Top 5 Heavyweight Champions in the 1970s | A Brief Chronology of the 1970s Heavyweight Championship

A brief chronology of the 1970s world heavyweight boxing championship.
Who were the Top 5 world heavyweight boxing champions during the 1970s?
8 boxers held the heavyweight championship between January 1st, 1970 and December 31st, 1979, and those men were Jimmy Ellis, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Muhammad Ali, Leon Spinks, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes, and John Tate. For the purposes of this video, we are specifically comparing championship reigns and championship bouts during this period.
So who were the Top 5 heavyweight champions during the 1970s?
This video documentary will attempt to answer that question.
www.boxingnews24.com/
This episode of Rummy's Corner was written, narrated, and produced by Geoffrey Ciani (aka - Rummy).
Ranking the Top 5 Heavyweight Boxing Champions in the 1970s | A Brief Chronology of the 1970s Heavyweight Championship
#Boxing #1970sBoxing

[@Der_Diskriminator]

I feel sad for Norton. He missed the 5th spot vs a guy who had kinda 1 good fight in his whole career. He is so much under appreciated. He really deserved it to win the title inside the ring. He "officially" he lost 2 times vs Ali. But i see 2 Wins and 1 Draw. 😕🤷‍♂ But i totally agree with the Top 4 Rummy :)

[@mongoslade277]

Agreed. Had the 2nd fight a draw as well. You knew Norton won the 3rd Ali fight. Muhammad Ali said so himself

[@forestgeorge8855]

Spinks was overrated. A very sick Ali, who probably wanted to (in hindsight) avoid a fourth Norton fight, got beaten up by Spinks. I mean only five months had passed since Shavers and Ali was again out of shape, after barely winning a fight against Shavers. I’m not a conspiracy theorist because Spinks was probably 1978’s answer for Alfredo Evangelista and nobody thought this kid would be so hyped up that he wouldn’t ever wear out. However, Ali was showing his decline in that February fight. Not sure if Ali could have beaten Trevor Burbick in February 78.

[@fatrobdouble]

I agree 100$; Norton went 2-0-1 against Ali if not for currupt/fanboy judges....and Norton is absolutely a better 70s champ than LSpinks.

[@zansportsnewstv473]

💯

[@yotamdude5866]

I almost completely disagree with the top 4 😭 For me Larry first place, Ali second, Foreman third, Frazier fourth

[@RealJRoyall]

I'm a simple man. Rummy posts a video, I watch, like, and comment as quickly as I can. I wholeheartedly agree with your top five, my friend. Thank you for another enjoyable video about this great and utterly frustrating sport.

[@rickylozada7994]

Just like me 😂

[@willienganga]

This is agreeable. Golden era of HW boxing.

[@murraykelm5691]

Considering Joe was legally blind in one eye makes his career even more amazing.

[@keeganbluegrass]

Don’t forget he didn’t have easy fights early on and was put in the deep end early on. Joe was a legend, his chin was as good as most any

[@Mucklehorn]

Holmes vs Shavers, the amount of punching power during that match could be measured on the Richter scale. Also, Catching one of Smokin' Joes left hooks must have been a hideous experience. Great vid Rummy.

[@gino2033]

You can't nullify talent, youth, accuracy of punches or strength. That why only 1 fighter did nullify Joe Frasier's left heavy talent. George Foreman did that with bigger size strength and his talent n youth. He almost nullified Joe out of the ring with that right fist behind his left ear. But he didn't not for lack of trying.

[@rm3869]

Golden age of heavyweight boxing

[@Bow-to-the-absurd]

These legends put it on the line multiple times Can you imagine current heavyweights actually fighting each other?

[@gypsyemperor7535]

70s was mafia rigged and no drug testinf

[@thelevisullivan]

Nowadays, fighters care more about the money than actually getting in the ring and earning it against the best.

[@stephenschenider4007]

Society in general is soft pussies nowadays. I seen it slowly over my years in the service. Young men are becoming women.

[@spreadeagle2561]

Why yes the current guys do fight each other..............................................on social media !😄!!

[@gino2033]

Yes I saw The Gypsy King put it to Wilder did you miss those 3 fights?

[@TheGreatest1974]

Brilliant resume of the greatest era in the heavyweight division 💥🥊

[@isaiahraby7114]

Love this series. Can't wait to see the 80's and 90's

[@midknightfalconfan]

I suspect Holmes and Tyson will be 1 and 2 in the 80's. Not sure which will be on top.

[@MaccaveliPL]

@@midknightfalconfan I bet Wilder's heavy costume that it will be Holmes.

[@Bow-to-the-absurd]

This is gonna be fun.

[@Nayson]

Agreed about the tough choice. If you go careers as a whole then 3 becomes 2 because of what they did later, but in this context of just being about the 70s then your argument holds.

[@jmarsh5485]

And Holmes over Spinks surely?

[@davidmccann9811]

If it was based on overall careers, I would rate them: 1. Ali 2. Holmes 3. Frazier 4. Foreman 5. Spinks

[@cockoffgewgle4993]

@@davidmccann9811 Lol Foreman destroyed Frazier twice and won the title at 45.

[@fasasitaiwo5782]

I really enjoy this Rummy though I didn't witness any of this fight. Thanks for this Rummy Taiwo watching from Nigeria 🇳🇬👍🏿

[@markanderson9995]

Well done Rummy !!!. You always come up trumps !!!!. Not sure if you've ever done a Top 10 (or 20) Heavyweight Punchers of all time. Can't find it in your playlist. If you haven't, any chance you could in future perhaps ???. Many Thanks again !!!

[@conner.9262]

Great presentation as always, second and third is a difficult one for sure, your knowledge is far greater than mine, but I remember watching these fights replays during Lockdown with the pandemic here in the UK … one thing that’s noticeable is that these HW fighters, they fought up to 15 rounds, on occasions slugging it out till the bitter end ? These days HW are lucky to get past 7 to 9 rounds of boxing …. The good old days of HW boxing …. What a class act was Mohamed Ali….. I do not think any of this generation would have lived with these athletes….. cheers.

[@TechnoLawyer]

Seeing Frazier and Ali clips again reminds me that by the 70s, Frazier had faster hands. At least his left hook. Far faster than anything Ali throws.

[@0xyoshua]

I can see your good reason with your ranking reasoning. I would do think the two win Foreman has over Frazier are solid reasoning to put him in third place but Frazier was more active and did what only beat a young Ali.

[@J0HNJ0RDAN]

I'm so proud. Before watching, I had the same list, same order as Rummy. Now, I too, don't know shit about boxing! 😂

[@jasonellis9777]

I was looking at Joes record and Joes only had 31 different opponents. That’s far less then the other fighters of that era. I think because of his being a gold medalist he didn’t have as many early “testing” fights as others did and was put in with experienced pros pretty early. I think it’s impressive that he is so highly rated in history with not having as many fights as you’d think. Great video and this should be a fun series! Thank you!

[@tsb7911]

Joe fought through the ranks very quickly. Like Holyfield later on, he wasn't given a lot of soft touches to pad his record.

[@breezecardenas3941]

Great video! I love any documentary about the heavyweight division in boxing during the 70s! I have always been curious about the " Alphabet soup of the 80s" in the heavyweight division. Showing my age a little, by the time I started watching boxing, Mike Tyson had just finished unifying the 3 big belts. I'm curious to learn more about the boxers between the end of Muhammad Ali's career and the beginning of Mike Tyson's reign on the division. Boxers like Mike Weaver, Greg Page, Tim Witherspoon, Trevor Burbick and many others. It's an interesting time in boxing history that goes overlooked.

[@RummysCorner]

Thank you! And the 80s was definitely an interesting decade in heavyweight history. The video is already underway, and it's a wild championship path.

[@mongoslade277]

All those fighters you named like Hercules Weaver, John Tate, Page, Berbick, Witherspoon, Pinklon Thomas (and there's a few more) could beat each other on a given day. Some people saw it as competition. Some people saw it as a bad period in prizefighting

[@grzegorzfialek]

Great video; great channel

[@musak.4068]

You'd have to pretend to be upset with this list. Also on the matter between Big George and Smokin Joe. 1. Joe had the best victory between the two by beating Ali who went down as the greatest heavy of that decade. 2. Joe had more title defenses. Was George the superior (able to win) in a matchup with Joe? Yes. Joe had the greater career during THAT decade. Ultimately George would go on to have a heavyweight career that I personally believe arguably puts him as the #1 heavyweight. Yes, I'm taking in his professional debut until the moment he retired which predates my fathers birth (1971) and ended two years after I was born in 1995. I put Larry Holmes and Lennox in that top 4. I close it out with Joe Louis. And outside of Ali and Big George, the rest are interchangeable. I'd venture to put Ali/George/Joe in the top 3 with the order being up for debate. Lennox and Larry battle it out for 4 & 5. Again that's list of the greatest, not a "who-would-win" list which is something different. The greatest career between them. I'd add Wladimir and Rocky to battle it out for #6 and 7. Jack Johnson at #8 (he WAS his era's Mike Tyson/Ali figure) while much of the impact of his greatness is lost on us, we know thanks to documented evidence that it existed, Mike Tyson, and Tyson Fury makes it in at #10.

[@geraldwilliams4879]

Great Job!!

[@juliancrowe9754]

I'm on it been waiting ages for this cheers rummy

[@p4pking.]

Which 1 are you.

[@juliancrowe9754]

Wish I was any of em.....lol....jules

[@nickharmer3049]

What a great upload. A quality reminder of a golden era. Appreciated. Bless up bro 👊

[@HipFlippinMamma-Kelly]

Another AWESOME video RUMMY!!!!!! Love your channel.

[@johnnypat0346]

Great video. Prime Holmes was so entertaining to watch

[@ryanbrantley3648]

Love these Best of Decades! Hope you go through Welterweight and Middleweight the same way. Today I learned that Holmes vs Shavers was a thing. Didn't know they fought. Gives me something to look up.

[@RummysCorner]

They actually fought twice.

[@benoitpeloquin1910]

All your videos are gold Rummy 🥊

[@vernonleewarren280]

In my opinion, your list was perfect. Great video as always 👍

[@juliusluisventura2095]

Rummy's delivering another video packed with a punch!

[@gonzobatano5352]

Great video and analysis, Rummy! I agree with your list and also with the assessment that it is a very close contest for #2 between Foreman and Frazier.

[@martindunstan8043]

Hey Rummy👊🥊great video that makes absolute sense, thanks buddy nice work 👌✌️

[@rexzambwe3487]

Well done Rummy...lovely video and info...

[@p4pking.]

Great list CANT argue that 🥊💯.

[@juliancrowe9754]

Maybe swap foreman and frazier as I'm a massive big george fan....there all legends in any time or lifeline jules

[@thomaswoodward2499]

I don’t think anyone can argue with that. Thanks for the upload Rummy.

[@Dazlingmagic]

Spot on! Although it does feel rather wrong listing Spinks ahead of Norton!

[@AIRRAID2]

Good list. 🥊❤️🥊

[@jamesrobert4106]

I don't think I have ever heard a voice more suited to all matters boxing.

[@Tiberius_Productions]

I can’t help but agree how hard it is to compare Foreman and Frazier. I wound up agreeing with you, but I more or less see Ali, Frazier, and Foreman as the Holy Trinity of ‘70s boxers, with Larry Holmes at 4th and I do like Ken Norton a lot too, but Leon Spinks is as great too.

[@entertainingsportshighligh7525]

i didnt watch this Video, because i when i seen LEON SPINKS picture, instead of KEN NORTON, i knew i couldnt take this Video serious, lol

[@mrcuckles9636]

Sunday morning thanks Rummy 🇬🇧

[@manojshukla7354]

very good!

[@bareknuckles2u]

100% agree with Rummy's reasoning AND conclusions!

[@bobabrams6759]

Great channel. I started being a boxing fan in the 60’s and loved the sport thru to the end of the Lewis era.

[@siegfriedo]

70's were undoubtedly the start of Golden Era that lasted until 90's. ❤️‍🔥💥💪 Sadly what we see today in no way measures up to those days.

[@omarvazquez3355]

Rummy making a playoff Sunday even that much better. Love your videos Rummy. Thank you.

[@oldschoolboxingtalk2940]

Great another great video now let's do the light heavyweight division can't wait to see what you do there

[@datapro007]

Great video sir. I pick George over Joe. It is impossible to ignore the rematch where once again George bounced Joe around like a rubber ball. It is a subjective pick, sure.

[@divineglitch9550]

I think the 70s might be the best era of boxing ever. Ali was incredible.

[@SPIDERM0OSE]

I can't argue with that. Good work Bummy 👍

[@brocklanders3616]

Spinks 5???? That's unreal . That's like ranking Buster Douglas number 5, for best heavyweights of the 90s. For one big win over Tyson. Ken Norton deserves that spot.

[@fatrobdouble]

if you can't make your mind up between Foreman and Frazier based on their bare credentials, the coin toss would probably go to the one guy who destroyed the other twice, in just a few rounds per match. Also consider that in the 70s, Foreman had 32 wins, 31 by stoppage.... his record in the 70s was 32-2. In the same time period, Frazier went 8-4. Neither of them had outstanding championship runs, due mostly to the existence of Ali, but as champs in the 70s, i think i prefer the guy who went 32-2 over the guy who went 8-4, ESPECIALLY given that they fought twice in that decade, with the same devasting early KO result...

[@theasianjaywalker4455]

I dunno, I want Larry Holmes to be a #3 but it's almost impossible to argue against Ali being the 1970s top HW champ. Good stuff!

[@dinojay8410]

Agreed. Ali in the 1970s was not as dominant as the 60s. Those 3 years stolen from him effectively stalled his development and how far he could take it. By the time he fought George, his style had evolved ... and his ability to evolve and adapt was what made him stand out from every other heavyweight in any decade. As for your picks on 2 and 3, I'd agree with Rummy ... George only had 3 Title fights in the 70s. The only reason it was close is because he absolutely demolished Frazier and Norton.

[@ShawnFX]

I keep having sleepless nights, this is the second time that as soon as I feel dozing off I see a new upload Rummy! Keep up the great work!!

[@Dracbrewer]

What do I think? Perfect! Thanks Rummy!

[@gino2033]

As always you did an excellent job you picked the top 5 in my eyes correctly. You did the proper mentions of the close but no top 5 ranks. Even though Quasimodo predicted all this?¿?😆

[@somah1470]

Some people said Ken Norton won all Ali-fights and had a draw against Holmes. 5. Norton or even 4.

[@amwilson2551]

EXCELLENT video. I agree with Frazier at #2. His defeat of a more prime Ali does matter, IMO.

[@ebrown112]

damn, Rummy… you’re on a years-long winning streak in my book. thanks for this.

[@robertcatania1120]

great video (and series), I agree with the ranking, but also feel that 2-4 could have been shuffled around. Solid argument for Norton over Spinks could be made also.

[@RummysCorner]

Thank you very much, Robert. Cheers!

[@MiguelSanchezMoreno-pb6fd]

Justa reflexión, para esos años totalmente de acuerdo, el peleador de la década fue Roberto Durán, otros dos grades aparte Frazier y Ali eran Monzón y Kid Pambele, pero esa es otra historia...!!!

[@michaelteret4763]

I miss Ali so bad. :(

[@craigtimmons6907]

Ever done a live Q&A ? Ever consider a patron set up? You deserve the support

[@MrRonald1231]

Amazing history of the HWs from the 1970s my man.....loved it...and Yes Ali should rightly belong at the Top on merit.

[@andrew3xuk346]

Excellent Analysis - even down to the vacillation between Foreman & Frazier.I would have picked Foreman over Frazier because he beat Frazier twice. Total agreement on Holmes & Spinks & the No.1 spot which belonged to Ali in the 70’s

[@martincolton32]

Yep agreed with the list

[@aboalnadarat6278]

WHAITING FOR TOP 5 Heavyweight Champions in the 1980s

[@jmarsh5485]

including Holmes, and 4 that aren't Holmes

[@derionsanders1394]

@@jmarsh5485 Tyson is number 1

[@mongoslade277]

That's easy. 1980-85 Holmes. 1986-89 Mike Tyson

[@slidecounter5813]

I really respect Frazier he was very powerful & relentless but he was so left hand dominate. It's mostly all he threw I'm surprised opponents couldn't come up with a game plan to nullify it

[@gino2033]

You can't nullify talent with speed youth and strength. George Foreman nullified Joe's left heavy talent with bigger talent speed and strength. About nullified Joe right out of the ring with the right hand behind Joe's ear.

[@slidecounter5813]

@@gino2033 you can nullify it with ring iq & knowing to move to Frazier right since he was a orthodox fighter

[@gino2033]

@@slidecounter5813 didn't help many even Ali, Norton ect... It did work for George Foreman lol. But then you saw what happened to George vs Ali, Ali had a way with big guys look at what he did to Sonny Liston also but had trouble with Joe Frazier and Ken Norton. Custom Otto style the crab got Ali even from the manager on national TV.

[@russw3736]

Also I may have put Ken Norton in the top 5 just because he was clearly a better boxer than Leon Spinks. Although being handed the title reduces his legitamacy a great deal so I 100% see why Rummy left him out

[@AcrylicGoblin]

Mostly agree, though I'd put Holmes at 3 and George at 4. Great video, as always.

[@mongoslade277]

Larry Holmes being overlooked once again.

[@forestgeorge8855]

I wrote comments on this a few weeks ago, but I’d like to comment on Larry Holmes. I really feel Ernie Shavers beat Ali in their fight. However, the last time I watched the NBC broadcast … I had the fight really close. I almost want to watch the UK TV footage to see if Shavers really did edge out Ali. However, I usually score it for Shavers every time I watch it. Therefore, I really think Shavers was an uncrowned champion when he fought Holmes. Holmes surprisingly became the heir apparent of being the next great heavyweight champion due to beating Shavers in a solid 12 round fight and then beating Norton for the WBC title. It couldn’t have been arranged any better, as we basically have Holmes beat the two guys that many though Ali got disputed wins from. Ali truly should be #1 in the 70’s, but was on a major decline by 1978. Still Ali was #1 in terms of skill from 70-75/76 and in terms of how over he still was. Ali vs. Spinks II was a viable heavyweight championship contest, but I feel that Holmes truly was the next best thing as we were at the end of the Ali era and into the post Ali era. Holmes destroyed guys like Evangelista and wore out Shavers in their second fight … in spite of Holmes going down twice. September 1979 Holmes probably beats September 1978 Ali easily by decision. I think this is why I hold more respect for Holmes’ early WBC reign and feel Holmes was truly the solid real champion after Ali retired in 1979. Holmes would beat Spinks in 1981, but that Spinks was a far cry from the 1978 Spinks - but I still think Holmes had the solid next champion reign based on the people he fought and beat.

[@marccreation1052]

For me Foreman in the second spot, love the guy.

[@BreakfastKids]

i’m a simple man, rummy posts, i watch

[@ministryoftruth8523]

Not only am I fine with the order, but it's precisely the way I ordered those five, truly great, fighters.

[@Serkan55777]

Rummy seni dinlemek büyük keyif. Ayrıca İngilizcemi de geliştiriyorum. Amerika'ya selamlar.

[@foozballguy]

Very fair rankings. I wish Big George had his head screwed on better in those days. With his power, if he improved his stamina back then, he might have taken the #1 spot

[@johnosullivan6439]

He'd never take the #1 spot as long as Ali was around. Some people claim that the older Foreman's 'brains' plus the younger Foreman's power would make him number 1 - the only thing he changed when he came back to boxing was to move even more slowly than he did in the 1970's, to try to stretch his stamina. Ali would've finished a slower-moving Foreman within 5 rounds.

[@SuperStrik9]

The 70s was a great time for the heavyweight division. As a Canadian I'm a huge George Chuvalo fan. 73-18-2 with 64 ko's. In my original comment I thought it was 63 ko's but I was wrong it was 64. Wikipedia is the only source where it said 63 and every other source said 64. You can't trust Wikipedia as a source because anyone can edit it. It's why it's not a credible source in academia, etc.. My mistake by going by what it said in my original comment. Anyways, Chuvalo was never a World Champion but he fought anyone who was willing, including many of the greats from his era. He was never knocked down which is impressive. Chuvalo was never World Champion but he had one of the greatest chins of all time.

[@TFB97]

The greatest chin!!!

[@k.d.1555]

Much Respect 🇨🇦 !! Granite Chin!

[@wraithstrongopark]

I can't argue with that order.

[@samueldowney2806]

Good stuff Rummy. It's personal opinion on splitting Big George and Smokin' Joe. Joe arguably had the larger body of overall superior work, but styles makes fights and George annihilated him, twice (even if one wasn't a world championship fight as you say), and I'm biased, so I'd have to put Big George in at No.2.

[@ollywurk]

I'd agree we ty that, what a great decade

[@bryanv4081]

Great job, Rummy!

[@RummysCorner]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@bryanv4081]

@@RummysCorner I love George Foreman, but I think you were bullseye accurate with the order of those 5 in the seventies. And I'm also right with you on the back and forth between George and Joe.

[@AIRRAID2]

F yes man. Thanks Rummy!(1)

[@UKSportsFan]

I almost always agree with your boxing takes, but there is absolutely no way I'm placing Spinks ahead of Ken Norton....not even close.

[@sandyacombs]

Agreed, except for Spinks, I would have put Ken Norton at #5, he also beat Ali and was a much a higher ranked contender for most of the 1970's, than Spinks.

[@mongoslade277]

How could you not put Norton at #5. He was at least the 5th best heavyweight of that decade. Some people think he beat Holmes in that epic fight. A lot of people thought Muhammad Ali lost all 3 fights to Norton

[@musicman9914]

Great video. But Leon Spinks in the Top 5!!!! Ok he beat Ali, but Ali wasn't taking Spinks serious. And fell to far behind in the rounds. My Top 5 is 5. Ken Norton 4. Larry Holmes 3. George Foreman 2 Joe Frazier 1 Ali of course

[@Steve-yf2th]

1st Ali 2nd Holmes 3rd Fraizer 4th Forman 5th Ellis Ellis is a better fighter than Spinks Spinks didn't beat Ali Ali through the fight because he wanted a rematch because he new he would win and become the first 3 time world champion and get one over Floyd Patterson because he didn't beat Patterson as the youngest heavyweight champion Holmes is 2nd because if he chose to he would have beaten Ali in 75 and cleaned up the division but he did not want to hurt Ali That's why Holmes Took it easy on Ali in 80 Love the channel keep the good work up Cheers Steve

[@youtoo2233]

Nah, '75 Ali beats '80 Holmes IMO. Ali still had his speed and snappy punches and combinations, watch Ali vs. Wepner, that Ali had such swift hands, as fast as anything Holmes ever threw. Throughout his career Holmes was vulnerable to right hands which was an Ali weapon, I see Ali at his best tagging Holmes with rights all night.

[@mongoslade277]

I see Holmes dogging the 1975 version Ali with a left hook all night. Even the Cassius Clay version of Ali was susceptible to a left hook

[@Steve-yf2th]

In 74 Holmes was Ali's sparing partner for the Forman fight and Holmes handling Ali with ease Faster and harder combination to the head and body Hook's and uppercuts and the press was worried about Ali If Holmes was beating Ali so easily than what will Forman do The second coming of Ali was flat footed he couldn't dance for 15 rounds and had to rely upon guts heart and determination You look at Ali's record after the Forman fight and most of those fighter's wouldn't last 10 rounds with a 67 Ali Now a fight between 67 Ali and 80 Holmes that would be one hell of a fight I think Holmes would still win with a 14 round stoppage And before you say I'm crazy Henry Cooper sat Ali on his arse with Ali eye's rolling around his head like a slot machine with a left hook Ali was out and saved by the bell then his corner tamper with the gloves to buy more time to recover With modern rules Ali would not been saved by the bell and counted out

[@jodytimpany1529]

Great job Rummy! I grew up watching boxing in that era! A VERY interesting era. With fights being on regular TV they were widely watched compared to later era's. Hard to explain to people now but so many more people had opinions on boxers then than now. It is interesting when you only look exactly at the decade how that changes things. Big George was much bigger factor than Frazier overall but like you said in the decade. :) I would still go Foreman Frazier though. At the time the feeling really was that Foreman was an unbeatable monster. When he lost to Ali and all the "his drink was spiked" talk really flew. No one could believe it. Then as Foreman fought on he looked more human and had weaknesses. Oh shit no wonder you went back and forth on Foreman Frazier. :)

[@RummysCorner]

Thank you very much, and very nice observations regarding Foreman. Cheers, Jody!

[@TechnoLawyer]

Kind of hard to argue against these rankings. That said, the single greatest scalp of the decade is of course owned by Frazier, the scalp being taking Ali’s 0 in an epic battle which wasn’t really all that close. I mean, that’s probably the greatest scalp in all of HW boxing. Ali KOing Foreman was pretty epic too.

[@youtoo2233]

I understand Norton not being in your top 5 70's champions, IMO he was overall a top 5 heavyweight in the 70's but he never officially won the championship in the ring, it was a vacated title that he got by beating Jimmy Young, and he lost his first title defense. Ali definitely was an active champ, 4 title defenses in '75, 4 in '76, 2 in '77. IMO the '75 Ali against Wepner was still good enough to beat prime '80 Holmes.

[@boomerzman6148]

No argument here but based on your chart the underrated "Easton Assassin"Larry Holmes edges Big George and Spinks..."The Fluke" slips in by catching "Over The Hill Ali" on a bad boxing day! However I'd give Honorary recognition and nod to the Wolf Ken Norton (RIP) who never failed to show up for a fight! "We Fight in and Out of the Ring and through these Greats We Lived The Moment"

[@AgentGreyFox]

Norton > Spinks . Great video as always Rummy..

[@jamaali2358]

George Foreman is #2 Joe Fraizer fought an Ali of a 3 year ban and Foreman demolished Fraizer.

[@Kuragdar]

If you include Lineage fights as title fights then Ali's record in the 70's was 14 - 2 with 8 knockouts not 6 1 Quarry * 2 Bonavena * 3 Foreman 4 Wepner 5 Lyle 6 Frazier III 7 Coopman 8 Dunn

[@RummysCorner]

You are correct! My mistake, I inadvertently used the wrong output on my chart at the end.

[@rileygibson4615]

Top 5 Heavyweight Champions 1990s, 2000, 2010,

[@RummysCorner]

I will get to them all, although it may take a little bit of time before I get to the 1990s one. I have already started it, but I have some videos I'd like to tackle before getting back to that one.

[@jessearias2863]

1980s next please rummy.

[@thomasauslander3757]

Don't stop now Rummy.. 🥊

[@ernierichardson444]

That's how I would have ranked them in the top 5.

[@sasa1982uk]

It's gonna kick off!!!

[@fherlinn]

Norton should be #5. Norton beat Jimmy Young for the title even if it was late to be labeled a title fight. Then fought a spectacular fight in a losing effort (which could have gone either way) to Holmes. Who did Spinks fight besides Ali?