Deontay Wilder In The 70s

He'd match up well with a lot of guys. Norton would be... awful to watch, He could potentially unload his clip and Windmill a lot of guys he's lazy in spots but if he thinks he smells blood... we have to give him the credit he deserves, he's durable, nuclear and gutsy as hell. I kind of liked him to be honest, he brought the laughs with his nonsense and his style was an eye sore in a funny, entertaining, unique way. I think the best fighter he could conceivably beat is someone like Foreman who had a bit of a so-so defence like Wilder, He's not a favourite but he could dig deep ands take it well, He might beat Foreman but he might also be brutally KO'd in the process after he runs out of juice but watching the Fury fights, he has a pair of lungs on him.

 

Based on?

 

Watch his fights. Check the ko percentage. Watch his hips and legs when he punches.

Fury is most certainly not a big puncher, let's be real, my friend.

 

Exactly, if Ortiz had come along in the 70s he'd probably still be looking for a contender who would get in the ring with him. A 240 pound southpaw with his amateur background...nobody would fight him. Wilder is a fighter unlike anybody in the 70s. With Wilder's length, power, stamina, the way he carries his power for the whole fight...he's just unlucky to share an era with Tyson Fury who is also a once in a lifetime freak of size, speed, coordination, and fighting instincts. Everybody has their own opinion, nothing can be proved across eras, but if it was possible for them to fight I'd bet on Wilder and Fury over all of the 70s fighters. Ortiz too.

Boxing is a world game now, the 70s was about who was the best U.S. heavyweight.

 

Do you pick Ortiz, Wilder, and Fury over a peaking 67 Ali? I ask because you pick them over the 71 version, who wasn't that far off.

One point on the "best US heavyweight" issue: It's quite possible for a single country to have a deeper talent pool than the rest of the world. See: Thailand in kickboxing/MT. Boxing has globalized, but it has also contracted in the US. It used to be huge here.

 

I'm not saying Fury is a big puncher, I'm saying there isn't a lot indicate Holmes hit undeniably harder. I'd honestly say of late with the way Fury had begun to throw his bodyweight in and not just swing his arms he's shown us he can whack. Holmes, well I don't think many guys have said much about Holmes power at all. I remember reading he didn't have a whole lot of pop. I've known someone who sparred Ali in the 70s a comparable puncher by most admissions and he said he wasn't anything special to any other HWs he worked with.

 

Except the Holmes jab.

 

He’s also unlucky to not get a shot at a title until deep into his thirties.

 

Watch 1979-1983 Holmes again and tell me he didn't have a lot of pop. Weaver I (basically a one shot ko), Evangelista (same), Frazier, Cooney, the majority of Cobb. He knocked down Ocasio WITH A JAB (how many times has that happened in boxing? Fury never did anything like that).

I never said he hit harder, but the two are fairly matched in that realm. Holmes wasn't a big puncher but his right hand and uppercut were no joke.

 

Is no match for the robust wristed, succulent, muscular jab of Sonny.

 

I seem to remember an old forum belief in the early 2000s that Liston knocked Wayne Bethea out with a jab. Boxrec's summary of the fight from 2022 doesn't agree. Perhaps the past changed in the interim?

 

That's a very good name to bring up in this context.

As far as it being no match, I highly reccomend watching peak Holmes. In fact, just check out the Berbick fight. Trevor was committed to becoming champ and fought like it, in fact I believe he'd already beaten a top dog like Page to get there. He was a perfect contender and fought his heart out but Holmes' jab was a thing of beauty.

So yeah, Sonny had a freaking incredible jab, but Holmes and Foreman's could be as effective (I daresay Louis and Ali at their best as well).

 

A lot of it has to do with timing and exhaustion with a lot of other factors at play. I didn't see a lot of heavy handed guys knock folks down with a jab, it doesn't mean Larry hit harder. I think I'll go with what the guys who fought him said on this one.

 

I heard it was a left handed right cross.