I am getting bored with the anti-Marciano threads, so I have decided to rip the **** out of some other heavies. 1. Muhammad Ali. Saved by smelling salts in the Cooper fight. Two dodgy wins over past prime Liston. Beaten by Joe Frazier despite Joe being one armed and chinny. Beat a totally one dimensional Foreman aided by liquorice ropes. 2. Lennox Lewis. Chinned by two journeymen with one punch. Beat Holyfield and Tyson when they were past their best. Outjabbed by Bruno and Mercer. 3. Vlad Klitschko Beaten horrifically 3 times. Discovers miracle stamina cure, collapsed lung syndrome is suddenly cured. Miracle cure and accommodating referees enable him to have long reign, against mostly brilliant fighters(not). Fights scared versus Haye, who luckily fights equally scared. Gains boring win over crippled Haye. Loses to Tyson Fury because he has no plan B. Can't cope with the bigger man who can move a bit and won't be clinched. None remained unbeaten against the best in their eras.
Yeah, you can do it to anyone. Larry Holmes: Too afraid to even try to unify. Gift decisions against Norton, Witherspoon and Williams, if he'd lost all three as deserved, would never have gone down as a dominant champ Most known for beating a completely shot Ali, the only other ATG's he faced he lost to (Spinks and Tyson) Dempsey: Lost to the only ATG he ever fought (Tunney) Horrible record before he became champ Drew the color line, mostly fought Americans, should really be called the "White American Champ" More a celebrity than a boxer, the era's Kim Kardasian
Mike Tyson Got knocked out in his prime by a bum who himself wasn't 100 %. Lost to the best two fighters he ever fought. Never came back to win a fight he was losing with possibly one exception. Had his best wins over a fat washed up former great and a shot light heavy.
It takes a discerning eye to know which of these arguments hold water. Otherwise, it's kinda cute watching kids get their feet wet.
No, none of them really hold water. There's some kind of truth in most of it, I suppose, but the fact is, they are all ATG's and deserving of respect.