Is Vitali Kiltschko an all time top 10 heavy weight?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Mendoza, Nov 25, 2022.


  1. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist

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    Starting at Wills/Dempsey, with no active fighters

    1. Ali
    2. Louis
    3. Lewis
    4. Tyson
    5. Wlad
    6. Holmes
    7. Holyfield
    8. Frazier
    9. Vitali
    10. Marciano
     
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  2. Bokaj

    Bokaj Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Comparing defences of individual belts (especially in a time with four major ones) with defences for the undisputed championship is of course nonsense, but Vitaly's record against ranked fighters is better than at least I have given hin credit for and his wins were very definite. So. yeah, a spot in the top 10 seems very reasonable.
     
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  3. Bokaj

    Bokaj Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Vitaly's record after coming back from injury after many years, in his late 30's, is insanely good.
     
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  4. Frankus

    Frankus Active Member Full Member

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    No. His resume is lacking quality. He doesn’t have a win over another heavy that you could reasonably rate in the top 100 let alone top 50.
     
  5. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist

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    Name the 100.
     
  6. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    Good post!
    Vitali ranks H2H a lot higher for me than in the all time scheme of things. I have a lot of respect for both him and his brother for their activities outside boxing and I'll leave the politics there.

    As an alphabet champ he was a cherry picker,and his Ring ranked opponents differ from the number suggested,this question was already corrected on another forum by a Ring magazine contributor who supplied the correct information.Again I will leave it there.
    Vitali makes the top 20 and imo, you can only place him around
    that figure, due to his underwhelming opposition ,that's about right imo.
     
  7. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    Fine analysis.
     
  8. Levook

    Levook Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Around #20 sounds about right to me.
     
  9. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist

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    Is he just an alphabet champ despite the win over Corrie Sanders for the WBC and Ring belts?

    Seems like a double standard to me and a good case for lineage.
     
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  10. cuchulain

    cuchulain Loyal Member Full Member

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    1. Ali
    2. Louis
    3. Lewis
    4. Foreman
    5. Marciano
    6. Holmes
    7. Frazier
    8. Tyson
    9. Liston
    10. Wlad


    Dempsey
    Johnson
    Holyfield
    Patterson
    Charles
    Corbett
    Walcott
    Jefries
    Norton
    Vitali
     
  11. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    Was he ever undisputed Champion?
     
  12. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist

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    Foreman and Liston shouldn’t be ahead of him due to having 2 and 1 successful title defense and multiple bad loses. Liston didn’t exactly beat a murderer’s row either.

    You obviously dislike the guy if you think Norton put together a better career. I’ll leave it at that.
     
  13. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist

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    Are Ring champions in the same category as Charles Martin if they didn’t unify all of the titles?
     
  14. janitor

    janitor VIP Member Full Member

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    No, and not even close.

    His resume is very thin on paper.

    Chris Byrd probably accomplished more.

    I will say this though.

    I am normally very critical of arguments that heavyweights with thin resumes, were head to head monsters i.e. Tua Bruno etc.

    Vitally Klitschko is one of the very few exceptions that I allow.

    The bottom line is that timing and luck were never on his side.

    He was older than his brother when they both entered the professional ranks which means that time was not on his side.

    After he picked up the Ring Magazine Title, he should have had the division at his mercy on paper, but a career changing injury derailed him.

    If this had not happened, he would might well have rounded up most of the straps, and brother Wladamir might have ended up scratching round for whatever crumbs were left over.

    History could have been very different.
     
  15. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    One of the reasons he is excluded imo is when he himself was a Ring ranked contender and alphabet champ he somehow missed fighting the following;
    Tua
    Holyfield
    Ruiz
    Tyson
    McCline
    Toney
    Oquendo
    Golota
    Brewster
    Haye
    Dimitrenko
    Thompson
    Povetkin
    Pulev
    Valuev
    Chagaev
    Ibragimov
    Barrett
    Boytsov
    All of whom were ranked when he was.