What does a modern heavyweight in 2017 and beyond need to do to achieve greatness?

beating the best at world level, (ie when they count as best) is enough to have you qualify as HoF or even ATG.

Setting records is a way to acheive fame, ie HoF. Obviouslt this becomes harder is some ways as time goes by, and easier too with advent of new divisions.

 

I don`t agree with your criteria and I don`t always think a really big heavyweight would beat the likes of Dempsey who knocked out the huge Willard though reaching Tyson Fury`s chin would be stupid looking! Successful title defenses only count against good opposition which doesn`t stay the same each decade, though if a fighter uses great moves and fights good vs a decent contender then depending how good that fighter looked and if the opponent would have given past greats problems then I`d say they would only have match the above except Louis because he fought so many, but each fight would have to analysed well and compared to the people that past fighters beat and how well they beat them, it`s tricky. I think Johnson`s place should be the easiest to fill, yes he was a great defensive fighter but the best guy he beat was Stanley Ketchel and Stanley was great but he was a middleweight, we never saw Johnson against another great heavy in their prime, people say the same about Marciano but then you would have ask if at the end of a modern heavies reign if he beat anyone better than an aging Walcott or Charles which isn`t cut and dry, Dempsey beat Carpentier who seemed quite savvy compared to a lot of today`s heavies and Louis beat Max S. who was extremely good the way Louis beat him would be hard to outdo Conn was an impressive win, he was too small but the speed Joe had to face in that fight would be something these new guys won`t face.

 

For a heavyweight champ today to become an all-time great, I think he needs to:

* Fight often (preferably three times a year, if not more)
* Unify two or three of the titles by beating other reigning titlists
* Eventually gain recognition as the "real" heavyweight champion
* Successfully defend the titles he's won (not just discard them)
* Engage in fights that excite the public - it's difficult to become a "great" if you bore people to death
* Fight around the world - boxing is a global sport, don't be afraid to travel in defense of the title
* Develop a public persona the public can actively root for (or against)


Tyson Fury started off well by becoming a large personality, fighting around the world (England, U.S., Germany) and winning a collection of belts (and recognition) from Wlad Klitschko. But he went off the rails, didn't fight, got embroiled in a war with British officials, gave up belts, took off years, and when he talked about returning he says he wants to fight tune-ups on undercards (so he wouldn't be returning as THE CHAMP). He couldn't have made any bigger mess of his career than he has. Just a pathetic mess. If he came back in shape and ready to fight, he'd be a huge star. But I just don't see it happening anymore.

Anthony Joshua took the fast route to the title. Won Olympic Gold. Got a big TV deal. Fought a guy who got lucky to win a belt in Charles Martin. Made a couple defenses, then fought a classic with Wlad. He's got the personality, the drawing power, the exciting wins, basically everything to become an all-time great. Now he just needs to start unifying against reigning champs - like Wilder and Parker and (if at all possible) even Tyson Fury - become recognized as the "world" champ and reign for a while staging big fights. He's in the best position right now. Just needs to keep the ball rolling ... and eventually take his show on the road to other countries.

Deontay Wilder took the long road to the title. Didn't start out with a big TV deal. Fought off TV on small arenas. Had a lot of fights before he got ranked. But once he got there, he won it. Puts on very exciting fights. Has a personality that people seem to hate (which is fine). His problem is he's stuck defending against WBC contenders (which is okay, because he is the WBC champ) ... but to be great he needs to unify against the other champs (Joshua and Parker and if possibly Fury) and probably fight abroad. He'd probably become a bigger star at home if he went to Europe and people back home got to see him fight in front of enormous crowds there. Like Joshua, Wilder needs to continue winning. He also needs to avoid injuries, which have kept him from fighting more often.

Joseph Parker ... I just don't see him becoming an all-time great. He looked okay before he won the WBO belt. But he barely edged Ruiz for a vacant belt. Went the distance with late sub Cojanu. Went the distance with Hughie Fury and people questioned the result. He seems to be getting worse. Like the others, he needs to start dominating, winning in exciting fashion, knocking off the other champs, fighting around the world ... but he'll probably lose the WBO belt before he ever gets to a unification.

 

Joshua needs to abandon this crazy plan of only fighting 2 times a year. He's young and at or very near to his prime at 28 and needs to fight 3 or 4 times a year at the very least. The quality of opposition currently is just not high enough that he can afford to just coast to 2 easy routine defences every year and hope to attain greatness in that way.

 

It's simple, defend against the top ranked fighters.Something that hasn't happened for some time! Your hero Vitali never did for instance!

 

But what if those top ranked fighters aren`t as good as in previous era?!

 

Good question .Then you have to beat more of them and convincingly.For example Louis' reign didn't have the best of challengers but his longevity and the way he dismissed most of his challengers surmounted that.

 

But Louis beat Schmeling who was very good and he blasted him, he also beat Conn who was small but fast and Tommy Farr did well also.

 

That's three, how about the other 22?

 

He had the added advantage of his brother playing the "policeman role" as in the Sanders,and Purrity fights.

 

Not especially, Helenius because of his power might have been interesting. Wlad's resume is better than his brothers.

 

Greatness is a funny thing. I started following boxing in 1983. Larry Holmes was champion, everyone I knew thought he was a bum at the time, and I only live about an hour away from his hometown of Easton. Now after Holmes's reign came Mike Tyson, who got instant credibility, and at the time many people were thinking he might be unbeatable. Nowadays in 2017, Holmes is considered a top 5 ATG heavyweight, while many people rank Tyson just outside their top 10. It seems like we won't know how good a fighter is until after his career is over. Lennox Lewis was a man with too many passports, born in the Uk of Jamaican heritage, won the gold medal for Canada. The Klitschko's were a 2 headed heavyweight champion, which I have to say was interesting, considering that no brothers ever ruled the division at the same time. Right now the division is wide open, Wilder has terrific power but looks vulnerable, the same with Joshua. Tyson Fury won the lineal championship then through laziness, drugs, or mental illness hasn't fought since. Joseph Parker at least to me is an unknown. The division right now is in a transitional stage, and considering how infrequently guys fight probably will be for a couple years. I'm just bummed right now that Wilder isn't fighting Ortiz because of a PED drug issue, and is fighting a rematch with Bermaine Stiverne instead.