If Wladimir equals or Passes Louis title defences will he be greater all time

Wlad wasn't the lineal champion for 11 years and Louis was. Also, Joe wasnt KO'd by Puritty.

 

How do you figure he's would rank number 1. So basically you are saying, it doesn't matter what his oppositions is, its all about numbers. Wlad doesn't need to be 42 or have that happen in 7 years. If he keeps fighting Cruiser-weights he can knock it out in about 3-5 years depending on how busy he stays.

I wouldn't rank him at #1, but he's definitely in the top 20 or 15 maybe. 26 defenses, is unbelievable.

 

Rankings are subjective. If he surpassed Louis record a few die hard fans would rank him above, others would think he had closed in on him, and of course some would still be dead sure Tyson/Lewis/anyone who could bob and weave/their mum would KO him in the first round.

 

The stoppage losses Wlad has already suffered put a ceiling on his greatness, and endless defences against medicore opposition won't change that. Virgil Hill beat Bob Foster's record for LHW defences, but no-one with an iota of boxing knowledge would rank Hill anywhere near Foster at 175.

The only way Wlad can raise that ceiling is if he beats the type of fighter that his record suggests he is meat and drink for - fast, aggressive punchers of geniune quality with a high workrate. Or alternatively, if one of his victims (such as Haye) goes onto greatness. Without this, the perception is that his vulnerabilities would be exposed against other great heavies, and no number of victories over the Mormecks of this world are going to dispel that notion.

Neither route appears likely, and my guess is that he will continue making 2 or 3 who cares defences a year until he packs in or his physical gifts decline and he loses.

 

If he can defend his title 14 or 15 more times, he will almost certainly put himself in the top 10 all time HW, as long as the competition is routinely top 15 guys. If the division were to turn overnight into one of the greatest era's in HW history AND Wlad dominated and never lost through it while amassing 15 more victories, then he could very well be 3rd even.

There is no realistic scenario or even a half realistic/half fantasy scenario where Wladimir can ever go down as being greater than Louis or Ali.

Louis beat far more HOF'ers, former champions, elite contenders, and top 10 contenders while holding the lineal title, not various alphabet titles.

It's honestly an insult of a comparison.

 

IF Wlad beats Louis in "title defenses" he would sneak into the top 10.


Keith

 

You guys are way to hard, louis bum of the month club is suddenly the stuff of legends here, at this rate wladimir most likely go down as a top atg heavy at this rate anyway.

 

Haye is a fast, aggressive puncher of genuine quality. Had Wlad not defeated him already you would not have added "high workrate" to your list of demands :hi:

 

To even mention these two in the same breath deserves a slap.

 

:rofl


You should pop over to my house, I've some freshly painted walls you could watch drying.

 

:yep

 

Haye hasn't proven himself to be great (or anywhere near) at heavyweight, so the "genuine quality" part is highly debatable. But thanks anyway for reading my mind, as I'd clearly need to fabricate obscure criteria to pick holes in Wlad's record

People set their own standards for ATGs, but most would agree that a resume should be judged on a mix of quality and quantity. Wlad has proved to be a steady champion, always turning up in shape, and for the most part being able to impose his superiority over lesser fighters (which Lewis for example, often struggled to do). The glaring deficiency in Wlad's resume is the lack of quality wins, and the nature of his defeats hurts him in any h2h comparisons with other great fighters.

"More of the same" isn't going to address those issues - he's going to need to beat a higher level of fighter, or have his existing victims achieve more.

 

No bloody way.

At least when Louis got KO'd by Schmelling he rematched him and took care of his own battles and not got his big brother to avenge his defeat.

 

Boxing counts total number's of title defences. Wladimir defended the WBO world title 7 times. so he actually has 18 defences right now, not 11...