Wlad vs Stiverne, 2015

Even Wlad losing to Fury is too much for Stiverne. Even in 2015 Wlad is not Chris Arreola.

 

I would probably rate a Stiverne win similarly to Wlad’s win over Monte Barrett at the time, so I wouldn’t consider it a top tier win. Ibragimov and Pulev were much better wins in my opinion. However, becoming undisputed would have been a great achievement for Wlad and would have added significantly to his legacy.

 

He’d rank just below Chagaev and Ibragimov. He was a champion and top 3 in the division.

 

Not too high to be honest.

 

Pretty much side by side. Most people think Ibragimov was better, but he didn’t do much in his career. I think Iggy would beat Stiverne. On the other hand, I think Stiverne would probably beat the version of Chagaev who showed up Wlad.

 

It is somewhat of a stain on his legacy that he was dominant for so long and wasn't able to collect all four belts. But I get what you're saying.

 

Stiverne was a very low level champion by comparison, even for an also-ran titlist in heavyweight history. You can say rated highly in his time and had a major title but he'll be remembered more like Charles Martin than Dubois, in quality. Which is to say closer to the lowest as opposed to the pretty okay guys. If you're rating on rank and accomplishments, okay, but as far as how good I think they are at the stage they fought him? I'm not sure he's better than Wlad's old Mercer or Schulz, let alone the guys you mentioned. People would likely rate him as such because of his standing at the time, but is he really better? I don't know if I buy that he would be. Hell, Arreola would've likely beaten him if hadn't lost to him decisively. What the hell do you mean by asking me what the hell I mean? Listen, I've been at the vet's all day with my dog on no sleep. I don't know if anything I'm going to say is even my deliberate kinds of nonsensical, let alone if anything I mean to be serious is actually sensical. But I stand by it. I'll set my watch and warrant on it.

In some ways, Stiverne reminds me of Andre Berto at welterweight. Number one, they're both German. Number two, they don't look German at all. Number three, they both have some really fancy ish they can throw but also are pretty poor all-arounders for holding a major title. They're like people who can play some fancy licks on a guitar but they may not do many basic chords very well. Neither have good feet, both can light you up at mid-range and make you think they're better than they really are when someone wants it there. No idea if any of that is remembered accurately, they do remind me of each other.

 

He would be Wlads 26th best win. Not counting rematches. Of the 23 title opponents Wlad beat I'd put Stiverne above Leapai and Austin maybe. He barely beat Austin at 40 but okay I'll give him that.


Stiverne is the least qualified major HW champion of the modern era. He had two unimpressive wins over opponents of note then got to rematch win number two for a world title. He goes 1-5 the rest of his career with 1 close win against a 30-10 opponent. He wasn't an imposing phyiscal matchup and he hadn't been dominant against not so great competition. He got that opportunity because of a rankings feedback loop with Adamek and Arreola.

 

Yeah.

Martin was undefeated and won his belt by beating another undefeated. Glazkow never fighting again makes that call look worse then it was. Martin and Glazkow was more bad because it was a fight for Wlad/Fury's vacant title but was otherwise fine. While Stiverne v Arreola was the immediate rematch of a regional level fight for a world title.

 

I’m sorry that Wilder affected you so much, bro.