Klitschko vs Irbagimov for the lineal title?

I think we are in full agreement actually, but some posters are casting doubt on Patterson's right to be considered a linear champion in 1956, my point is you cannot accept a guy as the linear champion and then change your mind. You can feel he is not THE DESERVING CHAMPION BUT HE REMAINS THE LINEAR CHAMPION until he is defeated or retires. Think Briggs or Leon Spinks-a linear title holder can sometimes be a big problem and not the Messiah.

 

Well, he did dominate Sultan.
Any more thoughts on this?

 

If Vitali was still WBC champ would Mendoza be claiming Wlad was lineal? Ofcourse not. Vitali clearly wasnt lineal but Mendoza claims he was.If this is the case the top3 when Vitali retired were Wlad, Ruiz, Rahman, Byrd, Peter. 2 of those got beat by Chagaev and Maskeev. Vitali may be coming back, then what?

Wlad is clearly the best but currently Maskeev and Chagaev have a claim to being number 1. If Peter beats Maskeev and Chagaev loses to say Ibragimov then Wlad is lineal by default but currently hes not.

 

While I am not sold on Wlad's claim to lineage I do think that he is far enough ahead of the rest of the field to render their title claims ridiculous.

It is verry obvious who the best heavyweight in the world is right now.

Unfortunately Wlad has two mandatory title defences coming up so he will not be able to meet another belt holder this year unless he drops one of his titles.

 

This is one of those foggy periods in history, but certainly Wlad's claim to being recognized as the new established linear champion is growing stronger with every fight and is given a big shot in the arm with his unifying two of the sanctioning bodies' belts. If he beats the Maskaev/Peter winner, I believe universal recognition of him as the linear champion will be undeniably merited.

 

I think Lewis needs to come back.

 

Yes - pathetic.

On one hand we have a paper tiger (Sultan) who had NO clue as to how to close the distance and threw harmless right hands in Wlad's general direction, and another fighter (Wlad) who absolutely will NOT take even the slightest risk, for fear of exposing that china chin.

Technically, Wlad put on a clinic, but sometimes the sport of boxing must overcome the science of boxing. People need to be entertained. I think even Chris Byrd took more risks than Wlad does. :-(

If this is how he fights against a mediocre fighter like Igbragimov, can you imagine how he'd "fight" in some of our hypothetical matchups here? He'd run like a scalded cat any time someone like Foreman or Tyson came near him.

 

So, let me get this straight, Wlad isn't an ATG at this point in time and doesn't belong in this section? Is that what you are saying?

 

What I'm saying is what I said.

Wlad an ATG? I think he has to do much more than what he has so far.

 

I tend to agree.

 

How can he be at the top of the list for title fight wins with a 9-2 alphabet record?

Id agree with you though that he is verging on the top 30 but i dont think the win over Brewster did anything at all to boost him up the ratings and neither did saturdays fight.

 

Vitali`s title lineage went to Rahman then Maskaev, the winner of the fight with Peter will have a solid claim and by fighting the returning vitali the winner will cement their lineal status and have a higher claim than Wlad despite his alphabet collection.

 

Mendoza - it's all fine and well listing statistics, but if used in the right way, stats can prove just about anything.
You say Wlad has only been KO'd 3 times. Fair enough, but 3 times by competent but hardly oustanding fighters.

One aspect of 'greatness' that I place a lot of emphasis on is what that fighter meant to his era. Does Wlad define his era the way Ali, Louis, Dempsey, Marciano...heck, even Tyson did? I'd say no.

What I'm getting at is this: Wlad has got some great assets, no-one can deny that. But his era is weak - one of the weakest it must be said - and to be remembered as anything other than a highly competent fighter in 40 years he's going to have to do what Louis did, and that's completely dominate it.
So far he's doing that, but he's got a way to go yet.

H2H? I'd bet on him more often than not. But in 30 years, who knows? It's one reason I'm not enthusiastic about H2H. The moderns have all (or most of) the advantages.