Can Vitali Klitschko be considered THE heavyweight champion from the time he beat Corrie Sanders to his first retirement in November 2005? He was crowned as such by The Ring Magazine. Technically Sanders could have been considered the second best heavyweight in the world after beating Wladimir a year earlier. He was rated as number 3 by The Ring Magazine, but outside of the Top 5 by Boxing Monthly. You could also argue that Vitali was winning the fight with Lewis until the controversial stoppage and since Lennox didn't want to give him a rematch, he could have been viewed as his natural successor. He's usually not mentioned on the lists of lineal champions, but he may have a claim. What do you guys think?
I think the second-best heavyweight at the time was Chris Byrd and I also think that most rankings put him very high in their lists. Vitali however was the best heavyweight at the time, but to be the champ - you need to beat the champ or the best other guy. Vitali did neither.
But sometimes matchups between no. 1 and no. 3 work in crowning the new champion. For example Wlad vs Chagaev in 2009.
I don't consider that fight as 'crowning a new champ'. There are arguments for a 'lineal championship', but I consider Wladimir vs. Povetkin to be a more suitable candidate. In any case, the Chagaev fight was picked because Wlad could not fight the #2 ranked boxer as that would be his own brother. With the 2004 fight, there was absolutely no such predicament.
Yeah, but the general consensus is, Wlad became the champion when he beat Chagaev. Povetkin fight can still be viewed as number 1 vs number 3, as Vitali was still an active WBC titleholder, number 2 heavyweight in the world. Fight with Pulev seals it at the end of the day as the fight between 100% legitimate no. 1 and no. 2 but it's almost 5 years after the Chagaev fight, when the lineage usually starts. We can then make an argument for Vitali being THE champ based on beating Sanders. But again, Byrd was a clear number 2, and beat Vitali on top of that.
Chris Byrd beat Vitali and hadnt lost since the Vitali fight up until Wladimir Klitschko beat him. By that account Chris Byrd shouldve been considered 1
Chris Byrd should have been considered 1 by the Ring Magazine from a technical standpoint. He beat Vitali and however unusual the circumstances of that fight were Byrd still officially beat him. Vitali putting up a good fight vs Lennox doesnt warrant him being considered number 1.
Yes that is true. Just dont think beating Corie Sanders and Danny Williams ouweighs Byrds wins over Tua and Klitshko. Id rank David Tua higher than those 2. Beating Holyfield was also a nice win at the time Klitschko was the best fighter in terms of ability just not resume Unless you want to hold Byrds draw vs Golota against him
Vitali didn't even have a first reign....................he beat Kirk Johnson then Corrie Sanders to become "a" champion then fought Danny Williams. That was it. He then retired. That ain't a reign. I don't see how him beating Corrie Sanders gave him the title that Lennox retired with. You can stretch and call Vitali number 1 when he fought Corrie Sanders but Sanders was not # 2. Chris Byrd was number 2 for like 5 years straight before Vitali fought Lennox, after he lost to Lennox and after Vitali's "retirement" he was still top 2. I don't think the lineage re-started until Wlad cleared out everyone.
You could make the case that he was, but most people have concluded that he wasn't. Future historians might compare him to Peter Maher, who established a title claim after the previous champion retired, but then it never quite put down roots.
Wladimir was number 2 heavyweight in the world for 2 years straight according to The Ring Magazine: 2001 and 2002. Sanders defeated him in the early 2003, so you can make a case for him being number 2 of off that
Annual ratings from 2001 - 2005 Chris was #3, #2, #2, #1 and #1 then Wlad beat him. Corrie was never ranked higher than Byrd, Only Tyson (I have no idea why but he was) and Wlad then Vitali were. It's crazy because the Ring didn't even follow their own rules when they crowned Vitali.
