If Wlad's career ended today...

Let's review what he's got.

He's 11-2 in world title fights ( albeit alpha belts )

He's 50-3-44, not a bad record when sized up to some all time greats.

He's beaten most of the best men of his era, including one of the other current titlists in Sam Peter.

He's manged to avenge one of his 3 losses, which was the most recent loss he's had.


The big problem here, is that he still has not fully unified, and has at least two unavenged defeats to fighters that some would say are second raters. Unfortunately these things will probably keep him out of the top 10-15, should he retire tomarrow and never fight again.

As it stands, I'd probably rate somewhere between #15-#25, but that's without giving it any real thought....

 

I would rank Vlad somewhere between 20th and 40th of all-time. Clearly, Vlad is pretty good: he's a physically big, dominant fighter with good athleticism and boxing ability, and outstanding power. This combination of traits alone makes him better than most heavies in history.

However, Vlad's demonstrated weaknesses thus far are decisive enough to keep him from being ranked among the true all-time greats. I'm talking specifically about his so-so chin, iffy stamina, relative ponderousness, and the fact he tends to fall apart quickly if forced to fight on his backfoot by a hard-punching fighter who can penetrate his defense.

Overall, though, 20th to 40th of all-time is quite a feat.

 

My thoughts as well. He was ranked the #1 ring contender for two and a half years from 2000-2003, and although not the champion, has been the widely recognised #1 guy since 2005 and also is the first to unify two belts since Lewis retired. #15-#25 sounds good.

 

Yeah, it was only a rough guess without doing any real comparisons, but it seemed like a fair rating to me. Like you said, he was a solid contender for many years before winning a belt, and has been what is arguably the best fighter of this decade, so he does deserve some merit for that.

 

Well, even if he retired today, I don't think his ranking would be set, because so many of his notable opponents (Peter, Ibragimov, Brock, etc.) are still fighting, and their own worth and legacies have not yet been fully borne out. That said, I'm pretty confident Wlad would fall somewhere from #19 to #30 on my list were his career to end right now.

 

Its a shame lennox didnt give wlad his well deserved shot in 2001-2002, what a waste. it would have told us alot.

 

Top 20 if his career ended now.

 

I dont see how wlad can be top 20 now. what great fighter has he proven himself against?

 

20-25. He has quite a few solid wins but none really stick out.

 

List your top 20 then and we'll talk. Wlad would flatten Charles, Walcott, Ingo, Corbett, and Patterson like a pancake. His ring record / stats are MUCH better than the above fighters. This is why he is bottom end of the top 20.

 

Top 20-30.

 

Magoo nailed my thoughts on this beautifully...I'd probably say 20-25.

He's still got time to really raise that ranking.