He was by far the best fighter of his size and would have dominated 300+ lbs division if it existed. Despite his awkward size and weight slowing him down he challenged the best fighters in other divisions beating former champs and ATGs, relying on his slick technique and skills I think in purely pound for pound terms his legacy is on the level of that of Duran who also fought in weight classes that weren't optimal for him.
Could you compose a 300+ pound top ten list? Ustinov certainly also deserves pfp mention and it's a shame Valuev didn't fight him. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have Valuev in Fb! Yeah he was "good"/ -"O.K."- ahh, rating by handicapp OF COURSE! He would be "IN THE MIDDLE" pretty much. Dream of fights him Vs Tim Withers. Tim probably win! Vs. Greg Page a good match. That size could help; or it could hurt!
Valuev would possibly be as low as in the bottom 40% too. But.....he put his name in the history books and was HVY.-wt. champion no small task. Quite a distinction but....US RATS ARE JUDGING HIM AGAINST THE BEST EVER & of all time!
Don't forget the highly controversial non-stoppage against the Quiet Man though-- caused an international uproar and crisis in US-Russian relations a few years back: https://streamable.com/ucrh