I know this is a clichéd point, but Joe Louis is regarded as many as an ATG despite a lack of quality in his era. As has been pointed out, Wlad's domination of the HW division has made other heavyweights look poor. If you check the amateur credentials of some of his opponents, you realise how good they were: Chris Byrd: (Olympic Silver Medalist) Sultan Ibragimov: (Olympic Silver Medalist, Euro Amateur Silver Medalist) Ruslan Chagaev: (World Amateur Champion) David Haye: (World Amateur Silver Medalist) Kubrat Pulev: (Euro Amateur Champion) Alexander Povetkin: (2x Euro Amateur Champ, World Amateur Champ, Olympic Champ). These guys were top top amateurs. I know that doesn't make them top pros necessarily, but these guys proved themselves as elite in the amateurs. It's not like they can't box or were window cleaners who laced on a pair of gloves. They were strong boxers, most of whom were HW champs as pros (Byrd, Haye, Chagaev) or most certainly would be if Wlad wasn't so good.
an incredibler thread title, that's for sure. the exceptions being haye byrd sultan and perhaps povetkin, which figure as acceptable defences.
Maybe because champions in the golden era used to fight (or to be) much smaller boxer than Byrd, and without his speed and skills
Byrd had also "won" a bunch of robberies leading into the second Wlad fight. Oquendo and Golota exposed Byrd... and Ibeabuchi was the first to stop him.
Liston and Foreman, two of the three biggest punchers Ali faced, both outweighed him. Exactly WHO has Wlad beaten?
Old Holyfield and a shop worn Tua who had really done nothing other than LOSE a W I D E UD to Lennox Lewis. McCline's claim to fame is knocking out a Lennox Lewis KO2 victim...
Wladimir's best wins are Povetkin, Ibragimov, and (arguably) Haye in my opinion. I know people hate Haye for not getting KO'ed, but the Wlad-Haye fight was closer than the scorecards indicated; it was a highly technical affair. The rest of Wladimir's resume can honestly be picked apart objectively based on when he faced certain opponents, as well as other intangibles. For example, I don't count Rahman as a good win at all for him: 1. Rahman had been exposed as "done" by Toney on Fox Sports Network (in their 2nd meeting). 2. Rahman was given the Wlad fight on short notice and had a short camp to prepare for it, but he needed the money and the opposing camp knew it. He showed up 20 lbs overweight and should have been stopped within three rounds. ^It is possible to go on and evaluate context on each of the opponents the thread starter listed in this same manner. There's more to evaluating a resume than simply putting down names of past victims; everyone might not want to admit that if they're biased, but they know this is true. While it's possible to cite people in Wladimir's resume in general in an attempt to further validate it, it is equally possible to (fairly) dissect it based on context. His sheer longevity is commendable and noteworthy, but he can only beat what's available to him across the post-Lewis/Vitali landscape. The biggest thing people overlook when weighing this altogether is the fact that big brother Vitali was clearing out the remnants of the post-Lewis HW division for over half of Wladimir's run. Vitali's WBC tenure and activity made a major difference during his active years. It also factored into matchmaking to a large degree. If Wlad weren't fighting today, the HW division would have belts changing hands constantly because the division lacks "complete" fighters. Wlad comes from that pre-2000 Olympic Gold pedigree, which puts him on another level compared to the guys he's feasted on for years. He's a dominant champion and keeps boxing's flagship division relevant.
I agree with you. Despite Wlad being a quality HW, this era is definitely weak (especially when it comes to dedication, skill, experience, and level of circulating competition) and many have recognized this for years. Not only that, but Vitali was active enough post-2003 to factor into Wlad's post-Brewster 1 run. No other HW in history had a brother -equally as dominant- clearing out opponents the way Wladimir did. There are stupid people out there who still don't even know the difference between Wlad and Vitali -- they just think "Klitschko" has been one man on top since Lewis retired, instead of it being two brothers. :-( Anyway, at this point Wladimir might as well make history and go for records. He doesn't have any real challenges on the horizon and no one will stand a chance against him in Germany, regardless.
Does anyone think Vlad should have been DQ'd against Alexander Povetkin? A lot of fouls that night, a really messy fight - I'd love that rematch with a stronger ref.