Nope. His legacy was and still is he was a guy who came along at the right time. He was a tall dude fighting short men. So with a huge reach advantage and the fact that most of the best American athletes were playing football or basketball it left him an opening, he took advantage of it and dominated. That was and still is his legacy. The likes of Fury, Wilder, Joshua and the other heavyweights we see today with height came along about five to eight years too year for Wlad to change his legacy. If he could of fought guys like that who are closer to his actual height and his reach in their prime and fared well his legacy would be different. But he didn't. When I think of a Wlad opponent I think of a guy who was either short, out of shape, past his prime, etc.
Every fight I watched him was so ****ing boring, always afraid to commit against terrible cans put in front of him So no legacy there for me
I actually think it may hurt his legacy more than comparable hw's. Take Holmes. I had Wlad ahead of Holmes before the Fury loss. More total successful title defenses, longer consecutive spree and only 2 away from beating consecutive successful defense. Not as many names on his resume but more impressive h2h. But, he had also eclipsed his brother, who I'd had neck and neck until the last couple years. But 4 losses mean something. Holmes had a couple favorable decisions in his favor, but he was still technically undefeated before his championship streak ended. Vitali only had two losses, both of whom he was beating before the an injury TKO. IMO, I put Vitali and Holmes both above Wlad on the basis of this loss in ATG status. His streak was more impressive than their streaks, but his losses were worse than there's, and worse by a bit more than his win streak's impressiveness. He's still a fringe top 10 ATG, but if he'd been able to beat Fury and unite the HW titles, and add a few more title defenses to his resume, he could have been top 5 at a minimum.
Well most ATG's lost and retired being younger than Wlad . Wlad is almost 40 so if loss at that age destroys his legacy , then most heavyweights has no legacy at all
No , his legacy is still his legacy. The loss doesn't take away from what he done. But .. Does it affect his place among the greats?? Absolutely Yes. Never beat anybody he was meant to get beaten by and lost 4 times to guys he was meant to beat easily. And the manner in which he lost to Fury , proves he isn't anything without a corrupt ref who allows him do whatever fouling he wants in the ring. We're looking at a Sven Ottke type Legacy when its all said and done.
Good post. I think it still would be a great fight. Lewis always struggled with good big men who had good jabs I.e Mercer, Akinwande and Vitali, even Rahman to a certain extent. Where Lewis does have the clear advantage is his inside game and this is were I believe he would eventually get to Klitschko who I believe to be the better technical boxer of the two.
A boxer losing at an old age, well past his prime does not affect his legacy. However, wins, at that advanced age can still add to the legacy.
Im sure he will sleep well tonight knowing you believe he has absolutely no legacy at heavyweight lol.
well, nobody said he was past his prime until after the fact. Wlad hasnt taken much damage as a champion, and looked younger and in better shape than fury. Wlad had a great run but he lost to a better man
To say he has not been slipping these last 2 years is total ignorance. The Pulev fight was only so exciting because Wlad was getting tagged at times with punche's he never once did. His fight with Jennings was truly awful and I'm a Wlad fan. If you think he's as good today as 5 years ago then...well I don't know what to say.