Thompson was not great...there are no great wins on his record. And he was light hitting. Wach was a finge contender. Briggs would have been the kind of guy Wlad didn't like, which is why he let Vitali have him. Grant had made a little comback. Ortiz and Wilder were indeed two names, and Ortiz wanted him.
Again, not a thing. There weren't that many talented southpaws out there. And it's not like he ever lost to a talented southpaw the way Wlad got rolled by even low quality physically imposing fighters.
Oh and Muhammed Ali lost to Ken Norton, and Mike Tyson lost to Buster Douglas, next! Just have a proper look at Holyfields record.
I do see your point on a legacy sense, but going off a H2H/prime for prime sense Bowe for me is better than Holyfield and has proven it.
Fun facts: Lewis shared an era with the first ever southpaw heavyweight champion, openly declined to fight the second southpaw champion, and had a career that started and ended over almost the same period as Sanders’ career.
If this helps you sleep better. Having not fought a southpaw is qualitatively not the same on any level as having been beaten by physically imposing fighters, but whatever.