Record for most sub top 10 defenses ever?

I don't think Wilder is particularly good myself, but I can't blame him for the whole fiasco with Povetkin (whom I've always thought was terribly overrated as well). So I don't think you can call it a lack of ambition, necessarily. Given what I consider to be some glaring weaknesses and apparent flaws in Wilder's game, I do however believe that they are trying to milk his reign out for whatever he can. So I don't disagree with the greater point you're gunning at necessarily, either.

 

I'm not about to make any type of defense of Wilder's ledger here. It's obviously not especially good. But all the same, 4 title defenses (or is it 5?) is a lot in any historical context. He's obviously a long shot away from guys like Louis and Holmes. And I understand that making defenses against soft opposition is easier than consistently making them against top challengers. But there have only been I believe like 17 or 18 guys with 4 or more defenses. So the comparison itself, is between Wilder and less than 2 dozen other guys. (And for the record, I have no idea who was ranked where during a lot of heavyweight title fights pre-1950).

 

I get what you're saying. It's a fair criticism for sure.

 

I wouldn't say last, but certainly somewhere towards the bottom of the list. I think his wins against Liakhovich and Arreola are decent (I picked him to lose both of those) and I think the Stiverne victory is quality. But there is nothing earth-shattering here.

Now, if the defense # climbs to 10 defenses in the next few years, and he still hasn't faced a great name, I still think his position starts increasing a great deal at that point, even if still far removed from a top 20 list.

 

The 1 belt deal from back of the day definitely deserves strong consideration. But even since Larry Holmes became the IBF champion - not a lot of guys have more than 4 defenses, even in that context.

And as for the politics, I can't keep up with the corrupt sanctioning bodies ad their ever changing rules that help to serve their own best interests. But the politics of today in the sport between those sanctioning bodies seems to favor scenarios like Wilder's more and more in my estimation.