difficult to say for sure because there is not a lot of film on the former champion from the early 1900s; however, the film that is available is underwhelming to say the least. Johnson’s entire legacy was built on sticking it to the man by beating up all of ’em and pummeling James Jeffries in what was the “Fight of the Century” back in 1910. Jeffries had not fought in six years and had to lose 100 pounds before he fought “The Galveston Giant.” Johnson was massive for his time, and his style was very effective. Film of Johnson’s fights shows that he primarily clinched and wrestled his opponents until he wore them out. Heavyweights of the past 20 years or so have been ridiculed for being constant huggers. John Ruiz, Larry Donald, Hasim Rahman and many others were always lambasted by the media for being boring fighters; yet many of the same writers fondly recall the glory days of Johnson. When comparing history with rational perspective, Johnson was actually the original version of Henry Akinwande. They looked alike and fought alike, yet the latter was crushed by the media. In the end, one can easily come to the conclusion that Johnson was incredibly boring and overrated.

4. Muhammad Ali

Ali is without question remembered as one of the greatest single athletes that has ever walked the grounds of Earth -- and most of the admiration is justified. Everybody knows the political and civil stances he took, and his achievements inside the ring are common knowledge among even the most casual boxing fan. He won the heavyweight title three times, fought everybody during his time and toppled every big-named fighter at his best. However, there is one glaring fact about Ali to which veteran boxing writers will almost never admit because it is considered blasphemous to criticize one of the sport’s deities, but the truth is, he was unbelievably boring in most of his fights. If you want proof, skip “The Rumble in the Jungle” or the “Thrilla in Manila” and watch the rest of his battles -- any of them. After having watched literally every single one of his fights, to say it was a chore to stay awake is an understatement. His bouts with Jimmy Young, Joe Bugner, Chuck Wepner, George Chuvalo, Mac Foster, Rudi Lubbers and countless others were utterly forgettable. Yes, Ali’s accomplishments make him arguably the greatest heavyweight in history. However, whenever an older “boxing guy” talks about Ali, he typically makes it sound as if he was a composite of Arturo Gatti, Erik Morales, Rafael Marquez and a prime Mike Tyson, except even more exciting. That could not be further from the truth. Ali was undeniably great, but with the passage of time, he has become much more myth than man.

3. Mike Tyson

Tyson used to be a one-man wrecking crew, an explosive bomber who brought life to the dying heavyweight division. The sport needed some fresh blood, with Muhammed Ali having retired and Larry Holmes stinking up the world with his underwhelming title defenses. Tyson became so popular that people tuned in only to see how long it took him to dispatch yet another nameless foe. Tyson leveled everybody he fought and usually did so in spectacular fashion. That is primarily the reason why Tyson is on this list and why he ranks so highly on it. Tyson scored exactly two excellent wins in his career: a 91-second destruction of the terrified Michael Spinks and a fourth-round knockout of the faded Holmes. Other than that, he feasted primarily on C-level fighters with almost no chance of survival. When Tyson eventually did step up to face men who were his equal, he did not perform well. Evander Holyfield beat him up in their memorable first fight and Lennox Lewis dismantled him in their one and only encounter. Both knocked out Tyson in emphatic fashion. Unknown James “Buster” Douglas picked apart Tyson for his first-ever loss, and when he returned, he was not the same. Time and again it was proven that if you showed no fear of his power, Tyson was a beaten man. That is one of the main reasons why promoter Don King tended to steer him away from the elite fighters of his era. As great as Tyson was in his heyday, he was just as overrated.

2. Naseem Hamed

Somehow regarded as one of the greatest featherweights in history, Hamed was probably the biggest fraud boxing has ever seen. In a sport that historically overflowed with men who were nothing but hype, Hamed and his promotional team took it to obscene levels, so much so that the Boxing Writers Association of America was duped into voting him into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Usually when a boxer goes into the hall, he has at least one win over a fellow elite fighter. Not Hamed. The one and only time “Prince” dared to fight an A-level opponent, he was literally embarrassed into retirement. The great Marco Antonio Barrera beat him up so thoroughly that Hamed took a year off, returned to fight literal unknown Manuel Calvo and then vanished from the sport forever. Hamed believed he was unbeatable and so did many fans and media members, mostly from the United Kingdom. His style was entertaining and he had crushing knockout power, but he feasted on either way-past-their-prime former champions or B-level opposition. If ever there was a boxer who was 100 percent fool’s gold, Hamed was it.

1. Rocky Marciano

Sacrilegious to write, no doubt, but it is what it is: Marciano is the most overrated fighter in boxing’s rich history. Yes, he retired undefeated and scored tons of knockouts along the way, but “The Brockton Blockbuster” came around at precisely the right time, was matched brilliantly and never had an equal during his time. Much like Roy Jones Jr. when he ruled the light heavyweight division a decade ago, Marciano had literally nobody to fight. His biggest wins were against hall of famers Joe Louis, Archie Moore, Jersey Joe Walcott and Ezzard Charles, but they were all ancient by the time they faced Marciano. Nobody else on his resume even registers a blip on any real boxing radar. Unless one counts palookas like Roland LaStarza, Don Cockell, Freddie Beshore and Willis Applegate as legitimate opponents, Marciano can perhaps best be described an orca in a bathtub. Old-time writers love to argue that he never lost and that his vaunted power would have knocked out men like Muhammed Ali, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Joe Frazier on the same night at the same time. As laughable as that sounds, some people literally believe it. Was Marciano great for his time? Of course he was, but to think a much smaller heavyweight could stand toe-to-toe with the other greats of the division’s deep history is absurd.