Is Lennox Lewis the most skilled "giant" in boxing history?

Yeah, mediocre is a bit generous, but his all-round skillset isn't special. But he's a superb craftsman I believe as I described above.

Why is that a problem though?

Well that's just incorrect. It's either thrawn or a mistake on your part.

Deontay Wilder is better at winning at boxing. Louis Ortiz is clearly, indisputably, more skilled.

That's as crudely as I can put it.

I haven't disputed any of this.

As far as jockstraps go, I'm not sure, but Vitali is the far more skilled fighter. He is a far more skilled fighter and despite his shortcomings he is a more complete technician. Vitali is much more skilled than Wlad

This is going to upset a lot of people so i'll try to keep it as simple as i can in the hope i can move on for it.

Vitali inside uppercut: 6/10. Wladimir inside uppercut: 1/10
Vitali mid-range left hook counter 6/10. Wladimir mid-range left hook counter 1/10.
Vitali inside right hand feint 5/10. Wladimir inside right hand feint 1/10.
Vitlai jab 8/10. Wladimir jab 10/10.

Now i'm not saying these are right or even particularly accurate as scores. But they are skills in boxing. They are skills that Wladimir does not utilise in a meaningful way. Of course Vitali is much more skilled.

Keep in mind that Wlad might be better at the best things he is good at but that overall Wlad has huge, steaming gaps in his skillset and anyone who thinks otherwise needs to sit through his fight with Povetkin and try to understand why Wlad does the things he does.

100% this, and in combat sports, more than any other sport I think.

 

Completely incorrect. Vitali was a vastly superior technician. Hugely superior. Not close.

 

He was better at those things yes. But Wlad was technically atrocious inside. He was technically awful at mid-range.

The mistake you are making is that you are looking at Wlad and seeing a smooth, technically excellent one-two, one-two, one-two and you are going "look, a technician." That is fundamentally in error and it's an error we've seen 100 times on this forum over the years.

Juan Manuel Marquez has a similar left-right, left-right, left-right, left-right, hook, but what makes him technically brilliant is that he can do it at all ranges. The skills gap that Wlad has are enormous. Huge. Maybe the least skilled overall technically of any great champion, if he is great. He made up for these enormous shortfalls in and absence of proper technique through various different fixes that combined to make him a very good or even a great fighter, but as a technician he is a misery.

Wladimir's technical shortfalls are enormous, way bigger than Vitali's. It is not close. Vitali is the better technician. He is four, five levels above Wladimir as a technician.

 

That doesn't matter.

That doesn't matter.

That doesn't matter.

That doesn't matter.

You're confusing being good at boxing with being a good technician.

We do.

My definition is that the fighter with more skills has more skills.

Yours is that the fighter with less skills has more skills if he looks smoother (or if you like him better, it's hard to be sure somtimes).

 

Yeah Ali is a great example, maybe the best. He had a huge skills-gap, but he supplanted it with excellence and heart.

When Archie Moore was teaching him, he complained about this technical shortfall endlessly. Not interested in the book.

 

Absolutely incorrect.

A fighter can be technically awful, throw looping punches, fight only at one range, be vulnerable on defence but have earth-shattering power and an iron chin married to great heart and go 50-0.

The statement "Being good at boxing IS being a good technician" is demonstrably false and, sorry, i really don't like saying it, a fundamental fumbling of the basics of boxing.

You've confirmed here though that you've absolutely conflated these two and it does shine a direct light on why you find this problem difficult.

Think about it: Wilder is BETTER AT DOING BOXING THAN LUIS ORTIZ, but, LUIS ORTIZ IS A BETTER TECHNICIAN THAN DEONTAY WILDER.