The Ring belt on the line for Klitschko - AJ

Well, that's the way it works. Nobody said it was perfect but, in theory, Fury can sit on the Lineal title for years. However, it's better than the confusion caused by the sanctioning mobs, like the WBA, who arbitrarily strip champions and parade around multiple titlists in the SAME division...

 

Wlad should really take a tune up next month. Out of the ring for 16 months at his age, not ideal.

 

If Joshua is ranked number two that is hard to understand

 

Beating Molina won't put Joshua at #2. Povetkin, Wilder, Ortiz, etc. have better resumes, even after this win.

 

No I think it should be Wlad and Wilder to fight for it while Fury is out

 

I disagree with that. He earned it. Anthony Joshua didn't ask to fight Charles Martin, AJ and his team was content on waiting for a title shot and gaining more experience. Charles Martin called AJ out after winning the belt fair and square. Glazkov was injured but the belt can't be held up for an entire year until he heals up. AJ only decided to accept the fight at the last minute because they realized that you have to take an opportunity when it's given to you. Of course AJ would fight anyone but he was a prospect and knew he had a lot of learning to do. He said that before he fought Charles Martin an continues to say that today. Charles Martin called out Joseph Parker and a bunch of other people around the division (in fact, Joseph Parker was offered the fight first). He even wanted a fight with Wilder but as we all know Wilder had to satisfy his mandatory and there was increasing pressure to do so. Wilder was going to fight Povetkin. Joseph Parker turned down the fight. Anthony Joshua accepted it and won the belt.

Yall can't say you want fighters to fight the best and then be mad that Charles did exactly that. He called out all the best fighters and prospects. AJ was the only one who accepted. You also can't say stripping Fury was wrong because look what happened with Fury. Fury would have relinquished the belt or have been stripped anyway so AJ would have never been able to take the title from Fury. He would have fought for a vacant belt either way. Are Parker and Ruiz being gifted the WBO belt? No! The winner earns it.


Being gifted something or having your success gifted to you means you had an advantage over everyone else. It means that you didn't have to work as hard as others to get the same opportunity to achieve your accomplishments as your peers. It means you were afforded benefits and privileges that other people were not. It means that you were given preferential treatment and shown favoritism. Parker and a bunch of other heavyweights had an opportunity to fight Charles Martin but refused. AJ wasn't moved up the rankings or anything. He wasn't the mandatory to fight Charles Martin. Martin did not have to fight him. Glazkov was the number 1 ranked fighter in the IBF rankings and he was the fighter who had first dibs on the opportunity to fight for the vacant belt. He lost to Martin. Martin then called AJ out because he didn't think Joshua could beat him. Joshua took the belt from Martin by knocking him out, it wasn't gifted to him. He was not gifted a title shot either.

 

Naw, Povetkin has earned it more than Wilder. I could care less about some trinket.

 

You haven't followed boxing long have you @madballster?

Linear has nothing to do with what any magazine, website or sanctioning body say. It's linear and that's what it means, a line. Until Tyson is beaten he is the end of the line. The fact some of us are having to explain this is embarrassing for this forum.

 

It's never happened before though. They all come back and lose or they officially retire for good.
The idea that a 50 year old, 400 pound Fury will be stubbornly sitting inactive and tweeting that he's not retired and is still champion is just something not worth worrying about at this point in time.

In the real world, he had a championship-winning fight less than 12 months ago.

People are very happy to say Wladimir Klitschko, the man he defeated, is a leading candidate to be the champion again, despite the fact he hasn't fought since then either !
Which seems like double-standards to me.

 

He vacated the belts rather than go through sanctioning body politics. He even stated that he wants the "champion in recess" treatment from those organizations so he can get to fight for those belts when he returns.
He is the lineal champion still.

 

We cannot include Fury because he is inactive through choice and will not be fighting again in 2017. He may come back in 2018...but he wont be the same fighter.

Therefore we have to rank things objectively. Based on previous victories and levels that fighters have been fighting at.

It is Wlad 1 and Povetkin 2.

After that it is open to debtate.

AJ does not have a win against another world title operator and Wilder is ranked above him, because Wilder has a win over Stiverne.

 

Why is Wlad number 1 when he's been inactive so long ?
He's not going to fight until spring or summer 2017, if he ever fights again at all.
He hasn't won a fight since April 2015. He didn't exactly look good then either.

 

So is this fight back on?

 

No , incorrect. It was #1 Wlad vs #2 Povetkin IN 2013. He lost it . Now its Wlad 1 and Wilder 2.

Until Wilder loses he will remain #2. A new lineage is determined by 1 vs 2. Povetkin is not #2 ..

 

Why do you rate Wlad so highly?