I know Lewis never fought prime versions of those fighters. And about Povetkin, he's a damn good fighter for being so inexperienced at the professional level, but when it comes down to making an actual pick, would you have picked him right now over prime versions of Tyson, Holyfield, Bowe, Mercer, and Morrison? Maybe Morrison, but even that's arguable.
Slightly off topic but Povetkin should NOT be fighting Wlad in the near future. He is not on Wlad's level yet and needs seasoning. He has great potential and I think he learned a lot in the Byrd fight. His management is crazy for pushing the Wlad fight so early in A.P.s career. Reminds me of the Mancini, Arguello fight. Ray was never quite the same fighter after that loss.
Hell, Bowe was so intimidated by Lewis that he didn't even show up for the fight...........LOL But seriously, Lewis was a solid top five all time great, yes, but Wladimir is every bit as skilled as Lewis was, Wlad is bigger, and probably has faster hands and even MORE power than Lewis had. Yes, you read that right. MORE power and faster hands........... So before we get all irrate over Wlad being compared to Lewis, let's let Wlad fight a couple more years against some of these good up and comers, and see how things play out. Wladimir is, without question, on par with Lewis, but he has not had a long enough to time to show it. He's only 31, and some of the most defining Lewis fights were in his mid 30s, so let's be fair about it, and give Wlad a chance. This content is protected This content is protected
It´s almost impossible for Wlad to catch up with Lewis in terms of achievement/greatness, simply because there aren´t any great fighters around for Wlad to fight. Lewis beat all time greats Tyson and Holyfield, which even if they weren´t in their primes, is very impressive. I´d even say Holyfield was not that far removed from his prime at all. He was two years removed from beating Tyson. Tyson was not near his prime, but Lewis also totally dominated him and KOed him TFO. Lewis also impressively KOed some top 10 contenders like Ruddock, Morrison, Golota, Briggs and Bruno. He also defeated top 10 contenders Tua, Mercer and yes, Vitali Klitschko. Now Wlad has nobody even near the status of Holyfield or Tyson to fight. It´s also somewhat unlikely that fighters like Povetkin, Solis, Chagaev, Valuev or Ibragimov will be able to attain that status. I think Wlad could achieve the highest status if Povetkin/Solis/Chagaev all run impressive winning streaks, only to eventually lose to Wlad. If he´d also impressively beat Valuev it would do a lot for his reputation. A destruction of Ibragimov in the next fight is also needed.
How do you know that fighters like Chagaev, Povetkin, and Haye won't develop into very credible and threatening opponents for which Wlad to build his career on? Povetkin is one of the best young heavies to come along in years, and ANYone will agree with that. You don't know that he won't develop into something great, as did Holyfield and Tyson.
Who has ever heard of Povetkin? or even Ibragamov? not many people! Anyone that has heard of them wont think much of a victory over them either.
Wlad has already lost 3 times to nobodies and is bound to lose again if he fights until he is 38. Though he is coming into the injury prone age that got his brother, with all that height and weight his body wont stand up for too much longer as well as him being too intelligent to box much longer, id be amazed if Wlad doesnt retire by 2009.
If he beats both Povetkin and Iggy he would make my top 20, Iggy is nothing special at all, and Povetkin is too green to fight Wlad right now. Wlad is the best of a bad era, he still deserves some credit for beating decent opponents.
Pretty much would confirm what everyone already knows: Wlad dominates a division that doesn't have much to show.
When Lennox was Wlad's age, he still had 13 fights in his future: This content is protected Without those last 13, Lewis' status would be diminished considerably. Wlad still has time to improve his legacy.
Bowe became a very good fighter until Futch, but I think Lewis would have beaten him. Povetkin will beat Chambers, but I really hate to see Povetkin fight Vlad, Povetkin is a very good fighter, but he is just not ready for Vlad. Vlad is within a class all by himself.
I totally disagree with you. Povetkin would have beaten Mercer,Morrison,Bowe,and Hollyfield when they were in his prime.I can still remember Hollyfiled-in his primer-struggling with an American bum called Bobby Cuzz or Cyzz or something like this. Thyson has always been overrated,and if there had been competition from the countries of the former soviet union he wouldnt have had so much success as he did beating up limited American opposition. Most American all time greats are overrated anyway!
