Which Heavyweight Champion Has The Biggest Gap...

Louis was the champ
Charles was the champ
Marciano was the champ
Patterson, Liston, Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Ali, Spinks, Ali, Holmes, Spinks, Tyson - these were all the champs.

Wlad was a title holder - Lewis' style wasn't built to hide his chin anywhere near the same manner as Wlad's - that's a misrepresentation. Lewis held monster punches from many a fighter and we can see him standing in firing range, teeing off - Wlad hugged and hugged and waited for a ref to save him. Lewis didn't do this as routinely as Was - nowhere near IMO.

Wlad didn't face his best competition - Lewis did. Wlad was a titlist, Lewis was undisputed - it counts for something.

 

Nope. Wlad was the champ. Universally recognized. Vitali was a title holder, Haye was a title holder, Chagaev was a title holder. Wlad wasn't.

Lewis had a better chin that Wlad, but still needed to adjust his style under Steward after being one shotted by McCall. Wlad took some big punches without going down too. And never was one shotted. Saying that Wlad hugged and hugged is a misrepresentation of his fighting style. People were saying the same thing about Lewis. Just count how many times Lewis clinched a washed up Mike Tyson. He was going for Wlad's Povetkin numbers in the first 2 rounds.

Wlad faced his best competition except for his brother which is understandable. Wlad was the universally recognized champion, seen as undisputed at the end of his career.

 

I'm sorry but you can't be universally recognised when there's that many title holders.

Lewis was undisputed. Ali was undisputed. Louis was undisputed. Tyson was undisputed. Holyfield was. Usyk has been undisputed.

Vitali had the WBC - arguably the most important or prestigious of the belts. Wlad didn't fight and beat the best other man and so there's doubts and I happen to think if they were to fight, Vitali does an absolute number on him.

Lewis at least had the courage to travel and fight on foreign soil without complicit referees. He may have held onto Tyson, but this wasn't his M.O.

 

Of course you can. There was always the other title holder, sometimes 2, during Holmes reign, but he was universally recognized and seen as undisputed.

Wlad was undisputed too for a short stretch. Just like Lewis.

Title belts mean nothing when they are not in the possesion of the universally recognized champion. Stiverne had the WBC as well, but it was nothing more than a paper title. Vitali won the WBC belt off of a guy whom Wlad previously defeated. And fantasy fights don't count. We're talking about the real history of boxing. Vitali might have beaten Wlad, but Wlad might have beaten Vitali. We'll never know. Vitali fought mostly second and third tier heavyweights, so his claim to the championship was weak.

It was his M.O. and he got plenty critisized about it. Wlad travelled and fought on the foreign soil too. His clinchfest against Povetkin was in Russia, with a referee selected by Pov's camp and with Russian leader watching it from the ringside. On the other hand, there were plenty great champions that never left the US. For example Holmes & Louis.