Williams was coming off the Tyson win and Solis was undefeated and the best heavyweight am to turn pro, ever. The other two are bottom of the barrel defenses.
I think vitali was a victim of the era he fought in. Couple that with his injury plagued years after he won the title, and that adds up to a resume that doesn't match up with the talent that he had in my opinion
Tyson was 38 years old and totally shot.Williams had lost to Sinan Sam 11months earlier and been beaten by Michael Sprott and Julius Francis, he was never world class. Solis had beaten no one before he faced Vitali and he's beaten no one since. Bottomline Vitali's opposition has been cr*p!
Unfortunate circumstances or not neither he nor his brother beat the top heavyweight in the division besides themselves. In an already weak era this was a much needed achievement for both.
The Solis win was maybe a little better than Bowe's win over Gonzalez but worse than Tyson's win over Biggs. Williams wasn't a hand picked opponent. He was there because Tyson wasn't and his name value was okay.
Lennox Lewis isn't exactly in Wlad's era. Wlad obviously hit his stride at a time when Lewis was retired. That's like knocking Patterson for not beating Marciano.
Challenging is an interesting word. On a fair score card Ali, " The Greatest " is 1-2 vs Kenny Norton. Somehow I think Vitali would not have much of a challenge vs the same man, nor would he be floored by the likes of Cooper, Wepner, or Banks. Holmes, a man I rank #2 of all time ( and would rank #1 if he subbed in for Jimmy Young who defeated Foreman ) also had challenges with Norton and barely edged Witherspoon. Some ( not me ) think Holmes lost to Witherspoon. Outside of those two, his competition level is pretty much even or less than Vitali's. Somehow I tend to doubt Vitali in his 30's would have an issue with Mike Spinks. A cut which could happen to anyone ( Ali once lost on cuts in the amateurs ) and a torn shoulder are the reasons for his loss. Otherwise, you can argue he would be undefeated.
I agree Tyson was shot. The Tyson-Lewis beat had one round in him! My point is Vitali never made his name on washed up has been's.
Yes, he did beat 12 men who were at least at one point in their career ranked in the top ten. And yes he will end up in the boxing hall of fame. Ignorance is your forte Dino.