I took The Ring's annual ranking from 1999 and 2019 to compare if this era is really as bad as some people claim. I decided to compare current state of HW division to 1999 just because you can't call THAT era extremely stong, but it was good - from the one side Holyfield was aging, Tyson was washed up, Wlad still didn't come to the big stage, but Lennox Lewis was in his prime, and there were a lot of good, young contenders. So, lets compare. Lets match #1 from 1999 against #1 from 2019 and so on. 1999 ranking: Lennox Lewis Evander Holyfield Michael Grant Ike Ibeabuchi David Tua Mike Tyson Vitali Klitschko Andrew Golota Derrick Jefferson Oleg Maskaev 2019 ranking: Tyson Fury Deontay Wilder Anthony Joshua Dillian Whyte Luis Ortiz Andy Ruiz Jr. Alexander Povetkin Joseph Parker Michael Hunter Adam Kownacki 1) Lennox vs Fury - 50/50 fight IMO 2) Holyfield vs Wilder - I think even old Holyfield would beat Wilder. Too skilled, too smart 3) Grant vs AJ - Joshua would demolish Grant easily and early, no doubt in my mind 4) Ibeabuchi vs Whyte - Ibeabuchi by stoppage 5) Tua vs Ortiz - Tua by late stoppage 6) Mike Tyson vs Andy Ruiz Jr. - Ruiz on points. Yes, Tyson wasn't as bad yet as 2001-2005 version (he was in much better physical shape at least), but IMO he didn't look good at all against Botha, Norris and Francis. He would need to KO Ruiz early to beat him, but Ruiz has great chin, so I don't think 1999 version of Mike can stop him until he gets tired 7) Vitali vs Povetkin - prime Vitali would beat old Povetkin easily 8) Golota vs Parker - Golota would give Parker hell but would still somehow find a way to lose the fight 9) Jefferson vs Hunter - Hunter, easily 10) Maskaev vs Kownacki - Maskaev, as slow and glass-chinned as he was, should have still beaten Kownacki IMO So, 1999 wins 5-4-1 against 2019. Pretty even eras
1) Lennox vs Fury - Definitely a 50-50 fight but I would give Lewis 2) Holyfield vs Wilder - Holyfield dominates him. 3) Grant vs AJ - Easy win for Joshua 4) Ibeabuchi vs Whyte - Could be another close fight tbh, would go for Ibeabuchi 5) Tua vs Ortiz - Tua all day long 6) Mike Tyson vs Andy Ruiz Jr. - Tyson wins by KO 7) Vitali vs Povetkin - Easy fight for Vitali imo. 8) Golota vs Parker - I was never a fan of Golota so I would choose Parker 9) Jefferson vs Hunter - Hunter by KO 10) Maskaev vs Kownacki - Kownacki wins this.
Lewis - too wily for Fury, who still haven't convinced me that he is as special as past greats. I've never rated wilder high, and I don't rate an old Wlad high either. Lewis out-boxes him, and uses fast bursts of aggression, enroute to a decision, until we see otherwise. Holyfield as late as the Rahman fight would beat Wilder IMO. He's too good, and a bad style for Wilder. Also, I'd probably pick Rahman to beat wilder as well. AJ obliterates the Hype job. Ike is just too good and tough for Whyte. He'll force into a war where Ike'll walk through Whyte's best and stop him while he's gassed. Tua Ruiz's him. Tyson, even in 1999 is better than Ruiz. Vitali absolutely pieces an old Povetkin. Parker probably has the goods to stop Golota, while behind on points due to the Pole's workrate. Hunter is miles better. Maskaev. Kownacki was a fat hypejob. 7-3 for '99.
Agreed pretty roundly with Ukranian's takes, but I might as well go down the list for myself. --- 1) Lennox vs Fury - Toughest one on the list to call by a large margin, I'm leaning towards Lewis, though. 2) Holyfield vs Wilder - Holyfield grinds out a solid win over Wilder. 3) Grant vs AJ - I don't see Grant managing to defeat Joshua, who earns an impressive stoppage to win this. 4) Ibeabuchi vs Whyte - Ike runs Whyte down and finishes him by the mid rounds. 5) Tua vs Ortiz - I have Tua winning here, likely by knockout in a fun slugfest. 6) Mike Tyson vs Andy Ruiz Jr. - Motivated Ruiz can take this matchup by decision, but if you get the buffet buster version, Tyson pulls out an ugly win one way or another. 7) Vitali vs Povetkin - Klitchko wins this one handedly. 8) Golota vs Parker - I favor Golata at least 60-40, with a good part of that 40% playing out with Parker's negative tactics frustrating Golata into one of his infamous breakdowns. 9) Jefferson vs Hunter - Hunter takes this one, agreed. 10) Maskaev vs Kownacki - I have Kownacki winning this one, especially if we're talking 2019 Kownacki.
Agree on most except I don’t think Lewis v Fury is close. Lewis by KO prob. Think Tyson also had just enough to beat Ruiz in what would be a fun fight. Ruiz’s poor defense would let him down.
I agree with everything you have except for Lewis vs Fury. I have Lennox as a clear favorite. Fury is very skilled guy without question and his pure size presents a problem for opponents but I think Lennox is on another level.
1. Lewis 2. Holyfield 3. Joshua 4. Ibeabuchi 5. Ortiz ( can do better than Maskaev and Rahman did) 6. Ruiz 7. Vitali (weirdly, he shared an era Povetkin) 8. Parker 9. Hunter 10. Maskaev One thing about these is the top ten isn't the best ten fighter. 99 also had Byrd, Johnson, Rahman, and Wlad. 2019 had Usyk and a bunch of guys coming up.
