Is Wlad the best all-time-heavyweight? NO OPINION, just PURE RECORD ANALYSIS

Aah, opinions about styles. Ali was the greatest fighter cause he danced and flew while Wlad stomps and punches.

When was George's peak? Opinion, opinion.

I actually tried once (since "Prime Tyson" is mentioned too often) to find out when prime tyson was:

The one of 1985 (his first year) where he fought and KOed 15 bums in a row?
Or 1986 where he won his first world heavyweight title against weak Trevor Berbick?

Or 1987 where he defended his title 4x (2x non-KO, 1x against a bum)

Or 1988 where he did it 3x (against Holmes, Tubbs, Spinks)

Or 1989 where he did it 2x (1x against weak Carl Williams)?

It's NOT EASY TO TELL what prime is and what not.

It's based on opinion and childhood memories.

 

I already answered that (see my comments about Ali-Chuvalo I).

The mind melt (of good-old-time fans) also goes like this:
"Wow, Ali is great!"
"Why?"
"Did you see how he beat Frazier?"
"So? Why is it an achievement to beat Frazier?"
"Because Frazier is so good, he even beat Ali"

So name any Ali fight where Ali's performance or Ali's opponent performance is more impressive than Klistchko's fights.

I will use the opportunity to rewatch the fight and use my "clinching stopwatch".

 

I don't doubt that. But tell me 1 fight where Ali and his opponent impressed you. Anything except Chuvalo (went through it above), Foreman (who simply gassed) and Frazier (whose greatness has been answered by Foreman already).

I am still waiting. And my stopwatch, too.

 

Hey, you know the names of some of Ali's (cruiserweight) opponents. Very good.

 

Yes, nothing compares to Ali's generosity of leaving his opponents see all 15 rounds. Such a powerpuncher like Ali and yet such a humanitarian in the ring.

The mean brutalizing Drago, simply wins by TKO. That's not boxing, that's a barbarism machinery.

 

Can't do that. If I can believe you, that place is already occupied by a piece of Wlad.

 

By the way

• Archie Moore was 45 years old, when Ali fought him. He started his career with 140+. He would roll over Wlad with 55.
• Frazier was half-blind his whole life.
• Chuvalo I mentioned already. Yawn.
• Sonny Liston (6'0'') is OK, but most of his fights are against bums. He fought only 14 times against non-bums (only 6 times against 200+ of which he lost 2x). You could call Sonny Liston a quitter, since in the first fight he refused to come fighting for the 7th round and in the 2nd fight he maybe made dive (he claimed himself he made a dive). Not exactly an opponent that blows my mind.
• Floyd Patterson (6'0'') started his career at 160+ and surely can compete WITH EVERY of nowadays' heavyweights.
• Buster Mathis (6'3'') started with 300 lbs and is fat and slow and had only 34 wins in his entire career (mostly against bums) so too little data to call him great. I urge everyone to actually WATCH Ali vs Mathis: Terrible performance by both. The whole fight consists of a) not doing anything b) missing c) clinching. The highlight was Buster going down not from Ali's punches but clearly from fatty fatigue. The last time I saw Wlad fighting someone like Buster was against Ray Austin (astonishingly similar body movements, similar fattyness, but bigger size that Buster). We both know what happened.
• Bob Foster was 170-180 lbs, even in Ali's times not exactly a heavyweight.
• Ken Norton was OK, but he basically lost all his fights against bigger names.
• George Foreman is the biggest name so far on your list. He gassed against Ali. I think that Ali's greatness is to a large part based on his win against Foreman AND (in my view) his luck that there was no re-match.
• Chuck Wepner has a record of 35-14 = bum'ish. KO rate 40% = featherfisted, 9 KOs = glass chinned.
• Joe Bugner is a good opponent, I agree, but not so extraordinary that he would stand above all of Wlad's opponents.

Yes, I compare EXACTLY THESE BOXERS to Wlad's opponents.

Your collection of opponents is a good proof that good-old-time-fans idealize the past fighters and the past opponents.