Were does Vitali Kiltschko rank among all time heavyweights?

I do not think a case for Top 10 can be made because his resume simply is not that good.

 

I had a list on a thread asking about it but that thread was since 1990. Somewhere around 10th.

 

Overrated in both aspects in regards to ranking and his H2H ability.

Yes has some qualities that him a threat H2H but his resume is very poor and he lost to two of the best fighters he fought in which he had considerable advantages in.

For example....Chris Byrd only had a week to prepare and had to fight Vitali in his backyard and he was a much smaller opponent and Vitali still managed to lose this fight. And no this fight wasn't "one sided" and no Byrd didn't get "lucky". Byrd was very competitive vs Vitali and only 8 overall punches separated them with Byrd landing at a considerably much higher percentage.

And finally Lennox Lewis was old at the end of his career and in the worst shape of his career. This should've been the passing of the torch moment but again Vitali failed to rise to the occasion and win the fight despite having a perfect opportunity against an out of shape old Lewis.

Now i will give Vitali some credit he didn't lose many rounds in his fights he also has the size and a good chin.

But in regards to his overall ranking ?

Definitely outside the top 20.

In regards to H2H ability ? maybe he sneaks into the top 20 but again that's highly debatable with his lack of wins against real upper echelon opposition.

 

You can make a case if you go off the number of wins in title fights and dominance, and recognize that coming off after four years in your late thirties to immediately win a title and defend it nine times before retiring is unheard of.

 

There's a shock.

 

For me, Foreman is certainly in my top 5 culturally important fighters, just not in my top ten heavyweight fighters. We disagree over this and brother man, that's cool, believe me. Have a wonderful evening, peace and love always x

 

Ali--Carried Olympic torch, anti war figure, two era champ.
Louis--Symbol for American strength during WWII.
Vitali Klitschko--Mayor of Kiev in wartime conditions.
Mike Tyson--Basically the face of American sports in the 80s along with Jordan and Magic.
Dempsey--Most popular athlete in the world during his time.
Mayweather--Biggest numbers of any boxer, changed how fighters are paid, early on Olympic style drug testing, increased the popularity of boxing through reality TV and spcial media.
Pacquiao--Biggest fighter outside the US of all time, served in Congress in the Philippines.

George Foreman--Had some big fights (losing about half), sold some grills and had a commentating gig.

 

John L. Sullivan - Created modern professional gloved boxing championships as an institution. Founded the lineage that all the later guys needed to accomplish the stuff you mentioned.

Jack Johnson - Whether or not it was positive, this guy has an undeniable cultural impact that's still going.

Tommy Burns - Gave Johnson a title shot. This alone is enough, since without him, no Johnson.

Jim Corbett - Confirmed in practice that all future boxing would be done with gloves.

Usyk - If WW2 gets Louis in, this war should make Usyk at least somewhat historically important.

...Foreman's "cultural impact" was to reassure the increasingly graying, balding, and overweight Boomers that "I still got it." I think that's one of the keys to how he managed to be so fondly remembered.

 

For me, Foreman was culturally iconic as a young man coming through the Job Corps and creating that iconic image waving the little stars and stripes at the Olympics. He then became an almost antihero type before losing to Ali, a surly, thoughtless thug before reinventing himself in an almost Blues Brothers 'We're on a mission from God' fashion and as another poster suggested, giving hope to middle aged larger sized gents the world over and becoming everyone's favourite uncle...what a turnaround. And, all while boxing. One can argue he is the American dream personified, so yes, for me, he is more culturally iconic than Tyson, Vitali, Mayweather, Pac and definitely Dempsey...but, each to their own man, each to their own. For me, culturally important top 5 are Johnson, Ali, Louis, Foreman and then Vitali. Wlad and Usyk are tied in the top ten...

 

He wasn't the icon of the heavyweight division in the 70s, 80s, or 90s. He was a recognizable face, but probably less iconic than Hulk Hogan.

 

Sure, but he became an icon...and for the reasons I cite. In my opinion man. And that's only the opinion of a sometimes confused old geezer with occasional bouts of crystalline clarity x

 

I can't see top 5 most iconic.