Historically speaking, does Wlad need Pulev and/or Povetkin to win a title?

Wlad's only got himself to blame as he held onto the titles for too long..

The guys you mentioned above are all in the twilight of their careers..

 

Wlad had a vice grip on the belts. Obviously if Povetkin won over Joshua and or Wilder it would both help his own career standing, and in doing so look to be an even better win than it already is on Wlad’s resume.
Holmes held a belt then dropped it and was given another belt, it enabled more guys to hold it.
Wlad’s legacy is secured. Most title fights, second longest reign, 3rd longest consecutive title defenses. And most importantly fighting legitimate ranked opposition in their prime. Can’t ask for more

 

Holmes beat those guys when they were green for the most part. Witherspoon and Smith only 15 pro fights


Wlad faced haye, povetkin, Chagaev, pulev smack in their primes, at an experienced 25 fights. Povetkin has gone 8-0 with 6 knockouts since against several top 10 fighters.

These men are old now. Povetkin is 39, pulev 37..haye is 34, chagaev retired

Wlad simply held the title for too long.

 

He doesn't need it, though it would give a retrospective boost, if it happened.

 

If he does,then he is in trouble!

 

Povetkin hasn't won a title, but he went on a roll knocking people out left, right and centre. Whatever people want to say about the fight, Wlad dominated an aggressive, well-schooled world-class fighter with proven two-fisted power. This helps build Wlad's H2H status as the obvious knock on him has always been his vulnerability.

A 41 year old Wlad going 50-50 for 11 rounds with Joshua will probably count for a lot more if AJ goes on to clean out the division.

Overall though, considering the length of Wlad's title reign and his complete dominance over his opponents, he doesn't really need any of his opponents to retrospectively boost his legacy. His supporters will assert that his near decade long reign and title defence numbers cement him as an ATG. His critics will always bring up the Sanders and Brewster fights as evidence that he is not, regardless of what Povetkin, Pulev or anyone else does.

 

If either Pulev or Povetkin won a title it would give a great boost to his resume. If Sasha wiped out AJ and then AJ went on to dominate, it would make a clear link to Wlad and provide a basis to say "His era can't have been trash because he beat the guy that beat the guy ..." I've never been that impressed with Pulev but Povetkin does impress me. He already technically has a win over a champion in the form of Charr. Notice how nobody is exactly queuing up to fight him. They'll fight tubbaguts Jarrell Miller though.

Really hope AJ / Povetkin happens next

I have no doubt that if Sasha takes care of AJ he will take on Wilder too.

It's a long shot but if Wlad has a win over a unified champion it's pretty damn big legacy wise.