Could Big John Tate in this era of 12 round Heavyweight fights. Be a dominant champion? He moved & boxed very well for a big man.
Not a dominant champion, but definitely a champion. I can see the 12 round distance suiting Tate quite well and Tate was a very good fighter until the Weaver fight. After that loss, he fell apart mentally in dramatic style, which is a terrible shame.
He's by far better than any heavy prospect ou there now. And nobody has fought his early level of opposition. Ace Miller didn't want that Weaver bout and we're trying to fight Ronnie Lyle instead. But Tate was never given the mr. softie defenses and he certainly could've used a few of them. But whenever you take a heavyweight that has suffered brutal ko defeats--was it chapman or what was that guys name? And throw in the brutal stevenson result & you never do get an A+ type career. Throw in another brutal ko to weaver and the ballgame was all over at an early age. What a tightrope act it is with the heavies once they get stopped.
Tate, along with the majority of the WBA title holders, would be champs today. Tate, imo, would beat Valuev for sure, probably goad Wlad into a punch fest and end up the winner. Tate/Vitali would be a good fight, with it going the distance. But thats just my take on it.
Tate was a very good fighter with potential to be even better. But, I'm not sure that I agree he would be the best fighter in the world today. He was a rather large heavyweight by the standards of his day, yet lost to smaller men. He was also lacking that something extra to close the door on a victory when in the heat of adversity. I do not see him beating Vitali, Wlad or Haye. He would probably get by men like Chagaev, Valuev, Ibragimov, and Maybe Povetkin, but probably no better.
