for wladimir to retire with a solid resume, and be worthy of discussion when talking about the greats in heavyweight history he needs to beat these 5 fighters, and do so convincingly, preferably all by KO. 1. nicolai valuev. no matter what some people think of him, if the giant keeps on improving, this will definately be a worthy fight. can wlad handle the reach/height disadvantage? can he KO the giant??? great fight. 2. sam peter rematch. if sam peter goes into the rematch even lower than he was for their first fight. say around 238 or lower, then it should be a more exciting fight than the first. this would really prove that wlad can fight when the heat is on. 3. povetkin. this will be a good fight to watch. if povetkin improves in another fight or two before he meets wladimir this will make him definately a solid heavy to beat. but currently i feel he is on shaky ground as far as being regarded as a top contender to wlad's throne. 4. ruslan chagaev. if he gets into shape after that average showing against skelton, he would make for a fun fight. unlike the other southpaw in iggy, ruslan doesn't and cannot do the tactics that iggy does to avoid getting tagged all night. definately a solid contender to wladimir. 5. and finally in 2 or 3 years, if wladimir has been KO'ing the guys above, i look forward to wlad verses haye. by this time haye SHOULD have established himself as a legit top 5 heavy. possibly no2. after wladimir. it all depends on how he performs in the near future of course. but if he makes the successful transition like holyfield did, then i expect this to be wladimir's final fight, and crowning achievement. KO'ing haye in a quick tactical fight. i think these fights are definately solid enough to propell wladimir higher up in the history books myself. just an opinion of course. but if he ko's these guys, then i feel he truly deserves it.
Good list, though I would have Chagaev in the 3 spot and Povetkin in the 4 spot. To be considered an ATG champ, a fighter must show he can fight when all the chips are down, Wlad has only showed that once in the Peter fight, but failed to do so against guys like Purrity, Sanders, and Brewster, I would say 90% ATG's have at beaten at least 1 hall of fame or ATG oppenent themselves, Wlad has yet to do that. I think Wlad physically is an ATG, but mentally he's far from it, and the Iggy fight proved to most, what I already knew, the mans afraid to take a punch, even Lewis had toe to toe with a couple good fighters, like Mercer, Briggs, Bruno, and Vitali, and have came out on top, Wlad has yet to prove he could go punch for punch with anyone, without panicking, and eventually losing by knockout.
