Who would have come out on top of this not so elite eight tournament had happened. Value vs Toney (no failed test) Byrd vs Rahman Ruiz vs Brewster Golota vs Peter
Valuev vs Toney- the though of these two in the same ring is hilarious to me. I see an incredibly ugly fight with Valuev landing nothing but have (Just enough to win a decision ). Byrd vs Rahman- Could go either way but post- Lewis Rahman is just two hot and cold for me. Think Byrd does enough to out work him Ruiz vs Brewster- I have a vision of Ruiz getting flattened like in the Tua fight, and it makes me happy. Peter vs Golota- Peter eventually catches up with Golota and stops him RD2 Byrd vs Valuev- Could go either way think Byrd finds a way to outbox him Peter vs Brewster- a brutal slugfest, I'll take Brewster as he is a little more versatile RD3 Byrd vs Brewster- Byrd overcomes some scary moments to outpoint the plodding Brewster
I voted for Byrd, but any of them could win it with the right draw, and an element of luck. A lot would depend upon who ran into who in the latter stages. The most likely outcomes are probably Byrd, Brewster, or Peter putting together the necessary run of form.
I guess with Toney you figure that he would always have dropped the ball at some point in the tournament.
Depends how quick the tournament lasts for. Over 18 months he should be okay. Over 3 years he's no chance.
Rahman fought Ruiz for the vacant WBA belt and lost in a terrible fight. But I thought Rahman also outboxed Toney when they fought for the IBF belt. And Toney outboxed Ruiz. So those three, to me, are all the same. Forget them. I watched Golota appear to outbox Byrd and outbox Ruiz ... but he didn't get the nod either time. I also saw Oquendo outbox Byrd. And Jameel McCline nearly outboxed Byrd. And Byrd's fight with Davarryl Williamson might be the worst heavyweight title fight to EVER take place. Byrd wasn't as good as people make him out to be. He could've easily lost the decisions against Golota, Oquendo, McCline AND Williamson. I was never impressed with the guy. Take away his fight with a one-armed Holyfield after the first, and Byrd didn't accomplish anything. Golota was destroyed by Brewster, so I don't see him beating Lamon or Peter if he came across them. I don't even know if he'd beat Rahman. That leaves Nicolay Valuev, Lamon Brewster and Sam Peter. My favorite of the bunch - from a fan's perspective - was Brewster. But I think Valuev uses the jab and distance to outpoint either or both. So I took Valuev. (Hell, scoring it at the time, I thought Valuev outpointed Haye, even though I was rooting for Haye.) I also have always believed Valuev would've given the Klitschko's trouble just with his size and jab - like Tyson Fury ended up doing. The Klitschkos always seemed to panic and grab any time a punch came near their faces. Valuev's jab would've bothered them all night, like Fury's did to Wlad. And they wouldn't have been able to grab him and drape themselves over his back (like they did to shorter guys) because he was bigger than they were. That's why I believe they never had any interest in meeting him. Stylistically, I always saw Valuev as the "Ken Norton" to the Klitscho brothers' "Ali." They were both much better historically, but I think Valuev's size and style give them fits - like Norton and Ali. Valuev wasn't great by any means, but he's the winner in that tournament.
Vauev v Toney = Toney shut out, he's far too quick for Valuev. Byrd v Rahman = Byrd SD but it's gonna be close throughout. Ruiz v Brewster = Ruiz UD. I really liked Brewster during his prime. Somewhat of a HW Gatti. But there's no way Ruiz is losing to someone so one dimensional. Golota v Peter = Peter ko. Golota finds a way to lose this match where he has every advantage. Toney v Byrd = Byrd SD. This is the hardest fight for me. Toney had multiple paces in him whereas Byrd only really had two ranges. I don't see his body work troubling Toney but I do think he could stay at range and potshot him. Ruiz v Peter = Ruiz UD. Ruiz just isn't gonna lose to a slow plodding fighter like Peter. Byrd v Ruiz = Byrd SD. The superfight that never was. When Vitali retired we should have seen this happen for real. It would be horrendous to watch but it would have left Wlad challenging for the legit world championship a lot earlier. Very scrappy but Byrd will do better work up close to edge it out. I'd love to side with Toney though. Nothing better than seeing his success at HW. Its like when a fat out of shape player dominates a game in Sunday league because he's levels above skill wise. That's what Toney did. I was gutted for him no getting the nod against Peter. By the rematch Peter adjusted and Toney got fatter.
