After holding the title for 9.5 years, Wlad was just shy of Louis record of 11 years. He also still holds the record for most title defenses (25). How long do you think these records will last now that Wlad didn't make it?
I don't know, probably none? Louis defended his title 7 times in 1941, so I would say his activity makes up for it. Also edited original post to include his consecutive defenses record.
Wlad spent most of his time defending a strap; not the world's heavyweight championship. This is much, much easier.
This record might well never be broken. It is harder to arrange fights today, and fighters tend to be older when they step up. Add to that the fact that fighters in the lower weight classes tend to outgrow their divisions, and decline at a younger age. All of these factors work against it being replicated.
It's understandable he didn't fight his brother, but the fact that he was his top challenger , for a significant part of that timescale must also be factored in.Vitali acted as his policeman on a couple of occasions too.
How many hypothetical defenses to we add to his record w/out WW II? Actually, when they finally did square off, Bivins was reported to be more ring-worn because of his steady competitive activity Louis had a break from.
Modern title defenses where the possibility exist to have four or more champions and 40-50 top TEN challengers do not compare to championship defenses where there was only ONE champion and ONE top ten of challengers. Today's boxing world is horrendously watered down.
In their last joint interview, Holmes and Frazier admitted they had no idea who the heavyweight champion was anymore. Use to be that former champions stayed involved in their sport for decades through broadcasting and/or officiating, corner work, promotion, etc...
Same here. As the sport has become more and more corrupt and distant from its past and so very watered down my enthusiasm for it has waned greatly.
