How Do You Compare This Heavyweight Era With Others?

No, not at the top, Wlad/Vitali and Lewis/Bowe would still be at the top, but today's division is deeper. Today there are so many fighters that I would give a good chance against Wilder or Fury or Joshua...Guys like Hrgovic, Majidov, Yoka, Ajagba, and many more "might" beat the top fighters.

EDIT - just noticed that you mentioned Ibeabuchi, I remember watching his fights with Tua and Byrd on the FOTW series we did. Amazing fighter and it was incredible the way he dominated Byrd. He's another that would fit in well in this division.

I don't worry about being "bashed," I'm not going to argue with people who get their info from Bert Sugar books or watch ridiculous videos on YT "explaining" how when Marciano trips over his own feet, it was a brilliant move. There is no reason that boxing wouldn't improve like all other sports. Nobody argues that the 1925 Yale Bulldogs could beat the 2019 Ohio State Buckeyes and boxing is the same.

 

Lennoks Lewis crossed his feet and fell off balance , its why he got sparked out by MaCall , because his footing was uncoordinated. Wlado uppercutted his own face against Jennings.

Marciano had near perfect balance from what we seen from him in his prime. You don't create leverage like he did if you have wobbly legs.

 

It is not the same and FAR from the same … To compare a team sport to an individual sport is ridiculous. Especially when activity in boxing has significantly decreased and these so called new ATG's won't even get in the ring with each other. It only weakens the argument. The resumes of the past are just far superior to the resumes of today...

 

Hrgovic is a guy I have some hopes for and have been keeping my eye on...what are your impressions of him so far? I feel like he needs to improve his defense or at least intentionally pay attention to it a little bit more. I wouldn’t put him in a big fight yet like some seem to want...I do think he will be ready in about 2 more fights or so to make his mark or...come up short. Just curious what your impression of him is.

 

I am also curious if think Usyk even with a size disadvantage will be able to overcome that and potentially rise to the top, even if briefly.

 

From reading what people who have been in the gym say about him, and watching some of his YT fights, I suspect Hrgovic would be dangerous for any of the champions and anybody else in the division. I like Usyk and think he can compete with anybody. I definitely think he can be champion, I just don't know if anybody will be able to hold onto the title for a long time because of the size, power, skill level etc. of the contenders. If Usyk won the title and was fighting Folleys or Walcotts or Quarrys, I'd pick him to be champion for the foreseeable future. I'd pick Usyk over most in the division H2H now, but who knows what the toll will be on his body from fighting bigger, stronger men fight after fight?

There are a lot of dangerous fighters. Remember when Lampley was raving about Michael Grant and how he would change the division? What Lampley didn't see or understand is that Grant wasn't a natural fighter and was just big and athletic. Today there are a lot of "Grant" sized fighters who are real fighters in addition to being big and athletic. Guys like Yoka, Ajagba, Dubuois, and a lot more... And then there is the smaller, for this era, Majidov (6-3, 230-40) who looks ready for anybody after two fights...

 

Certainly better than the 50's.The thing is nobody knows for sure who the best heavyweight is ATM ,so their are several intruiging matchups that can be made.Whether they will be is another story!

 

Competitive, but getting found out!

There are strong fighters at the top, and there are big fights to be made, but the top men are beatable!

 

Marciano fell over after missing punches in a couple of fights.That is not near perfect balance.
2nd Lastarza fight.
"Life magazine reported: "Trying to knock the challenger out with one punch, the 29-year-old Marciano was over-eager and awkward. He lunged, butted, hit below the belt, on the break and after the bell. Once, he swung so wildly that he missed and slipped clumsily to the canvas. Outboxing the champion and avoiding his blows, LaStarza managed to win four of the first six rounds"

 

That was a great fight. Rock strung fluid combo after combo into LaStarza and you can't do that without having good balance.

Anybody can go over from a missed swing. Tim Bradley fell trying to hit Pacquaio , its why he damaged his foot i think. Bradley was a pretty skilled boxer from the modern era.
The point i was making was directed at Pat M who believes skill was not as good back then as it is today. Marciano wouldn't be criticized for having bad balance if he was around today.
Writers back then had a different idea what foot work was.

 

if a guy was sparring for the first time and when he moved left he moved his right foot first he'd be criticized for having bad footwork. That's something that should've been fixed before a fighter learns to jab. When a fighter does it and still wins, it tells a lot about the competition in his era. I don't care what writers have to say about boxing now or in the 50s.

 

It looks kind of blah compared to the late 60s, 70s, and 90s...but those are easily my fave eras, so I'm ridiculously biased.

I venture it's more exciting than the 50s...except there isn't a big star like Marciano for anyone to hold onto. Joshua shamed himself by quitting, Fury is the heavyweight Slapsie Maxie. Only Wilder is the wild card, the one who just might make it to ATG.

I don't think Ruiz can be counted out yet, either. I just hope he hasn't turned into this era's Riddick Bowe.

All of this is my opinion, no offense or disrespect to fans of any of the above fighters.

 

What were the big athletes doing before any were attracted to boxing?

They must have being doing something before they were boxing, something more appealing than million dollar gates, and it doesn't sound lke you think they were blessing another sport with their presence, was there just a bunch of really good coal miners back in the day?

 

I'm not a fan of the guy, but Joshua is the only one I see as possibly being a legit ATG, he's the only one fighting the competition to do it. Fury has looked pretty awful other than his fight with Wilder, which I don't think says much about Wilder, who's pretty late in his career for having so few big wins, and so many shaky moments.

 

Same as the 50's then!lol