Greater fighter - Klitschko or Bowe?

I haven't ever heard any Klitschko fan making a remark like that. Bowe was 6'5", BTW. I know you aren't very good with the facts.

 

You are joking, right? Any post about WALD V any fighter ever always starts with "firstly WALD is 6'6...."

I've seen Bowe listed as 6'5 and 6'6 in the past, not that it matters a great deal to anyone other than height-obsessed Klitschko fans. I've also seen WALD listed as 6'5, incidentally.

 

Bowe is 6'5"... Golota is 6'4" and looked almost identical in height to Bowe. Wlad is closer to 6'7". From what I have read he is just a hair under. If you watch when he fights other guys listed at 6'6", you can always tell he is a bit taller. I think height does have a lot to do with this match-up though. Of course, height without skills, and knowing how to use it doesn't mean ****. However, having a height advantage, and knowing how to use it is a big deal. The reason that I think it plays into a fight between Klitschko and Bowe so much is because Bowe was a big guy, who had a great skillset for beating smaller heavyweights. His skills didn't match up well with bigger guys who had talent, as we saw.

 

Bowe was the recognized HW champion of the world, and beat an ATG and HOFer in Holy. Wlad's best win is over....Byrd?

 

I had the ring magazine from when Bowe beat Coetzer, and he was listed in that as 6'6 and I've seen him listed at that height in several places since. WALD is probably around 6'6 and a bit and VITLAY around 6'8 but I've seen them listed as 6'5 and 6'7 respectively. Maybe Bowes height was taken with his afro in that 88 Olympics or something

We all saw Bowe look like crap against Golota, and lose to Lewis in the Olympics but apart from those two I don't recall seeing him against anyone sizable that gave him trouble. Bowe was similar to Douglas in that he was only at his very best for a few fights - and that was his own fault. I still favour the Bowe that beat Holyfield head to head against the best version of WALD but as I said earlier this is one guy I'd expect WALD to overtake, accomplishments-wise.

 

Wlad has two wins over Byrd, who was ranked as the Top heavyweight in the world by ring mag, just like Holyfield was. He has a win over the Undefeated Sam Peter, who is the #2 Heavyweight in the world right now, behind Wlad. He has a win over the Undefeated WBO Champion Sultan Ibragimov. He has a win over the undefeated top 5 contender in Calvin Brock... who was the Top American contender in the world. I could go on but you know who he has beat. He isn't even done with his career yet, and his resume is already much more deep than Bowe's. Bowe rests his entire career on a couple of wins over Evander Holyfield who he matched up great against. Yet, Bowe didn't even fight the other top guys in the division during his era.... Lewis, Tyson, Foreman, or Moorer.... and Golota just brutalized him.
As a whole, Bowe's career wasn't very impressive.

 

When a guy is only good for a couple fights... normally just against one guy... I always take that as a clear sign that it is just a great stylistic matchup for him. Bowe didn't really fight any big punchers with talent, or any other big guys with talent other than Golota... and Lewis in the Olympics as you stated. I don't think that Bowe was built to fight big talented guys.

 

Bowe was the Recognized World Champ. Wlad isn't.

 

Nothing else to add to that. :good

 

I was about five feet away from Vlad at his 2006 MSG press conference for the Brock fight. My gut impression was that he may indeed have been closer to 6'5" than 6'7".

But whatever the case -- as Widdow has already pointed out -- in the ring Vlad always seems taller than his 6'6" opponents with ease. That was certainly the case against Austin and Jefferson.

Maybe all the top fighters exaggerate their height. I'm comfortable that Vlad would have had 1 to 2 inches against Bowe, not that it matters.

 

It doesn't make any difference. The bottom line is that Iggy, Valuev and Peter cannot provide dominant champs like Bowe and Vlad with the same level of challenge that Holyfield could.

Vlad needs a great or near-great opponent to define himself. Unfortunately I don't see one on the horizon.

 

He wasn't just good for a couple of fights....check his record he earnt that shot at Holyfield and beat plenty of good fighters along the way. Once he got to the top he lost his desire and discipline and his ability to keep his far arse out of the KFC. His own fault as I said, and I have to stress that I couldn't stand the guy, his manager was a piece of excrement, he behaved like a total moron (Bowe) and shamelessly ducked Lewis, fracturing the belts in the process and they've been fractured ever since, pretty much.

You could also turn your argument on it's head and ask 'how many big punchers with talent has WALD faced'?

 

But look how good the peak Bowe was in the ring. He was pretty damned impressive in that way. That Bowe fell short of his long-term potential doesn't deter from how good he was in 1991-93.

 

If you mean by winning all of the bogus alphabet titles (luckily he got them all in one fight)... who cares? Wlad is CLEARLY the best man in the division right now. Even when Bowe was "recognized" champ, not too many people actually thought he was the best in the division. Let alone the fact that he ducked his top contender immediately after winning those titles, and then lost those titles just under a year later. What an amazing reign as "recognized" Champion. It can't be said enough times.

 

No, it doesn't matter - but yes height stats are bizarre at times. Tyson was listed as 5'11 for most of his career I seem to remember and I've spoken to people that have stood next to him who swear he's closer to 5'8 or 9 - and he had no problems with guys 6'5+, none at all.