On the topic of great heavyweight tenured champions, there is a consistent theme.

Thats all correct apart from Byrd who was the #1 ranked HW in 2006. But those just shows you the dreck that was on offer when Byrd was that high well past his prime.
He wasn't a top 10 guy in during his prime in the pre-K era!

 

Wladimir Klitschko didn’t become world champion until he beat Chris Bryd for the IBF belt in 2006. So his reign runs only from there until losing to Fury 9 years and 18 fights later. I would say off the top of my head only about three of those guys were worthy of a shot at the title. Povetkin, chagaev, Haye. That’s really it. People knock some of Larry Holmes’s challengers credentials but nearly all of them beat one other rated guy. If Wlad qualifies under the op circumstances then it is by the slimmest and weakest margin.

 

This.

 

Wlad's choices become more justifiable when a bit of context is added.

Byrd was a belt holder.
Brock was a replacement, and I think he was top ten at the time.
Austin was a mandatory.
Brewster was a mandatory
Ibragimov was a belt holder.
Thompson was a mandatory.
Rahman was a replacement, and a mandatory.
Chagaev was top three, and a replacement.
Chambers was top four.
Peter was perhaps a bit of a gimme, but nobody would bat an eyelid today.
Haye was a belt holder
Mormeck was a bit of a gimme, but Wlad was coming off an operation to remove a kidney stone.
Thompson was still ranked in the top ten.
Wach was a bit of a gimme.
Pianeta was a bit of a gimme.
Povetkin was ranked #1
Leapai was a mandatory I think.
Pulev was rankd #1
Jennings was ranked in the top ten.
Fury was a mandatory.

I would say that he was more hemmed in by the politics of the day than Holmes, and that he still made better choices.

 

Good honest post

 

THE OP LAID OUT HIS CRITERIA
"RING RANKED"
I JUST SHOWED 14 FIGHTERS WHO DID NOT QUALIFY FOR IT!!!!!!
SO LETS CUT THE CRAP !!!!!

 

Ali, Louis, Marciano, Jeffries, Liston, Frazier, Tyson. Since then I suppose it has been a little suspect with guys avoiding each other like the plague.

 

Well to be fair to Liston he was really the champion before he was champ...not sure if his short reign counts but he did clean the division long before he was champ.

 

yes I acknowledged that as one of three worthwhile challenges in nine years.

based on what. Who had Austen beat?

based on what. Who had Brewster recently beat?

yes, ibragminov was an unbeaten belt holder but by then that was worth a low rating. He had only beat old timers Evander Holyfield and Shannon Briggs who in linear terms were rated #9 and #18 in boilermakers excellent linear rating system.

based on what. Who had Thompson beat?

precisely.

Chagaev was fair at best.

yes I acknowledged that as one of three worthwhile challenges in nine years.

I would say he was less hemmed in by the politics than Larry was. Larry sought a unification with Coetzee and nearly got stripped trying to pursue it. He beat Weaver already. When Dokes beat Weaver he was forced into a rematch (a draw with Weaver who Larry stopped) then blew his belt anyways against a guy Larry signed to fight. When the WBC insisted he fight Page for no more money than he could get defending against Frazier they stripped him which was pretty outrageous seeing as Greg had lost to Berbick right after Larry beat him. Larry beat spoon. He beat Berbick. He beat smith. He beat Weaver. He beat Norton, He beat Cooney. He beat Shavers. He beat old Ali too and even Leon Spinks.

Wlad beat a lot of guys with no real credentials having been knocked out twice already himself at world level.

 

Corrected.

 

Sonny was the best heavyweight in the world before he was champion yes, but he couldn’t realise this without first beating Patterson. Johansson had always been ahead of Sonny in the rankings, and Ingo first did a better job on Machen than Sonny did. After Patterson eliminated Ingo Floyd had beat a better man than Sonny had. I don’t see how outpointing Machen, beating Harris and Foley inside the distance can eclipse Ingo or Floyd at that time. Sonny had to beat Floyd to prove that.

 

Are the names you had in mind by any chance white and from Eastern Europe ??

 

It's so transparently obvious isn't it!

 

Liston was out of the game for nearly two years,given the opportunity he would probably have been champion as early as 1956,certainly by 58 when he came back to the game.
Theoretically this could have given him a title tenure of 6 years until he defended against Ali in 64,and his wins over DeJohn,Williams Folley,Machen ,Harris ,Besmanoff ,Valdes and Patterson.And a very probable one over Ingo would have given him 9 successful title defences.