The official IBHOF class of 2018 ballot has been revealed:

You need to do more fact checking, really. There are 1200+ active heavyweights. There are 256 active straws. Heavy is a deep division. Big purses and no weight cap. If you want to throw in the football argument, why aren't the straws all jockeys? Or are they?

 

The vast majority of Heavyweights are just lazy fatasses who aren't natural Heavweights. They just can't stop eating. The average American man is a Cruiserweight and can barely make the weight at 5'9" 197 pounds. That's because he's a fatass.

 

I'm sensing some sort of personal issue you have. Every heavy with 10+ defenses makes it as far as I know. Besides, his Lewis and Sanders fights were very memorable. The Peter fight was kind of a unique accomplishment too, given the layoff and Peter's standing at the time; it's not Vitali's fault that the fight sucked.

 

It's past your bedtime.

 

You think the average guys who roam the streets at 5'9" 197 pounds are lean and in shape? You have any idea how freakin jacked you would have to be at 5'9" 197 and with very little bodyfat? Imagine 45-50 pounds of muscle onto prime Ray Leonard. The reason there are over 1200 HW's in the world is because people like food. It tastes good, it's delicious and sugar is addicting. We want more and so we eat more of it.

 

Have you ever stopped to think that the possibility of someone who is 6'4 becoming a professional athlete is a lot more realistic than that of a random 5'9 fat guy?

 

Agreed on all counts. I think a couple of guys had better cases, but I don't begrudge him entry into the IBHOF.

 

His best performance was losing to Lewis lol his resume is a whos who of mediocre heavyweights, I'm not saying he was **** or anything but no way is that a 1st ballot HOF career especially when you look at who he beat to get in this year and who isn't in yet. What was his most impressive performance in your opinion?

 

I am glad that Vitali is finally getting credit for what he has done in boxing...................esp. after all the extreme hatred he had to put up with early in his career, that is in America.....................where Eastern European fighters are extremely hated!

 

Agreed. The rules have always been different for heavyweights. Plenty of them wouldn't be in if all weight classes were given equal footing. But, they aren't weighted the same, and never have been.

Besides, Vitali's not purely a charity case. He's also done the 2nd best work at HW during the 2000's and, being almost 2018, there's something to be said for that.

To go along with that, there's some added bonuses:
*Big draw, especially in Germany
*Mayor of Kiev
*Had a ton of success over 40
*Being Wlad's brother. While some think that the Klitschkos diluted each other's standing by existing, I'd argue that having brothers rule the biggest division for most of the new millennium is a unique achievement that adds to the draw. It's straight out of Super Punch-Out.

All that matters, too. It is the Hall of "Fame", after all, and these cats have to sell tickets to keep the lights on.