Oscar Bonavena in today's picture

He was awkward and hard to hurt. I think he would do well.

 

Yeah, I agree, The fact that he's so hard to hurt and has such good stamina (a lot better than most HW today) means that he always would be dangerous in the later rounds.

 

in the times he fought he was unlucky to have those giants fighting alongside him(ali, frazier etc).if he would be alive today he would be a very solid champion no doubt about that.

 

Oscar was durable and strong, his height should not matter(there are smaller guys who hold there own today....but Oscar was limited as far as skill and speed, he also was a clown while training and never was real serious on condition and loved the HO's

 

I think Wlad is better than Bonavena for sure. I also think Chagaev, Peter, and Ibragimov are a bit better than Bonavena. Time will tell how good Povetkin, Virchis, and Dimitrenko are, but to answer the question I think Bonavena is good enough to rate in the bottom half of the top ten today.

 

I think he's a belt holder, possibly undisputed. Bonavena could hit very hard too. He would be the best of today's era IMO.

 

Does today have an era? History experts will likely spend a couple of centuries deciding that one

 

If Bonavena would be the best of today's era (and I'm not disputing that), then the quality of today's champions must have fallen off quite a bit from the '60s and '70s.

In Bonavena's prime, I never considered him one of the elite, but a definite notch behind.

 

Today's heavyweights aren't worth mentioning.

Bonavena would make very good money fighting today and he'd probably manage to get himself shot dead outside some whorehouse. R.I.P.

 

Who are your favourites today, Sonny?

 

Okay, based upon what you and OBC say, I believe today's division is weak.

My interest in boxing has only been rekindled in the last year or so, and I am definitely not knowledgeable about the modern scene.

 

He may have been only 5'-11" and clumsy, but he would put alot of guys in the top 10 on their asses. He was tough, awkward and he could hit.

 

Oscar put Frazier down twicw and wasn't decked in 25 rounds against him, he appeared to have decked Chuvalo in their 1966 10 rounder, and I ask you, who wouldn't be in a rough battle against him? He fought his heart out against Ali and gave him a spirited evening before he was stopped. I think he would have done rather well against the guys in the top 10 today.