Is Wlad an All Time Great?

If he is only for longetivity

 

i think wlad has the problem that there really isnt anyone to beat other than his brother the rest of the division are pretty poor in comparasion to past eras and tehres not really any heavyweight stars other than haye and look what happend last nite

 

Yes, easily an ATG. If he isn't an ATG then nobody else is either.

 

Despite me being a little disappointed in Haye's performance it's a really good win for Wlad. I say yes.

 

Probably yes

 

He'd figure pretty low if he is just due to the fact he hasn't beaten anybody great, this is probably his best win which says something.

Also the fact that really when you look at it there are not many great heavyweights that wouldn't have KO'd a guy as passive as David Haye was last night. Most great heavyweights have another gear, they wouldn't be poking around for 12. There was an opportunity to get David out of there last night, it didn't require much. One extra gear. Even Lennox who was known for his similarly tactical approach could have that gear coaxed out of him by Steward on occasions, and he had his Golota moments.

 

For consistency and the ability he has displayed, I'd say he is definitely in amongst the top 20-30 Heavys. Based on his era/opposition, overall career and the fact he's solid but unspectacular, I can't envision him doing anything until the end of his career that will elevate him to the upper echelon of ATG Heavys, and in terms of ability and attributes, there aren't too many ATG Heavys (and a lot of contenders as well) I see him matching up well against.

But he must be given credit for his dominance. But due to it only being down to being the one top notch Heavy amongst a lot of mediocre challengers, he can't be given a free pass and given the status of ATG Heavy IMO.

Bruno might well have done the same if placed in todays scene, it's that bad.

 

Good post.

 

6 years as the #1 heavyweight. 49 knockout wins. Yes all time great. Boring? Maybe but still the man.

 

I think the Heavyweight division was consistently strong for decades, but the last ten years have gotten increasingly worse IMO.

I have to disagree with you Jeff I'm afraid. It's no coincidence that the Heavyweight division is no longer ruled by mainly American fighters. These guys just aren't as good as the guys gone by, it's plain to see.

Wlad would be a quality operator in any era, but in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s peak top tens, he would never have got anywhere near beating the best man in the division IMO.

He has definitely elevated his reputation in recent years, whereas even a couple of years ago he was seen as the great pretender. He's a solid, but fairly basic fighter, and a good ring general who uses his size and technical ability to keep the fight as his pace, and that has to be commended.

But his opposition are never beens in any other era, including Haye, who has left be underwhelmed since his move to Heavyweight, and never looked a truly unstoppable force at Cruiser.

 

bb, that doesn't really hold up though. Even as early as the 90's there were genuine big men with athleticism. They may not have even been great or even very good fighters, but they were there and there abouts. These days the closest we've got outside the Klitschko's to that is Tony Thompson...

 

Tony Tucker would obliterate Wlad IMO.