How many of these heavyweight contenders would have been Champions today.

Jimmy Young has the best chance imo. Neither of the champions ever faced a Jimmy Young type fighter to see how they would fair.

 

Tua
Ruddock
Cooney

All 3 have a chance against Joshua imo

 

I am going to go with none.

 

If Ruiz can knock out Joshua then just about anyone on the list has a chance against Joshua. As for Fury, lot of people forget that just before he beat Wilder, he almost lost to mr nobody Otto Wallin or whatever the hell his name was. Fight should have been stopped with Fury bleeding pints of blood from a cut and it was Fury that ended up rocking and holding on at the end of the last round. If a euro trash like Wallin can do that to Fury then certainly so can a lot of those on the list.

 

Tua would have a chance against Joshua because of his chin and power, which he carried into the late rounds, and not only do I think Joshua is chinny, but he seems to gas a bit after spurts of power, which keeps his pace relatively slow. I also see Ruddock as having a chance because of his explosive power, although Razor was hittable, which would not be too good for him against these big monsters. The Ruddock that fought Tyson - I'd give him a real shot against Joshua. The guy who possibly could have given Fury an interesting fight was Joe Bugner, because he had height, reach, chin and defense, speed and skill, which would have matched up better with Fury than those smaller foes.

 

Yes, the trade in "world" boxing championships today is just like the trade in professional wrestling championships. Really, there is scarcely a difference.

 

AMEN!

 

I think Razor Ruddock would fare quite well today.

 

The Fighter with the best all round game on this list, on the rare occasions when the stars aligned, is Joe Bugner.
If I tried really hard, I could make a case for him. If you're old enough to have watched him against Frazier, Ali 1, Blinn or Dunn, then you know what I mean.