Now that the dust has settled... where does Wlad belongs ?

You got the wrong order 3 to 10 Jack Johnson was better then all the sports you propped up above him he’d make them look 2nd rate in his era init a shame we don’t have the films to make you look half with it even Chappie said Jack might beat Louis yet you’ve got him at 8! Below the bum Frazier

 

I rank them based on what they achieved in his own era, that's why I put him top 10.

 

Top 20 for sure, just not sure exactly where.

 

I think if you didn't have him in the top 20 you'd be biased.

 

I find him hard to rate. The numbers, dominance and longevity set him in very good stead and he visibly carried quite a potent mix of the physical and technical (within set parameters) stand-up Euro-style attributes typical of the top Soviet region fighters.

Big power in both hands stemming from a strong base and honed punching technique, excellent range control maximised by his height and decent footwork, good balance, a good punching arsenal and general sense of offensive timing (albeit a shade predictable and one note sometimes with his straight punching), generally an effective ring general when he possessed key advantages etc. Always in excellent condition and a physical unit of a human being who used his size effectively. His left hook, on the regrettably rare occasions he dared risk throwing it from 2003 onwards, was a devastating weapon when bothered to use it.

Defence mostly consisting of good footwork, quickly and smartly parrying with his arms semi-extended and illegal bear-hugging, pushing down and smacking his opponents hands all in a way that probably should have resulted in at least two or three disqualifications by a non-corrupt ref. Not really a punch slipper with notable upper body movement, nor really a counter puncher.

All of this mixed with a highly cautious, one-paced and low risk approach designed to offset a very crackable chin, questionable stamina and a seemingly pathological nervous fear of being hit, post-Sanders disaster. Making therein for a series of performances ranging from the horrible, morally offensive and unwatchable to some impressive displays of power and gradual crushing of hapless opponents.

For all his strengths, career positives and number of weapons, the sheer panic on his face and the varying degrees to which he completely unravelled in the Sanders, Brewster and Purritty fights are hard for me to shake when it comes to ranking him and gaining a true idea. As is his manner of reacting to an opponent punching (or even trying/prepping to punch) like a cross between a cat (albeit a very quick reacting one) having water flicked at it and a spooked koala. The Ibragimov and Povetkin fights are amongst the most disgraceful I've seen in a modern ring and should've ended in him being disqualified imo. The way he was constantly and completely allowed to illegally hug fighters to death for the length of his reign makes him hard to assess how some of his those fights might have gone with a sensible referee. The outcomes might not have changed tbh, but it casts doubt imo, and it being allowed so freely was criminal. In fairness, he finally showed some balls and resistance in the Joshua fight (where I was willing him to win) and put up an ultimately good final stand after the frankly limp and feeble way he handed his title to the pecking, spoiling, offensively limited Fury without ever taking risks and letting his hands go when the fight was visibly slipping away from him (presumably thinking that the judges were going to do the job for him). Granted, his best days were already clearly behind him.

On the flipside, you watch him throwing a triple hook off the jab to paralyze Ray Austin and it looks awesome, showing what he was capable of when not inhibited by caution and nerves.

Aaaaargh! Probably a great heavyweight at his best when all is said and done, both in terms of his career numbers on paper and what he could do eye-test-wise against the right opponent. But I have a lot of conflicted feelings about him, both rational and slightly irrational.

 

He has those three KO losses in his 20's, but I think his long reign more than makes up for that. So he's somewhere in the top 10, perhaps right after Lewis.

 

Yeah, the Povetkin fight especially is hard to really know what to make of. On the one hand, it was a domination of a good top contender smack in his prime and many a champion have done what the ref have let them get away with, but on the other hand it was very much a hometown ref job, bordering on malpractice. So the question remains what would have happened with a fairer ref.

 

#7

 

I don't think it is possible to make a 'true' list, as it is subjective. What I do think is, that Wlad would stand a very good chance to win over a lot of former champs. That includes all champions before Lennox Lewish, with the execption of a prime Sonny Liston. Ali would be murdered by Wlads fast lethal left hook, (Cooper, Frazier, 188 pound Banks), Foreman would not have the style or reach to cope with Wlads boxer/puncher abilities. Of course, it's not popular to believe that Wlad maybe could beat out 98 % of our former greats, but that's just the way, I see it. Ok, fellas', call me crazy!

 

Haye was a fast, skilled puncher, albeit orthodox and smaller than Sanders.

Wlad's ability to control the range improved immeasurably post Sanders. Though I agree Corrie would have always been a dangerous fight for Wlad.

 

After Ali and Louis it is all subjective.

I would say just outside of the top ten somewhere.