My Ranking of Wladimir Klitschko presently.....hes got a long way to go

I'd agree with a lot of what you put down though I'd probably rate him a bit higher than #42. Couple things I'd disagree with. The Williamson knock down, to me, isn't really worth mentioning. I seem to recall Wlad being more off balance than actually going down from a shot. Besides, if it was a knockdown, than you'd have to reevaluate his mental toughness because he came back from the knockdown to win the round.

The Puritty fight, been a long time since I've seen this one but didn't Wlad's corner stop this? Wlad was in trouble but he simply seemed to have punched himself out. His current more measured pace shows he's learned from that.

Good breakdown on his opponents. Nice to see you mention Barrett. That was a nice dominating win over a young contender that usually gets overlooked for Wlad. Not a great win but a nice one nonetheless.

I too thought Wlad reminded me a bit of Joe Louis minus the Bombers inside game. Offensivly speaking. I also think Wlad's heart is fine. He's been down but will get off the floor and fight on. The problem seems to be more mental. Wlad just isn't a "fighter" like the greats were. He seems to panic at the thought of getting hit or dealing with presssure. Good for him he has the tools to keep guys at bay.

Povetkin could be his signature win but I really think Povetkin isn't ready for Wlad yet. If Wlad gets him now and Povetkin goes onto do some big things he will simply be viewed as having been too green for Wlad, and it would be true. If Povetkin could pull in a couple wins over a Rahman, Briggs, Tos, McCall, Virchis, Brewster, etc, than when he gets in the ring with Wlad he'll have more credibility coming in.

Never ranked that high but you might be right, based on accomplishments, Vitaly probably doesn't get into the top 50. Good post.

 

i think klit could already be in the top 30. 50 wins, 44 kos, 11-2 9ko in titles fights, 9 titles defenses, unified belt holder and he is very good h2h. that's pretty solid. i think it would be interesting to see the 25-30 guys u rank ahead of him

i think povetkin is a cannon fodder for wlad. he has a come foward style, but lacks the power to cause problems. peter gave wlad problems as he pushed forward but could absorb wlad's best power shots. i have my doubts about povetkin doing the same. additionally, povetkin is not nearly as strong/powerful as peter. let us not forget, most of his success came from connecting on illegal punches. povetkin will make wlad throw punches but he looks like a sweller and is a sucker for the straight right hand. i dont think he's a better mark than iggy at this point. a good but not great win. there isnt a potenital great win for him out there right now.

overall, i think u did a very good analysis. imo, wlad's last 6 fights show a huge improvement in foot movement and control of distance. additionally, he uses pretty shrewd defensive techniques like using his left hand to defelect an opponent's head when they rush in and circle away. before steward, he was flat-footed, very hittable and threw too many power shots. sure, he look similar to joe louis but wlad is a much much bigger man than louis. it was simply not sustainable to be that liberal with punches. that was proven against purrity and brewster where he gassed himself. today, he is a less exciting fighter but far more difficult to beat. i don't think he will lose again. i agree though, a top 10 ranking is gonna be tough.

 

Purely head to head, do you rate Wlad ahead of Vitali?

I'd lean towards Vitali.

Good post BTW, I think by the end of his career Wlad will establish himself as a top20 all-time great.

 

He fights quite a lot like Lennox these days, IMO.

I dont rate Lennox much, so Wlad's gonna have to do something really special to get my vote.

Having said that, I think rating the all-time heavyweights gets a bit arbitrary after the top 20, so there wouldn't be too much in my mind to seperate number 22 from number 42, I reckon.

 

I dont know if its just below the neck,might also be below the ticker ,for me the division stinks ,even if he beats everyone in the top10 it only makes him good not great.

 

I think you are being a tad ungenerous here.

Any heavyweight who seperated 3-4 of the belts from their respective owners would be deserving of a top 20 ranking however weak the era was IMHO.

 

Wlad only 42?
Vitali not even top 50?

UGH.

For now, let's look at Wlad. This is an older article. Wlad has accomplished more since...

Who are the top all time 30 heavyweights? You can pick your own. I'll list 30. Odds are we have matches on at least 20 names, and likely 25 names. I'm not here to debate any order, moreover just agree to a general consensus on the names.

M. Ali,L. Holmes,J. Jeffries,J. Louis,S. Liston,G. Foreman,L Lewis,J. Dempsey,R. Marciano,R. Bowe,E. Holyfield,M. Tyson,J. Frazier,J. Johnson,V. Klitschko,G. Tunney,K. Norton,S. Langford,B. Fitzsimmons,J. Corbett,P. Jackson,H Wills,E. Charles,J Walcott, F. Patterson,M Schmeling,J.L. Sullivan,T. Witherspoon, and I.Ibeabuchi

Now that we have the names out of the way, I'll get to my point. Is Wladimir Klitschko on his way to getting on this list? Let's examine by comparing him to the top 30 I just made up.

Current Winning percentage: 94.00%. 6th best of the listed 30 fighters

KO Percentage:85.17%. 3rd best of the listed 30 fighters

Heavyweight title bout record ( Alphabets included ) 11-2. At the top of the list in terms of total wins and percentage of wins. Some may roll their eyes at counting alphabet title defenses. Counter point. Is a guy like Brock any worse than say half of Louis, Ali's, Frazier, or Holmes title opponents? I think not!

Amount of times KO'd. 3 times. Only 13 of the 30 fighters have been Ko'd less. Many traditionally higher rated fighters were Ko'd more often, and in my opinion by lesser punchers.

Size: Few were bigger

Hand Speed: Few had faster hands

Skills: Few had a better jab or right hand.

Power: Few hit harder

Less bums: Wlad fought very few fighters with losing records

All over 200 pounds: Wlad has always fought heavyweights.

No color or geographical line: Wlad has never used the color line and has fought the best fighters from all over the world.

Is Wlad on his way to making a top 30 all time list? I think so! Head to head or accomplishment wise, he stacks up well.
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I actually think Wlad would win this decisively. Wlad is the most technically sound boxer, has the faster hands, the better arsenal, more power, and I think is better against other giants in comparison to Vitali. I would expect Wlad to box off the jab, keep Vitali off balance, and either win on cuts or more likely win a firm decision.

 

Have you seen these fights, SQ?

Wlad never quit in either of the former two. He kept fighting against Purrity, trying to survive, but his corner threw in the towel. Rightfully so, but he didn't quit so i don't see how this reflects badly on his heart.
Same for the Brewster fight. He had nothing left but survived the round but fell down from fatigue, tried to go on but the referee stopped it. He always gets up from knockdowns. I don't see how any of his losses reflect poorly on his heart.


As for "nearly" losing a technical decision.
Have you seen that fight? He won every second of the fight outside of the flash knockdown, the fight was stopped on a cut that came from a headbutt.


I also find it remarkable that you think Byrd is no more than good, and how he struggled in winning his fights, while you think Machen (a similar fighter with a lesser resume) is outstanding, but have a truckload of excuses for him in his losses, where Byrd won.

 

Wladimir Klitschko has been ranked the #1 contender for over two and a half years between 2000 and 2003. He has been the best heavyweight in the world between late 2005 until now and who now for how long. That's six years of being the #1 contender or the best out there, that alone qualifies for a spot in the top30 or even top20 to me.

A guy like Tunney did **** all at heavyweight outside of a washed up Dempsey and a fat Tom Heeney but he's often ranked in the top15. Guys like Charles and Walcott were at or near the top of the division for something like 7 years and they're ranked in the top15.


Of course, it is only natural to not grant active fighters a high ranking. Throughout the entire history, fighters have ranked low while being active, had their opposition critized, etc, while suddenly raising quite a bit 5 to 10 years after retirement. The same happened recently with Lewis.

 

He lost the Brewster fight because he had too much vaseline slathered all over his body.

Funny, having vaseline all over me never hindered my performance. Of course, I'm not talking about boxing.

 

Well said Chris. I agree with you on all points. Suzie can reply to your points if he wishes.

 

I think i'd blame the big left hook a lot more than fatigue. Wlad was firing some punches and not stumbling all over the place right before it, but thereafter wasn't the same man whatsoever. Could be wrong tho.