Evander Holyfield and his place in history

Yeah its a tough one placing the Klitschkos.

I put Vitali ahead because of the dominance he displayed over the Heavyweight division, whilst Holyfield was active (Even though far from his best).

I may change my mind, but if someone instantly asked me who I regard as a better heavyweight I would say Vitali, so based on that I would place Vitali slightly higher than Holyfield.

 

Vitali hasn't been dominant though, he's been the number 1 hw for about 19 months. the rest of hsi time as a hw he's ranked behing lewis and wladimir.

in contrast, holyfield has been the number 1 hw for about 65 months.

 

One of the greatest warriors the sport has ever seen. #1 Cruiser & top10 heavyweight

His record is insanely deep & contains so many wars & great fights

He might have lost a few a looked bad occasionally but Holy has had an incredible career, one of my all-time favourites

 

I see what you're saying.

But Imo Vitali has been dominant for years and has shown no signs of losing before and after retirement, even though his heart was questionable on some occasions.

Holyfield has always been one of the best cruiserweights and heavyweights and was one of the best fighters during his particular era however he wasnt as dominant when you compare him to Vitali in this era.

If they ever fought prime vs prime, I'd have Vitali winning.

 

how can he have been dominant for years if he hasn't been number 1 for years?

 

what this guy says :good

I'd also add that apart from the bowe loss and the mm loss (which I actually scored for holyfield) every loss has been past prime.

 

Precisely. He's been dominant in the sense that the Klitchkos have been dominant. Neither one has taken initiative as the dominant heavyweight of the era like Marciano, Louis, Holmes etc did. Wlad without Vitali and Vitali without Wlad would both have gone into nothingness after Vitali's retirement and Wlad's loss to Brewster.

 

Not to mention that he fought in a far superior era!

 

Holyfield is the GOAT @ CW, and top HW . . . ATG I would say in the top 30-35

 

Wlad's dominance is comparable to holmes or dempsey in that he's been number 1 for a long time but there's been that 1 guy stopping him making his claim undisputed.

Vitali has spent most of his career as number 2. Dominant is definitely the wrong word for him.

 

GOAT at CW and One of the great Heavyweights of the 90's

 

A warrior in every sense of the word. He truly was the 'Real Deal'. The GOAT at CW, and a top 10 ATG HW. Has to be ranked above Tyson as well, and I believe prime for prime he still beats Tyson. Holyfield-Bowe 1 really got me into boxing, one of the greatest fights of all time. Shame to see him losing to lesser fighters later on in his career, but his legacy was already cemented. It's devastating that he didn't get the decision over Valuev as well!

For the record, (as they are no.1 and 2 today) I rank Holyfield above both of the Klitschko brothers, because he fought a much higher level of competition throughout his career, showed more heart, greater skills, and provided fans with great fights for the ages. In 30 years time, we'll still be talking about Holyfield, his wars with Tyson and Bowe, his fights with Qawi, Foreman, Holmes, Douglas and so on. Who in 30 years time will want to look up W.Klitschko-Ibragimov, W.Klitschko-Haye, V.Klitschko-Adamek?

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