First of don't call me "little kid" and secondly, when did i say past Heavyweight's can't compete with modern Heavyweights ? all i said was that Bonecrusher was a big Heavyweight, and that the size of some these modern Heavyweights wouldn't be much of an issue for him. I never said "all past Heavyweights wouldn't be able to compete with modern Heavyweights" you seem to be putting words in my mouth. Now obviously you have some Heavyweights from yesteryear like Marciano, who was basically a Cruiserweight and he would struggle with the giants now. But do i think fighters like Holmes, Ali, Foreman, would be able to compete with the Heavyweight's now ? absolutely yes and i never stated they wouldn't.
Then why bring up Smith's size then? Also you keep saying modern heavyweights without realizing Foreman actually fought in the 90's when Wlad and Vitali fought. They both were champions after the 2010's. So any heavyweight from Ali to today is modern a modern heavyweight. So again why bring up James Smith size like it means something? Pretty much every heavyweight champion from Ali to today has been between 6'2 and 6'6/6'6 (With the exception of Tyson, Frazier, and Andy Ruiz who is probably under 6'0.
It needs to be said that Weaver was past his best when Smith rolled him. It's far from impossible his durability was damaged via the bizarre finish against Anthony and further deplenished by Thomas. He was probably a dangerous gatekeeper type by this point but his power and Williams weak chin bailed him before Bonecrusher boned him.
I do too. As durable as Smith was he would lose all confidence against Wilder,and would turn into 'BONEHUGGER' Smith just as he did against Tyson.
LOL!! Yeah Smith was definitely intimidated by Tyson and even admitted so in an interview on Tuesday Night Fights years later. BUT, most often he was a tough chinned guy who came to bang. Was he slow, yes, mechanical, yes. But he could hit he froze Ribalta and dropped him cold, yes Ribalta survived because Smith was not a great finisher, but his punch definitely affected Ribalta more than any of Tysons did even though Tyson (the better finisher) got to stoppage. I think this would be fireworks and anything could happen.
To be fair to Smith he admitted later to being intimidated by Mike Tyson on an interview on Tuesday Night Fights. But you know as well as I do he was usually there to Bang. Maybe Wilder stings him early and causes him to shell up and that’s what you’re insinuating. But Smith had raw power. I remember him literally knocking Razor Ruddock sideways after a big right hand. I don’t think this is a gimmie for Wilder, much lesser fighters have posed issues for Wilder, so why not Smith. Smith also isn’t going to crumble under one Wilder right hand.
That's fair enough but i'd still rate wins over Witherspoon, Bruno, Weaver, better than most of Wilder's resume. Personally i just don't see the hype in Wilder, if he can stop the likes of Ruiz, Joyce, Joshua, etc. Then i'll stand up and start taking notice, but for me i've noticed Wilder seems to be getting more hyped recently because of the 3rd Fury fight, but Fury has never had a good chin although his recovery abilities are top notch. For me it speaks more volumes that Wilder had Fury on the floor 4 times, and couldn't finish him off at any point. Again i think some people have misunderstood my posts, i'm not claiming Bonecrusher is some monster H2H GOAT. Nor am i saying he's even the favourite in this fight, it's more to do with the question marks i still have regarding Wilder and his power, again as i said if he can stop some world class Heavyweights like Ruiz, Joshua, Joyce, then i'll be the first to give him all the credit in the world and i'll quote my own post if he does it. But for now i think Smith who is a big strong Heavyweight, and who is IMO physically stronger than Wilder. And also hits hard himself and is pretty durable. Could give Wilder a rough nights work and maybe has an outside chance of possibly pulling off the upset, lesser men than Bonecrusher have gave Wilder tough fights. I just don't see Wilder as an overwhelming favourite is all.
Yeah lol. I grew up watching boxing in the 80s, so maybe I’m seeing things through my rose tinted nostalgic glasses. But I think Wilder would struggle quite a bit trying to maneuver the same opposition that Smith took on on the regular in his fighting days. Much like you I’m not even claiming Smith would win this fight. In fact, I said he could possibly be made to order for Wilder. I just think Wilder is vulnerable against a heavy punching strong fighter like Smith.
Bruno was 21-0 against nobodies. He was green and only ranked 9th. Beating THAT version of Bruno would not have been better than beating WBC champ Stiverne, #1 contender Brezeale, or #1 contender Ortiz. That's not how that works. You can't decide a win over Bruno would be better because you feel like it. Watch the fight again. Bruno wasn't launching bombs on Smith, he was boxing. Smith was KOd by a single punch from Ruddock who doesn't hit as hard as Wilder either. Keep making excuses if you want. I've watched about 10-12 Smith fights. He's food for Wilder. Weaver? The fight was stopped way too soon, and Weaver had recently lost and wasn't ranked. He was a "name" opponent but probably not worth more on Wilder's resume than beating someone like Arreola.
Good post. As my dad said about Bonecrusher… ”He’s a big strong boy who hits like a mule but he’s too sometimeish.” Sometimeish is another word for inconsistent…if Bonecrusher is in the mood, then the Bronze Bomber could be in for a very torrid time. But If he isn’t feeling it that night, then Wilder could have a fairly straightforward night’s work.
Spot on it seems like we're in the minority here, but I don't see why it's so outlandish to think Bonecrusher gives Wilder a rough night. Plenty of lesser fighters extended Wilder into the 2nd half of a fight and gave him issues. PS I think I've said enough on this topic now, as it feels like I've been beating a dead horse repeating same stuff. I'm not trying to change peoples minds, I just don't think Wilder is such an overwhelming favourite. But yeah that's my final thoughts on this subject.
