DrMo: I am sorry but your logic is flawed. If Vitali or Wladimir were 6" shorter, they wouldn't fight the way they currently do. They would be 6'1" and would weigh probably 220 lbs. They would be totally different boxers. I am not saying they would be great, but you can't just completely eliminate them from the equation. You can't just subtract their height anymore than you can eliminate Foreman's power or Tyson's speed.
This is the correct answer. Although Vitali will move closer to the top 10 if he wins convincingly tonight. Solis will be a good scalp on his record. This is based on resumé, not head to head. Head to head Vitali is a nightmare for any Heavyweight of the past which would put him in the top 5 or so.
Vitali earns extra points for being the only champ to retire for almost 4 years & return without a tune-up to successfully challenge for his old title back. He was the first to TKO Samuel Peter. He's also one half of the only brothers to hold portions of the Heavyweight title at the same time. Those bits count for something although I think it puts him around 15-20 based on legacy alone.
I could see Vitali in the top ten. I'm not sure why people think Wlad should be higher than Vitali. Vitali is the better of the two brothers. Vitali's KO % is crazy plus he has never been knocked down. I think Vitali gives anyone of the top ten fighters trouble. But I still rank Lennox Lewis the best all time. Wlad does not have the chin that Vitali does.
I rank Lewis number 3 on my all time Heavyweight rankings based on resumé................ 1. Louis 2. Ali 3. Lewis
How do you justify Louis ahead of Ali on resume? Sure, Louis was dominant but in a weak era. He didn't beat anyone as good as Liston, Frazier, Foreman or Norton, I don't think. His best wins are comparable to Ali's second tier, the likes of Quarry, Shavers, Young and so on.
Quantity & Longevity.............. Louis was always a threat to KO his opponent at any time, with a single punch. Quality of competition is subject to your personal opinion of those fighters, quantity is not. Besides that, he was a better person & role model who was very humble, and he fought for his country, Ali deserted. Ali was a clinching, rope-a-dope kind of fighter later in his career. I find it amusing that many who complain about Wladimir are big fans of Ali, who clinched more than Wladimir ever did. He held & hit and generally fought dirty............... All that aside, Ali's still my number 2 Heavyweight.
Ha ha ha vitaly was wiping his arse with lewis on two weeks notice and not even in his prime where as lewis was making a defence of his undisputed heavy weight crown and looked fantastic in his previous defence. The lewis being fat and old excuse is pathetic and just made to make justify him being out boxed by a better fighter in vitaly who is better in every way and also has an IRON chin something lewis can only dream of. I know for a fact that vitaly would ko lewis even when lewis was younger. It makes me laugh to hear people claim a younger weaker pencil necked lewis would have beaten vitaly. Never would happen Vitaly is a BEAST.:deal
louis' 1 punch ko power is overrated, sure i've only seen highlight clips but he didn't look like a murderous puncher.
exactly. plus the country louis fought for abandoned him and couldn't give a **** while ali is a national hero.
Lewis had had over a year off before fighting Vitali. He had a year off before fighting Tyson. He was 16 lbs over his prime weight against Vitali. You'll say what you want but Lewis took some huge bombs off a prime Briggs early in that fight and recovered with out hitting the floor. Vitali is a really tough fighter but in all fairness he lost the 5th and 6th rounds to Lewis and all of his nut huggers go on like he would have definetly went on to win by stoppage. The ref told him what he needed to do in between rounds 5 and 6 and Vitali went out, lost the round and then complained that it got stopped.