This generation of Heavies is something poor.... Although I'd still pick AJ and Fury to beat a prime Povetkin I'm convinced a prime Povetkin slumps the rest... Povetkin mostly weighed around the 220lb the majority of his career. Hats off to Povetkin for showing consistency and always showing up disciplined and ready.
Aj would definitely not beat a prime Povetkin imo. He struggled against a well past it version. Tyson Fury probably would though
Appreciate the K2 era more, they actually dominated all these guys that’s fighting as b-sides(Povetkin, Arreola, Chisora) yet still being very competitive.
There were never that many truly great fighters at any time in the heavyweight division, to be honest. If you have two (Fury and Joshua) then you're doing OK!
It is not a matter of "great," it is a matter of a credible supporting cast. The seventies had the big three: Ali, Frazier, and Foreman. It was a great era because of Norton, Shavers, Quarry, Lyle, Young, Foster, and others who had some attribute to almost allow themselves to compete at that level.
Im not sure you can call AJ great yet. If he beats Fury or Wilder then sure but his best wins at the moment are looking kinda shaky. It’s no fault of his he’s fought and beaten majority of top 10 guys and tried to fight Wilder.
Same as the 90s that solidified Holyfield and Lewis. The supporting cast would have been great in any other eras.
Well why was Ali so great then? The guys he beat were mostly all beaten by bums previously. Who did they beat to establish their greatness also?
Yet Norton beat Ali, Shavers beat Norton and hit Ali with the Hardest punch he ever got hit with, Lyle had one of the most beloved ever see-saw brawls with Foreman, Quarry beat Lyle and Shavers, etc. Look, what I am saying is not really in question, or controversial. This sport survives when you build the pyramid. There have to be guys at the base, and there have to be guys at the top, and there have to be guys in between. This era does not have the credible in-betweeners.
Ali also beat the greats in his era too. Frazier, Liston, Foreman, Norton etc.. So far AJs career without Fury or Wilder doesn’t stack up. He’s almost there and I must admit he knows how important legacy is because he’s trying or tried to make those fights.
Yes, yes, yes. Holyfield, Lewis, Tyson, Bowe, Moorer, Mercer, Morrison, McCall, Tucker, Seldon, Golata, Grant, Briggs, Ruddock, Tua, Byrd, Ruiz, Bruno, Mason, And on and on.
The fact is, the 'inbetween' attribute with Ali was his outspoken character. I'd bet good money that the inbetweeners in this era would pulverise the inbetweeners in Ali's era. There was nothing else exceptional about that era, there just wasn't.