Almost every generation bemoans the quality, depth, and overall talent level of their heavyweight division. I don’t hesitate to say that boxing fans of the last five years have more reason to do so than any since the 1940’s….perhaps ever. An argument can be made that this is not related to talent, since the highest echelon of heavyweights today do have a comparatively high level of skills. The problem is that none of them are particularly exciting, in or out of the ring. There appears to be a lack of killer instinct, an urge to please fans by finishing an opponent with flair or panache. The term ?Win today, look good tomorrow? has become the mantra of every heavyweight trainer, manager, promoter, and boxer.
With those unpleasant thoughts in mind, I went back in history to find fighters who would have risen to stake a claim to, at least, one of the world heavyweight championship belts. Not just any big man, but heavyweights who were not fortunate enough to rise above contender level in their respective eras. I believe all would have done well enough to become champions if given today’s training regimens, and an even playing field in terms of management. Of course a big consideration would have been size, but the 6-1, 225 pound Ruslan Chagaev proves it is possible for smaller heavies to still succeed in this era. These first five men are listed in chronological order, not according to their skill level.
Ron Lyle 1971-1995 (43-7-1, 31 KO’s) ? Lyle, at 6-3 and 220 pounds, in retrospect looked much bigger then he actually was. A hard punching contender who stormed out of the Midwest, the press likened him to a young Sonny Liston. Much of that was because Lyle learned how to box in jail. Sentenced as a teen for murder, he emerged from prison (where he was stabbed and twice pronounced dead on the operating table) a reformed man after eight years. The right hand was Lyle’s weapon of choice, but he had better than average feet and a solid jab as well. The problem with Lyle was often strategic, as he needed space to unravel long punches, and his willingness to mix it up moved Lyle into the trenches too often. This came to forefront in his first loss, when Jerry Quarry upset Lyle in his New York City debut. Lyle rebounded from the loss, went undefeated for two years and eleven fights, but came up on the short end of the scorecards against Jimmy Young, and then via stoppage to Muhammad Ali in a world title fight. In 1976, Lyle and George Foreman gave the world one of the most exciting heavyweight slugfests ever, The Ring magazine?s fight of the year, where both men looked on the verge of victory and defeat on numerous occasions. The fourth round rivals the famed first round of Dempsey vs. Firpo for excitement and momentum swings. In the end Foreman prevailed via fifth round kayo, and a second unanimous decision loss to Jimmy Young removed Lyle from title consideration.
Earnie Shavers 1965-1995 (74-14-1, 68 KO’s) – Ask experts who the hardest punching heavyweight of all time was, and many do not hesitate to list Shavers in the number one position. Both Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes claimed Shavers was the hardest puncher they met, and they should know. The problem was Shavers was a one trick pony, and with little boxing expertise to fall back upon, those who could avoid or absorb Shavers’ bombs defeated him. Which is not to say Shavers could not be a respectable boxer, after all he won the national amateur AAU title at heavyweight in 1969. He accomplished that despite getting a late start in boxing at age 22. Fell into the trap of many power punchers, and limited himself after becoming enamored with the one punch kayo. Like other great punchers, Shavers’ chin was also questionable, and he was stopped in half of his losses. There is no shame in losing to a prime Ali and Larry Holmes, and when Shavers won he did so spectacularly. Shavers also went down spectacularly, losing via one round kayo to Quarry, and Ron Lyle scored a six round kayo over him. To his credit, Shavers kept coming back, and scored wins over Jimmy Ellis and Jimmy Young to get a title shot at Ali. He lost that bout via decision, and lost a second shot at the title when Holmes knocked him out in 1979. A great tribute to Shavers is the way he is remembered. He was never a champion, but when the great heavyweights of the 1970’s are recalled, Shavers is often one of the first to come out of the mouths of fans.
Zora Folley 1953-1970 (79-11-6, 44 KO’s) ? A fighter who remained dangerous into his late thirties, largely because of his excellent conditioning and educated feet. A past his prime Folley defeated young contenders, dominating Bob Foster and spoiling a showcase MSG fight for Oscar Bonavena by handing the prospect his first loss. Folley won on the road too, successfully beating German fringe contenders Gerhard Zech and Karl Mildenberger. That was Folley in decline, as a speedier and prime Folley was often ducked by contenders with better connections. He was judicious in the dispensing of his power, until he was sure of his advantage, at which point he unloaded with accuracy and ferocity. There was a notable drawback to Folley, and it had nothing to do with his physical ability or dimensions. Many describe Folley as a fighter who never came through when the spotlight shone on him, losing to Muhammad Ali, Ernie Terrell, and Sonny Liston. He was a bit like Andrew Golota in that way, shutting down mentally but without resorting to the illegal tactics. Died in a freak accident, at age 41, when he hit his head on the outer cement portion of a Motel swimming pool.
Eddie Machen 1955-1967 (50-11-3, 29 KO’s) ? Machen was, seemingly, born under a bad star, as his luck and life rivaled that of a clumsy worker in a mirror factory. Through boxing, Machen was able to straighten out his life after a three year jail term for armed robbery. Won his first ten fights by knockout, and in his thirteenth fight pulled off a major upset by taking a close decision from Nino Valdez. Not only did he repeat the win over Valdez, three months later, he knocked Valdez out in the eighth round. A unanimous decision win over fringe contender Johnny Summerlin rounded out an excellent start, elevating Machen’s record to 19-0. Further bolstered his credentials in 1957 by twice defeating Joey Maxim and knocking out Tommy Hurricane Jackson, employing his great jab and fast hands. So you say he should have gotten a title shot? After all he obviously did more than most other contenders. Nope, Machen was told he needed to face the other top rated contender before he got a shot at Floyd Patterson’s title. So Machen went off to Sweden and lost via first round kayo to Ingemar Johansson, and Johansson ended up with the title shot. A contracted rematch with Johansson was avoided by the new champ in favor of a series of return bouts with Patterson. Machen tread water for those two years. Over his next 26 bouts Machen won 22, lost three, and drew one. During that time Machen was hospitalized after threatening suicide, and with his head never fully focused back on boxing he was used as a stepping stone (even though he stung Jerry Quarry, handing him his first loss) losing seven of his last eleven fights. Machen died under strange circumstances, either throwing himself out of, or falling, from an apartment window at age 40. Size would have been a factor with Machen, as he fought in the upper 190’s, but today’s nutritional advances should have gotten him a solid 220 pound body.
Nino Valdez 1941-1959 (48-19-3, 36 KO’s) ? Never got a title shot in his 18 year career, and he merited such a opportunity during the reign of Rocky Maricano. The Brockton Blockbuster held the world heavyweight title from 1952 until 1955. In 1953, and 1954 The Ring magazine rated Valdez as the number one contender (in their annual year end ratings) based upon merit. During that time, Marciano defended the title against Ezzard Charles (whom Valdez beat in 1953) and then Roland LaStarza (who had lost two of his last eight fights). Certainly a fight against Valdez could have been squeezed in. At 6’3″ and a solid 210 pounds, Valdez had the dimensions and power to put a fright into heavyweights of any era. On the flipside, Archie Moore’s two victories over Valdez (and Harold Johnson?s win over him for that matter) show that Valdez did not use his size to dominate opponents. His problem was consistency. Valdez would look great in one fight and drop another a month later to an opponent who had no right to even hit him with a jab. Too bad the Cuban born Valdez was never given the puncher?s chance to become the first Hispanic world heavyweight champion. Of course the right version of Valdez would have to show up, but if it did the odds were on Valdez’s side.
