I think working out a consensus top 5 would be a good starting point. In the defence of the Wilder ranking, the cutoff was 2017, therefore his Ortiz win shouldn't be counted. Let's for the sake of it say we did it up until today, That way we can credit Joshua and Wilder for their recent wins over top 5 contenders, just to save w.e credibility this thread has left and get rid of any bias. Based on resume, achievements and fighting ability in my opinion there's a clear top 6: Wlad, Joshua, Fury, Povetkin, Vitali and Wilder in no particular order.
Well, I think Ortiz on blood pressure meds, a month from 39 years old when the fight happened is pretty close to the end of his career too. And he almost stopped Wilder, being ahead on the cards. As another poster pointed out, the win over Oritz was 2018. This time period ends 2017. When Wilder fights a top ten guy in his prime, correctly ranked in the top 10, and wins I'll give him more credit. He has not done that. Don't be angry at me; the Wilder has been a primer belt milker with his title opponents ( Ranked between 15-45 in the world ) and what happened? He was outboxed, a black eye had a tough fight with a much smaller man or shaken up him up until his power bailed him out. If you need the opponent's name who did the above, I'd be happy to oblige. Wilder's career isn't over, he can go up or down. A win over Povetkin or Wilder would help his case. Heck, a win over Pulev or Miller would help his case.
Start by re-reading how I scored it Scoring: 1 ) Number of title defenses 25% ( This content is protected ) 2 ) Number of top ten opponents beaten that appear in Ring Magazine Annual ratings 25% This content is protected 3 ) Head to head projection 25%. IMO 4 ) Overall Record and activity in the timeline 25% Fury beat a disinterested old Wlad on a night when he happened to have his head screwed on right and was in shape. I've seen him rocked by blow up cruiser weights. He needs more on his resume to rate wiser. Ruiz and Valuev have better wins and more title defenses. Fury could be a one and done type of case. Head to head, I'd favor Fury to beat either Ruiz or Valuev, but that's only 25% of the scoring. Does that explain it better?
No one. If you want me to sure the struggles in Wilder's career, I can help you though. His best win is vs a 38 year old man, less than a month shy of 39.
Question. Most here would agree that Wlad, Vitali, Joshua and Povetkin were the best 4 or 5 of the time line. What happens if Povetkin at age 39 defeats Joshua?