HW Hofs- Usyk / Joshua / Wilder / Fury / Who else?

Ortiz christened Bob Arum and was Jem Mace’s first sparring partner.

 

Posts like this ... I'm just being real with you bud, I assume you're terribly racist.

 

All four are getting in.

Of course, they are. Their careers are interlocked. They lifted the division out of the doldrums after the Klitschkos put it in a chokehold and sucked the life out of it.

As for non-lineal champs getting inducted, there's also:
Ken Norton
Harry Wills
Sam McVey
Tom Sharkey
Billy Miske
Joe Choynski
Jake Kilrain
Joe Jeannette
Peter Jackson
George Godfrey

... to name 10. (There's more.)

Wilder has 10 consecutive successful title defenses. He's tied for the top 5 ALL-TIME in that category (only behind Louis, Wlad, Holmes, and Burns).

He's also ranked in the top 10 ALL-TIME for the longest consecutive title reign ... behind Louis, Wlad, Holmes, Dempsey, Sullivan, Johnson, Ali, Jeffries and Vitali.

If you're going to bash his opponents, take a look at some of the other guys those others defended against. There aren't any challengers named "Jewey" or guys who have losing records among Wilder's title challengers. In fact, Wilder was the lighter guy (often MUCH lighter guy) in ALL of his title fights.

Wilder was the lighter guy in every fight he competed in for the last 12 years of his career ... unlike everyone else on those lists.

Only on THIS BOARD is Wilder considered a bully, given the fact that basically everyone he faced had huge weight advantages over him the last decade of his career and he had the legs of an underfed deer.

Yet, Wilder still blasted out nearly all of them.

Guys with chips on their shoulders about Wilder clinging to his late career losses to guys who outweighed him by anywhere from 30+ pounds to nearly 70+ pounds ... need to get a life.

The top heavyweight titlists who went on a LONG winning streak after they turned 38 is an extremely short list ... and they tend to be limited to the more modern PED era.

Dempsey, Tunney, Sharkey, Baer, Braddock, Louis, Charles, Marciano, Patterson, Johansson, Ali, Frazier, Ellis, Terrell, and on and on didn't win at all after they turned 38, let alone against people outweighing them by nearly 80 pounds.

Wilder should've remained retired after the third Fury fight. He essentially was. But the Saudis showed up promising all this money ... and he couldn't turn it down.

Lots of guys are going to fight a lot longer than they should in the coming years, as long as these financial windfalls are waved in front of their faces.

 

People thinking Wilder won't get in are ****ing delusional.

 

I’ve stated in other posts that only Ken Norton has gotten in for not being lineal in the modern era. Every other name you listed is either from the old timer era or pioneer era. In an era with 4 belts the term champion is quite diluted Wilder was often only the 3rd or 4th best contender during his “run”
For a Modern Heavy - he is not lineal and his resume is not good enough.

 

Ortiz learned to fight as a young man during the Late Cretaceous Period. He regularly sparred with velociraptor middleweights to help with agility.

 

Deontay Wilder was rated among the top 3 Ring Contenders or HIGHER at heavyweight every month (month in and month out) for eight straight years.

Ken Norton's run at the top never approached that. Really, very few heavyweights ever (champs or contenders) in history were situated that high in the Ring ratings that consistently month after month, year after year, for so long.

Ken Norton never won a WBC title fight (or any title fight). Wilder won 11 title fights.

Ken Norton made zero successful title defenses. Wilder made 10 successful title defenses.

Ken Norton reigned for three months. Wilder reigned for five straight years.

Speaking of split titles, Deontay Wilder made as many successful title defenses as Ken Norton, Jimmy Ellis, John Tate, Mike Weaver, Michael Dokes, Gerrie Coetzee, Tim Witherspoon (in two reigns), Greg Page, Tony Tubbs, Pinklon Thomas, Trevor Berbick, Bonecrusher Smith, Ray Mercer, Tommy Morrison, Frank Bruno, Roy Jones, Sergei Liakhovich, Shannon Briggs, Sultan Ibragimov, Oleg Maskaev, Sam Peter, Charles Martin and Andy Ruiz ... ALL MADE COMBINED.

Wilder was one of the most successful heavyweight titlists in boxing history (top five most consecutive defenses, top 10 longest single reign)

If he was a featherweight consistently fighting guys 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 pounds heavier than him for 12 straight years, knocking out nearly everyone he fought ... or an old timer ... you guys would, across the board, be blowing him.

 

Norton fought in an era of how many belts again? And it took how long for Norton to get in again?
Wbo and Ibf didn’t even exist. Wilder milked a strap making its prestige worthless in an era of 4 belts. You been on here for a decade pumping Wilder so your whole post is expected. You can throw all the hollow numbers out there you like, they’re meaningless. Put away the knee pads and the cheerleader outfit. Eat healthy stay active and maybe in 2090 you’ll be around to see him inducted.

 

I think you are going to be disappointed on this one. The American writers are already starting to lay the ground work with articles like this:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshkatzowitz/2024/06/02/will-deontay-wilder-be-a-boxing-hall-of-famer/
"Among the current heavyweights, here’s who are sure bets for the HOF: Oleksandr Usyk and Fury. Wilder isn’t quite at that level, but yes, I can definitely envision myself one day voting for Wilder to be inducted into the HOF. So yes, I think Wilder is a future Hall of Famer."

Though at least the writer doesn't try to disregard Wilder's losses due to age. Probably because he realises he needs to hold up his wins over the even older Ortiz to make his case.

 

Man if he gets in and his signature win or wins is ancient Ortiz. That’s bad. If anything I think Wilder being American and the HOF being in New York, might help him, maybe they believe he’ll draw to the induction ceremony it won’t be on merit. You have to put Sven Ottke in first if you want to justify Wilder’s belt milking. Other wise it just screams American centric bias

 

Have you been told when you assume you make an ass out of yourself?

 

Wilder is the only lock. He reigned so long undefeated, crushing everyone and even in the twilight of his career was fighting Fury three times, Parker and Zhang. The guy is a superstar. He will be so missed, even by all the haters.

 

It wasn’t just Wilder’s age. It was the fact that he took two brutal beatings, en route to viscous knock outs back to back.

 

That's not what happened. Fury 2 was stopped when the towel came in from Breland. Fury 3 was a KO from accumulation. Wilder did take a beating in both fights, though. Obviously, it's not ideal to take that kind of damage, but Wilder only really had 3 fights where he faced serious attrition in his career: Ortiz 1, Fury 2, and Fury 3

Personally, I'm of the opinion that the Wilder that fought Parker and Zhang is way past prime. But I would say the same for Ortiz, as he was only a few weeks off 39 when he fought Wilder the first time, and I don't actually believe that was ever his real age. Having said that, Ortiz's fundamentals has definitely extended his career (and the PEDs). Something Wilder doesn't have to fall back on. Still...Ortiz was 39 years old (if we are being generous) and hadn't really gotten any significant wins himself.

Even so, I think Wilder will likely be inducted based on his fame as the hard-hitting American heavyweight

 

If Wilder is a shoe in for the HOF then the path to HOF is not as challenging as one may think. In 40+ fights, he only has a victory over one opponent who's ever held a world title. Great marketing of a fighter beating up a bunch of average at best opponents using a club punch, but if we are going to label this sport the "sweet science" we shouldn't be willing to make a fighter who stated repeatedly that other fighters have to be perfect for 12 rounds, he only has to be perfect for one second in referring to leaning on that wide hook he throws.

Just my opinion.