breaking down this heavyweight era and others: Why today stinks!!

Vitali would argue that he is the most logical choice for #2 in the division.:think

 

Todays Heavyweight era aint THAT bad. I mean the guys hae acually started to fight eachother now for once and it's turning out to the better.

 

But all of this is completely pointless because at the time all of these fights took place every fighter/ challenger listed was dismissed as "complete garbage" etc. Just look at some back issues of Ring magazine, IBD, KO etc. You aren't saying anything new. When Klitschko retires the heavyweight division will still be " a division bereft of any talent whatsoever " stick around 30 years or so and you'll see I'm right. In fact, the guys who have been following boxing for a long time tend to agree with me.

 

:huh

John Tate
Mike Weaver
James 'Quick' Tillis
Gerrie Coetzee
Gerry Cooney
Pinklon Thomas
Renaldo Snipes
Larry Holmes
Tony Tucker
Tony Tubbs
Michael Dokes
Michael Spinks
Greg Page
Tyrell Biggs
Buster Douglas
Tim Witherspoon
Carl Willliams
Francesco Damiani
Frank Bruno
Gary Mason
Mike Tyson

etc.

Bad era? The 80's had plenty of very talented fighters operating at the time.
It's true that often some of these guys did not always come into the ring in the best of shape, but compared to many heavyweights today, they were in fine physical shape and could go 15 rounds.

I think the 80's often gets unfairly criticised to be honest.

 

Gotta love how the Klit nuthuggers say Wlad and Vitali wouldn't be allowed to fight Ali or Frazier because they'd be LHW or CW, when Wlad and Vitali have BOTH fought former CWs:

Haye
Adamek
Mormeck
Byrd

 

Ibragimov was #9? He is actually among the best 3 or 4 guys Wladimir has fought in my opinion. I remember rating him #3 in the division behind Klitschko and Chagaev at the time.

And every "era" has highly talented and skilled fighters, it's stupid to say otherwise. The 90s were extremely exciting, with the top guys passing the belts among each other all the time. The 4 big names were Tyson, Holyfield, Bowe and Lewis at the time and those guys produces some memorable fights.
Now, there are plenty of eastern-European fighters out there because the pro boxing has finally expanded among the ex-Soviet and nearby countries. There was Iggy until recently, there's still Chagaev, Povetkin and now there is Pulev. There are also new talented prospects appearing in many divisions and I don't think that the sport will ever be the same as it once was.

There isn't as much excitement in HW because the Klitschkos (particularly Wladimir) are dominating and they look like they are a level above everyone else. Wladimir being so cautious also reflect negatively to the American public because they have been used to see an exciting, explosive fighters through the years. That of course doesn't take anything from Wladimir's abilities, it's just the matter of perception among the public. Klitschkos brought the HW scene in Europe, therefore they are highly popular in Europe and that's natural.

 

Ibragimov was #6 by JAB's own rating criteria, not #9.

http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/The_Ring_Magazine's_Annual_Ratings:_2007

http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/The_Ring_Magazine's_Annual_Ratings:_2008

And he was ranked higher at the time Wlad actually fought him.

What's interesting is when you look through those Ring rankings, Wladimir fought just about everybody who was there from 2004 to 2010, except for a few Don King's heavyweights like Ruiz and Valuev.

There are several in the top ten now he hasn't fought yet, but likely will in the next two years.

 

Lame counter :-(

When Wlad & Vitali fought them they were (maybe w/1 exception) well over 200#. Ali & Frazier actually fought opponents that weren't even full CWs or very small low talent HWs :deal