Looking back at Axel Schulz. Is it fair to say he is a top 10 HW's from the 90's?

Top 10 skill and resume wise..... uncrowned 2 time HW champion of the world, and I agree that he is a very underrated win on Wlads resume.

 

He's under rated, he clearly showed he belonged at world class level, but he wasn't good enough to beat the very best he fought. You could argue he was near top 10 around the time of the Foreman and Moorer fights.

But the 90's division was stacked. Holyfield, Tyson, Bowe, Lewis, Moorer, Mercer, Golota, Bruno, McCall, Botha, Akinwande, Hide and Witherspoon were all top fighter around that time. So maybe he was top 10 or just outside. But once some of the next gen of young fighters came along during the second half of the 90's, guys like Tua, Byrd, the Klitschko's and Ibeabuchi he was no longer top 10 as the division got even deeper.

 

I am German, and I came to boxing watching the german 90s heroes Maske, Schulz, Michaelczewski, Rocchigianni etc.
Let me say this, I am absurdly surprised at the level of praise and recognition Schulz gets in this thread.

In Germany, Axel Schulz is viewed upon as a joke and a big dissapointment. A nice but naive guy, not a rocket-scientist, definitely somebody that could never cut it at the highest level.
I only really remember the Foreman-fight as being viewed upon as blatant robbery.
Following that fight, Schulz got pushed hard by german television, they promoted him as the first german to become hw-champ since Schmeling.
The Botha and Moorer-fights were big dissapointments, and Schulzs reputation as legit challenger was absolutely crushed.
Peoples opinion was that he just doesn't have the killer instinct and roughness needed in this game. His alias was "Weicher Riese" -> "Soft Giant".

The nightmare of a comeback Vs Minto was the absolute low-point in his life.
People were embarrassed, he lost his status as B-celebrity temporarily and nobody wanted to see him or get associated with him any more.
He couldn't even get a job as an expert for television anymore, people were just so sick of him.
If I remember correctly he even suffered a stroke following that fight, it was all just so sad and depressing...
Going back and actually looking at his record I have to say yes, he is probably pretty underrated, especially in Germany.

 

:huh

Have you seen the Akinwande fights?!?

 

Lewis, Holyfield, Bowe, Tyson, Tua, McCall, Bruno, Mercer, Morrison, Briggs, Foreman, Moorer, Ibeabuchi, V.Klitschko. I know I'm probably missing half a dozen names but there is at least 10 better guys out of those.

 

No, Schulz wasn't one of the ten best heavyweights of the nineties. He was a solid enough fighter but the 90's was stacked and Schulz wasn't one of the ten best.

Like everyone says he deserved the win over Foreman and I haven't seen the Moorer fight in a long time but I never viewed that as bad decision just a close fight that Moorer got the win in.

 

The 90s had enough fighters throughout the decade that were more deserving then him of a Top 10 Ranking.

Remember the 90s had Tyson, Holyfield, Bowe and Lewis; that will immediately occupy the top 4 spaces (choose your own order). So that leaves 6 Spaces left to put him include him in top 10 list. He doesn't make the cut; Tua, Ruddock, Bruno, Mercer, Morrison, Moorer, Foreman, Botha- I can't place him ahead of any of these guys!

I think he deserves more recognition that he's been given but that doesn't mean that he's worthy of the top 10.

 

You sound like exceedingly nice people. :verysad

 

No, he was not. Here's 10 better in the 1990's

Lewis
Bowe
Klitschko
Klitschko
Morrer
Mercer
Holyfield
Foreman
McCall
Morrsion

 

Better 90s HWs than Schulz:

Lewis
Holyfield
Bowe
Tyson
Morrison
Mercer
V. Klitschko
Tua
McCall
Foreman
Moorer
Ibeabuchi

Schulz was on the level of Ruiz, Ruddock, Hide, Seldon, McCall. So not really top 10, more like top 15.

 

I just don't see enough quality work to put him top 10. Top 15 is fair.

I'm a little surprised Mercer is a consensus top 10.

Also, any time I hear of Axel Schulz, I can't help but laugh that Foreman (and Arum) bribed the IBF to get him ranked as a contender, got caught, needed a robbery to win the fight, then dropped the title rather than give Schulz a rematch, and absolutely nobody cares.

 

By your description Schulz sounds like the 'German' Audley Harrison

 

IMO, Schulz is not top 10 in the 90s, maybe in the top 20 (11-20)

At the top was the upper tier of Tyson, Bowe, Holyfield and Lewis.
The second tier was Foreman and Moorer
and the next tier was all the rest like Mercer, Morrison, Bruno, Ruddock, Mcall, Botha, Golota, Tua and maybe Briggs. I feel all these guys deserve to be ranked higher than Schulz.

No its got nothing to do with his skin colour or passport, Golota was better than Schulz and so was Morrison.

 

It's funny I see people listing Foreman as a top 10 fighter of the 90s? Please!

Foreman lost all his big fights bar one:

- He lost to Holyfield, Briggs, Morrison and Schulz
- He won vs. Moorer with a single lucky shot after being clowned by Moorer and being behind on the cards by 5 rounds.

Holyfield has done absolutely *NOTHING* in the 90s except for landing a lucky punch on former LHW Moorer. Putting him in the top 10 of the decade based on that is absolutely ridiculous.