Wladimir Klitschko now holds the record for the longest reign in HW boxing history

Great Post :good

 

MagnaNasakki can write!

 

No, choosing the premiere fighter of an era is often far more subjective than finding the true champion. Take a look at your own considerable effort in your list and we can argue all day about who was the best fighter in a division in many years not dominated by a god of war.

Given a vacant throne, the idea that the "champion" with more belts can be just as valid as the champion who came to be so after a 1 vs. 2 match up is just wrong, man. That really isn't relative or a matter of subjective opinion, unless you like chaos in your sport of choice.

First, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board has no lineage, if by organization you mean that. It doesn't argue that Briggs was the true champion.

Second, what is your opinion about a superior fighter in Burley not being champ when Zivic was in fact champ? How about Lesnevich as champ over Ezzard Charles? How about Freddie Mills over Moore? Had some silly ass organization came along and handed Burley, Moore, and Charles a belt based on their own set of rigged ratings, would you dismiss the claims of Zivic, Lesnevich, and Mills since the former were obviously superior fighters...?

 

Manny did for Wlad what he did for Lewis -he revamped his whole style around two things -his size, and his dentable chin.

Futch was a master trainer and if he got a hold of a fighter the way he got a hold of Bowe, for however long Bowe listened, he could be counted on to inject serious technical skill into his charge. Bowe had a skill set you almost never see among the giants. Now, you and Seamus can criticize when he used particularly skill sets (inside on Holyfield, etc) and his mistakes, and his strategy, and very rightfully his horrible diet and slothfulness, but to say that Wlad at his best is more of a technician than Bowe was at his best is questionable.

As to Primo Carnera, I think you underestimate his skill set.

 

Considering how many punches I've taken, I'm gonna take this as reassurance that I'm still in a good spot as far as retiring with my faculties

 

Mickey Walker said that heavyweights were easier. Moore did too. And Burley. Greb went up and picked on them dozens of times.

If you know what you're doing technically and have speed -and historically speaking, lighter weight divisions are more skilled than the heavies, size doesn't matter quite so much. Their shots tend to like blunt force objects but you see them coming and can get out of the way or get under. Now something like Hearns -well, that's another story all together.

I see it as often-times woeful technique and bad conditioning to boot.

Not to nit-pick but it's ring generalship.

By my way of thinking, a fighter who cannot fight inside isn't a technician. One who can, probably is. It's a rule of thumb that rarely fails because it's very difficult inside and takes an awful lot of skill to manuever there, avoid shots, and land your own. There are not only two fists, but elbows to watch out for, knees, the head, and it's hard to see in there because your head is low and you have to go on muscle memory and 'feel.'

 

Thank you. I was feeling alone in the woild!

 

No -the prestige those belts are accorded comes not from the fighters' outlook on them, but from the media. If the media ever decides to stop intellectually financing them, the prestige of the belts will diminish exponentially and the fighters will begin to resent being extorted for sanctioning fees for something that is ignored, that has zero prestige.

 

I was being looked at to fight the guy in a year or two; It was sobering.

Nothing like getting a look at a dude who is looking like a monster in sparring and on the bags, then getting told by a handler they'd like to make the match. My eyebrows molded to my hairline, and I went home almost queasy at the thought of challenging Golota for title or something crazy like that.

Then, I sat through the rematch, live, and watched him erase himself from relevance over the next couple of years. Funny how the fight game works.

 

Well what you say is true in a sense but I mean that for me personally I can always select the best at any one time regardless of which belt they wear. Many won't agree but from my point of view it's consistent all the way through.

Take Floyd at lmw, he's already beaten cotto clearly yet would have to do so again to take your throne.

My bad with the board. Apologies.

Well take lesnevic, he lost to bivins a couple of pounds above the limit, he lost his claim as the best lhw in the world at that point.

Burley, despite twice beating zivic never got his shot at Armstrong and the way zivic twice beat him underlined his position.

The way i see it, no claims need dismissing. The fighters live and die for those belts. It's more about which of the claimants a rate number 1. For instance Igarashi at flyweight is about to lose his premiere status when the winner of viloria and Marquez is announced.

 

That's because he had trouble connecting. Haye can get pretty low himself... Today he fights out of a crouch not by habit like he used to, but by necessity.

 

on this point i wholly agree. I hope the media dismisses as much as you do.

 

Thanks Magna. A great read, as always. :good