Joe Louis vs. Vitali Klitschko

None because fighters of that period did not have long amateur careers. They prety much went straight in to the profesional ranks.

Of course Audley Harrison has excelent amateur credentials but it dosn't make him a good profesional fighter.

How many of Vitally Klitsckos oponents have distinguished profesional records?

 

Well tony Gallento was ranked #3 by ring magazine when Louis fought him.

How many of Vitally Klitschko's oponents were ranked in the top 5?

Four and two of them beat him. Thar makes him 2-2 against the Tony Gallento's of hios era.

 

Great.

Let him fight Nicolai Valuev then and add a top five ranked oponent to his resume.

 

From a legacy perspective, Vitali Klitschko is not even in the same universe as Joe Louis who is light years away from him. Hence, Janitor's point about him beating multiple times more ranked opponents is valid. However, legacy claims and head to head matchups are completely different animals, and other things need to be taken into consideration. In a head to head confrontation, I am not sure who would win, but its not unreasonable to think that Vitali could pose problems. And claiming that he quit against Byrd or was stopped by a 38 year old Lewis, does not quite satisfy the debate. Unlike most of the giants that Louis fought, Klitschko carried his weight very well, plus was always in great shape. I would argue that his power, chin, and even boxing ability far exeded that of Carnera, Simon or the Baer brothers, as was tested against modern full-sized heavyweights.

Should Louis be heavily favored? Perhaps. But I don't see this as being a forgone conclusion, and certainly not as being an easy fight for Louis. Joe would have to get very close in an effort to land a barage of combinations on Vitali, and its not like he just has to do it once and its all over. It would be a very long and hard night, with Louis having to give it all he has in every single round. He would take multiple hard jabs and crosses in an effort to try and get inside. Once he gets there, he'll be wrestling with a much bigger and stronger target. I can definately see him hitting the canvas on one or more occasions...

 

I am thinking right not that it is a shame that the fight with David Haye never came off.

I think that it could have constrained this fantasy fight a bit.

 

You were born without a soul if you backed Vitali to win this.

 

Now, that's the kind of nonsense that makes my wish I could change my vote and go for Vitaly instead.

 

All I can say.

 

Louis' legacy is a lot of bollocks.......... Sure, he was a great fighter... We all know that... He was the best we had from the mid 30s to the late 40s.... However, Louis still had a fairly average crop to feed on for the most part; that aided his success and kept him in the spotlight.... Plus, his stint in the Army during WW2 help make him out as a patriot, as well.... Then the fact that he went broke due to poor management and investments, and the IRS hounding him to death caused quite a stir....... Still, aside from all the hoopla, I still contend that Louis KO'd a lotta' bartenders and bouncers posing as bad-ass fighters.......

MR.BILL

 

Wel whatever you think of Louis's oponents they were the best challengers available at the time.

Lets say that it was a weak era. There have been many weak eras and no other champion in any weight class has ever matched Louis's record however weak the era or however many of the top contenders he avoided.

And you call this acomplishment a lot of bollocks?

You call Louis's ranked oponets bartenders and bouncers while you are arguing the case for Vitally Klitscko who fought verry few ranked contenders and when he did they were usualy obese?

At least Louis's oponents were well conditioned profesional fighters.

I think you badly need to get a grip on reality here.

 

Somebody get me that damn time machine!!! I want to be a wealthy man before I die!

 

I happen to be a big fan of Vitali but think this is a bad match up for him ...

 

Well, Larry Holmes sure as hell came close to Louis' title record..... And Mike Tyson was an active fighter / champion until he got parked by Buster Douglas and shagged Desiree Washington in Indiana..... Other than that, I cannot see a world champion surpassing Louis' 25 title fight defenses........ Why, because due to the nature of the BIDNESS these days, a full-fledge promotion takes much more time to organize and get fights going.......... Here in 2009, THREE defenses a year is about the best a champion can do............... Four to Five defenses in a single year just ain't gonna happen anymore.......
:deal

MR.BILL

 

Janitor,

Conditioning ran out the door years ago........ Heavyweights, except for a few like Tyson and Holy, have been on the road to Slobsville since Larry Holmes was defending his WBC title in the late 70s....... Then in the 80s, we had a long haul of WBA chumps and slobs, too........ The slobs carried on well into the 1990s and are still here today.........

Now, a prime Larry Holmes was no slob, but many of his opponents have been criticized to the max...... Tyson and Holy were no slobs, and neither was Lennox Lewis or the "K" brothers........ Still, we've had several WBA title holders that were slobs and many top contenders of the modern day that have been or are still slobs right now......

Still, aside from having a lotta' slobs in the heavyweight division since 1978, they all have been decent to good boxers with power, despite their slobbish look.......... Cheers.....

MR.BILL