Does Michael Moorer get the respect he deserves in classic matchup debates?

I would say Wlad has a better chin because he always got up from knockdowns, though Wlad's is also among least durable of all champions. But he has the advantage that he's really good at stopping the punches from landing, unlike Moorer. Not that Moorer's defence is that particularly bad, but Wlad compensates an under-average jaw with over-average defensive ability..

 

Well, I wasn't particularly impressed, and nor were many others. I thought Moorer was quite lucky to get that decision (it could have gone either way), rarely showed any sort of fire or desire you'd expect from a man in there to take the championship, and there's no doubt that Holyfield was suffering from a hurt shoulder and seemed to have his stamina impeded.
Of course, Holyfield's condition isn't something Moorer had any control over, but Moorer's performance in those given circumstances just wasn't much to write home about.

 

As their rematch would later indicate, Moorer was rather lucky to have encountered the somewhat subpar Holyfield of their first encounter. This version of Holyfield still managed a kd, and had he been firing on all 8 cylinders, I feel he would have overwhelmed Moorer that night. I don't believe that he would have been flummoxed at all by Mike's southpaw stance..except maybe initially. Moorer may have looked good for 99% of the fight with Foreman, but this was a 40+ lumbering mammoth of a fighter, who still capitalized..to his eternal glory..against Moorer. As a lightheavy, Mike was a force to be reckoned with, but that power didn't translate into the heavyweight ranks..Moorer stopped guys like Jirov and Botha, but not against anyone of higher regard. Mikes fragile chin was his undoing, that and his lack of "fire" and motivation..perhaps born of a fundamental lack of confidence when facing a menacin heavyweight who had the potential of hurting him..somewhat like the affliction that bedeviled Ken Norton. I think that overall Moorer is given maybe more than his due by revisionists and his apologists, when all things are considered.

 

Moorer was in worse shape in the rematch than Holy was in the first fight. He was a fat tub of goo.

 

He was certainly overweight. He was overweight in many of his other heavyweight fights too.