Someone mentioned there were no US heavyweight s in the recent Ring rankings. Got me musing when the last time the States dominated the big guys. Yes, Wilder was around as a belt holder for a while but soon as he faced someone decent he was gone.
90's... Bowe, Evander, Tyson, Moorer, Foreman, McCall, Morrison, Briggs, etc. Most of these guys would be legit top 10 now for sure
Rahman was the last American champ. & I’m talking about the champion. Not some strap holder - everyone’s got a belt. I could get in there & come home with something these days. To actually see them dominating is to go back, as you said, to the 1990’s.
The early 90s wasn’t exactly a triumph for Americans. The comp was a green Lewis, Bruno, Jorge Luis Gonzalez, slipping Damiani and Zolkin. Once the guys from former USSR territories settled in and Lewis hit his comfort zone, it was over.
Holyfield was the consensus #1 before the Lewis fights. Even if you picked Lennox to win, Holyfield had clearly established himself as the higher ranked fighter based on wins (which were also mainly over American fighters). So you can probably pinpoint Lewis-Holyfield I as a watershed moment of American heavyweight decline. This was exemplified by Lewis-Grant a short time after. Grant’s status as heir apparent was to a great extent based on him being (sort of) the best youngish American heavyweight. We’d been conditioned over decades to assume that the leading American up and comers would naturally be running the division at some point. Lewis-Grant showed that wasn’t the case any more.
"A while." Five-year reign (10th all-time longest heavyweight title reign) ... 10 successful title defenses (tied for 5th all-time for most consecutive defenses ... with Muhammad Ali) Yeah, other than the champ tied for fifth all-time for most title defenses in heavyweight history ... who was the last guy? How many other guys held, won or lost heavyweight alphabet, regular, interim belts during Wilder's five-year reign? Nine? Terrible thread.
Once the former Soviet countries were allowed to go pro the reign of the American heavyweight division ended. If you go back over the last 20 years now a significant sample - the best heavyweights have been Wlad, Usyk, Vitali, Povetkin, mixed in with Fury. Americans don’t have anyone on the horizon either to be dominant force in foreseeable future. However the Russian Ukraine war has probably destroyed the Vice grip on the division those countries possessed. So it will be interesting where the division goes from here and the next wave of talent. It’s as wide open as ever which is interesting.
Meaningless. Utterly meaningless. He was never the champion of the division. The champion. A belt is worthless, today moreso even than it was in the 1990’s. You’re champ or you’re not, it’s as simple now as it was in 1900. Wilder wasn’t.
NINE guys held alphabet heavyweight title belts (WBA, IBF, WBO, etc.) during Wilder's five-year reign. Throw a rock, you'd hit one of the other champs. Wilder was the dominant heavyweight champ during his five years on top. Nobody else could hold onto a belt to save their lives. He was the last time the US dominated at heavyweight.
Why are you using the word champion? Don’t dilute this important mantle. He was a belt-holder. He was never champion.
Check the records. Most title defenses all-time at heavyweight? TIE ... Deontay Wilder and Muhammad Ali Longest uninterrupted title reign at heavyweight? ... Deontay Wilder at #10. One of the most successful heavyweight champions in boxing history. And he is from the U.S. Deal with it.