Is the consensus here 2000-2015 the worst period for heavyweights ever?

Not really. It wasn't the greatest period for the division, but it had it's charm.

 

Even still, in the decades succeeding when boxing was at the height of its popularity (at least in the U.S. certainly), the HW division was still a mess. I refuse to believe that a division in which someone as hapless as Jess Willard is able to become champ is a strong division. On top of that, you have all the very credible black contenders perpetually denied shots at the best white fighters in the division. LHWs semi-regularly toppled HW champions. Stuff like that didn't happen in the HW division of 2000-2015, where good contenders were almost always granted a shot at one of the Klitschkos at some point. The fighters of that era were also more "legit" HWs compared to the ones who populated the division historically. The HW division has always been a weak division, but it was fairer, more international, and populated with bigger fighters from 2000-2015 than the HW division has been for the vast majority of its history.

 

In the early to mid 2000’s King controlled 3 or 4 of the fighters with the belts and didn’t have one unification fight. Wlad had to help Byrd get out of his contract with King to make the second fight. King is to blame more than the fighters.

 

The Soviet rise is why people say that.
Look how easily Ibranovich or whatever his name is beat Briggs, who was a good American HW and gave problems even to 'Greats'.
Look what the Klitschkos did.
Even that Belurussian with the L name who beat Brewster, and wasn't even the best of them.
Suddenly the Muricans were getting beat and now it's a bad era somehow filled with top amateurs from Soviet states. Okay.
If anything, the level probably went up when the Soviets were unleashed because they had a strict and thorough training system.
Now it's back to straight prize fighting.

 

Yup. Handful of full sized in shape HWs. They all do good. The rest are fat lazy ****s who wouldn't be HWs if they got in shape. They line the records.

Sam Peter, in K2 fanboy world, is equal to Mike Tyson. To the rest of us he's just a rando fat jabroni who was never any good.

 

Well from 2000 to 2015 there was a big demographic shift from the US/UK to the former Soviet bloc fighters.. they brought different styles & personalities & some would say it bored them. But in terms of the actual depth of Talent in that time period in no way was it the worst ever.. WK, Vitali, Fury were the standouts.. all of whom will be HOF HWs one day.