wladimir2 By Thomas Cowan: Last week, British heavyweight David Haye claimed Vitali Klitschko needs to fight him to secure his status of an all time great because he’s only ever had one big fight and he lost. Everyone knows Haye doesn’t care about Vitali’s status and just wants the title shot and the big payday but he does raise an interesting point. Here’s how I see the top 10 heavyweights of all time.

.#10 – Vitali Klitschko

Vitali just scrapes into my list of top 10 heavyweights of all time because of the lack of top quality opposition he has faced. However, he does deserve a place on the list because he has certainly earned his nickname, Dr Ironfist, by having a KO percentage of just other 87% as champion and he has also never been knocked down in his career. I hope Vitali agrees to fight Haye because his career deserves a better finale than a low key win over Manuel Charr.

#9 – Joe Frazier

The 1964 Olympic Gold medalist earned his place on this list by fighting beating Muhammad Ali in 1972 and fought fighting amazing bravely in the Thrilla in Manilla, the final installment, in the Ali-Frazier trilogy in 1975. Both men took an unbelievable beating and I don’t believe either fighter would have come out for the last round but unfortunately for Frazier, he threw in the towel first and handed the win to his rival. Despite this, Smokin’ Joe was a great warrior and an all time great.

#8 – Rocky Marciano

Rocky Marciano did what every fighter dreams of doing by retiring as an undefeated champion. Marciano had the best knockout ratio of any champion and definitely deserves a place on this list but because of a lack of serious challengers to his title, I can only put him eighth.

#7 – Wladimir Klitschko

The 6ft 9in 1996 Olympic Gold Medal winning Ukranian has completely dominated the heavyweight division in the 21st century. Early on in his career he was knocked out 3 times by Lamon Brewster, Corrie Sanders and Ross Purity but since then the younger Klitschko brother has improved his defence so much that his dodgy chin is no longer an issue. If he can tempt whoever succeeds Vitali as WBC champion then Wladimir will become the next undisputed Heavyweight champion. It’s a shame that he has had to fight in such a poor division because i believe Dr Steelhammer could have mixed it with the guys you will see in the top 6 on this list.

#6 Evander Holyfield

The former undisputed Cruiserweight champion moved up to the top division successfully and is a 4-time World Champion (it would have been 5 if he hadn’t been robbed by an awful decision against Nikolay Valuev). Holyfield is best known for twice defeating Mike Tyson, the second fight being known as the infamous “Bite Fight”.

#5 – Joe Louis

Frankly, if it wasn’t for Joe Louis I wouldn’t be writing this list. After Jack Dempsey retired, the sport was spiraling into the abyss with issues of fixed fights and mafia influence. Louis showed the sport could be great again by winning the title fairly and cleanly. His victory over German Max Schmelling in 1938 was seen as a victory over the Nazi regime, much like Jesse Owens’ success at the 1936 Berlin Olympic. The Brown Bromber raised money for the military during World War II by putting on several charity bouts and reigned as Heavyweight champion for over 10 years.

#4 Mike Tyson

The reign of Iron Mike began when Tyson knocked out Trevor Berbick in 1986 and he became undisputed champion, brutally knocking out Frank Bruno, Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks in the process. However a conviction of rape destroyed Tyson’s image and losses to to the best two opponents he ever faced, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis, mean I can only put him fourth. However Tyson was a brilliant champion with sensational power and it’s a shame that his career was overshadowed by a prison sentence and him savagely biting a chunk of Holyfield’s ear off in 1997.

#3 – George Foreman

Big George’s incredible power was legendary. He was famous for finishing any opponent that stepped in the ring with him within two rounds. Foreman destroyed Joe Frazier twice, literally sending him flying across the ring with vicious right hooks. Foreman’s career declined after he lost to Muhammad Ali (more on that later) and after he lost to Jimmy Young it was thought his time was up. However, he sensationally made a comeback in 1987 and managed to knockout Michael Moorer in 1995 becoming the oldest ever world champion at 45 years old. Big George was a fantastic fighter and if he’d beaten Ali, I’d have put him top of this list.

#2 – Lennox Lewis

The last undisputed Heavyweight champion of the world dominated the division in the 1990s. He only ever lost two fights, both shock defeats against Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall, beating both fighters in rematches. The Brit defeated Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Vitali Klitschko and fully deserves second place on this list.

#1 – Muhammad Ali

Ali was undoubtedly The Greatest. He became champion at 22 years of age by defeating Sonny Liston after he had won Olympic Gold at just 18. Ali always stood up for what he believed in and was stripped of his titles for refusing to participate in the Vietnam War. After regaining his license Ali regained his titles against all the odds beating George Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle”. Ali wore knockout king Foreman out in the early rounds with his rope-a-dope tactic and grew into the fight as it wore on. Ali danced around the ring and taunted Foreman all night. In the 8th round, Ali floored Foreman, winning the fight and securing his status an an all-time great. Ali then beat Joe Frazier in the “Thrilla in Manilla” an all out war between two rivals. He really had the whole package; great trash talk, a solid puncher and he was extremely entertaining to watch. If there was anyone who didn’t love Ali already, they did after the opening ceremony to the 1996 Olympic when he fought of Parkinson’s Disease to light the Olympic flame.

That’s my take on the greatest fighters of all time but I’m sure most fans will disagree with my choices for one reason or another.