OK, thats what I meant; his power is gone but it was never so great in the first place. Sanders, Hide, Peter; Gomez are all B class champions like Ruiz or Moorer. The only top guy was Lewis and he lost to him like Tua did.
How the hell do you know that Tua is past prime ? He was ligher than the Lewis fight and nothing has shown me he is past prime. BTW KJ was also "that level of fighter" and VK did not look immpresive
That Hide was a B-class champion, I agree with but still a two-time champion, not a nobody. Moorer is twice the champion Ruiz is, my opinion. Four-time world champion in two of the traditional eight weight classes. Very underrated to me. Gomez was a double digit defense titlist at CW and a solid HW contender. Tricky southpaw, still outclassed and broken down. Sanders, obviously a hit and miss guy but when he was on, he was top notch no matter the unimpressive aesthetics. B class as a champion but at his best, a top guy and he was damned serious in his title fights. He gave Vitali all kinds of hell and we know what he did to Wlad. That Vitali's power was never big, I disagree. That it was never elite, I would agree or at least concede that it hadn't been proven to be so when he was without injury and put all he could into his punches, he never knocked out an A-level champ. I'd agree to that at least.
I detest the word bum when applied to a champion. They are not bums. They're not one of them an ATG heavyweight but that doesn't make them bums. Several of them were dickheads...but not bums. As fighters.
Has Vitali KO'd anyone worth mentioning EVER? :yep I agree with the gist of your post though. Tua is no longer a factor. By the way Vitali nuthuggers... he has lost that "best KO% title" that you all used to jizz about, after being unable to cope with a runnner (something an ATG should be able to do). All hail Magomed Abdusalamov! The Newwww KO KING! :happy
It's best kayo percentage for a world heavyweight champion...not period no matter how long you've fought...so good point.atsch
Im sure Vitali didnt expect Johnson to get in the ring and not fight. He must have had better sparring sessions than that. Vitali did well to keep his concentration.
So, because he went 12 rounds with someone who showed no interest in fighting, he has become Zuri Lawrence? Sure he does not have much one-punch KO power but his KO% speaks for itself. Quality of the opponents aside, that is impressive.
He is the only HW in history to fight the exact same opponents he has fought at the exact same period in their careers. So therefore the stat is meaningless because you aren't comparing apples with apples.... that was kinda my point..... :roll: