Tally so far... Ortiz1 2 Ortiz2 2 Stiverne1 2 Arreola 2 Duhaupas 2 Washington 2 Breazeale 2 Szpilka 2 Harrison 2 Helenius 1 Liakovich 1
@McGrain if you did a heavyweight 100 list again roughly where would Wilder fit? Would be nip into the 50, maybe the 75, maybe top 100 or not at all?
For whatever it is worth, and I know it is another much, Boxrec has him at #83. While their ratings come up with some odd anomalies, and most fans don't care for them, i find it an interesting starting point.
It gets a bit mulchy down there after about 70 and it's probably more difficult to "argue" someone out, but I don't think Wilder would make it, no. That said, compare him to someone like Walter Neusal and Bob Baker, does it seem that unreasonable?
The thing about the Ortiz win is that Ortiz is regarded by some as the best heavyweight never to win a world championship also the Ortiz II fight was a very dominant performance. Wilder is an anomaly, guy could easily make the cruiserweight division and yet he fought at heavyweight his whole career. Then again many of his opponents could also have made cruiserweight and some like Szpilka even did.
I have to assume the Fury fans would vote to prop him up. So much of Fury's legacy relates to his trilogy with Wilder.
Guys like Usyk, Joshua, Fury and co have popped up since your original list so he'd be around 100 or just outside. I'd say that's very fair.
Stiverne I, Ortiz I and Helenius are his good wins. Stiverne I and Ortiz I are actually pretty good wins because Stiverne had just bashed up Arreola twice and Ortiz was dangerous. Helenius was having a little last surge before being shot and old. Most are a bunch of B opponents that were okay like the Polish hooligan guy and Washington and Breazeale and Scott and so on. Likavich guy was a very good fighter but at the time past it. He did spend three fights on Fury though.
Harrison was never much good, finished and lasted half a round having done nothing. I would say that Wilder's first 6 title fight opponents were better than anyone he fought in his first 32 fights. Ortiz x2 Stiverne 1 Duhaupas Helenius Szpilka Washington Arreola Breazeale Molina Wilder knocked Stiverne down in the 2nd round but it wasn't counted, at that point only Wilder had put Stiverne down. I think if Ortiz and Molina were omitted and all the rest had a round robin, it would be very competitive and difficult to pick the winner.
I think he may have touched it for a couple of months, around the first Parker fight. I seem to recall Ring mentioning him being 10th.
Liahkovich was a dive too. anytime someone kicks their legs like they are riding a bike, they are overselling a dive.