What will it take to dislodge Ali & Louis from 1&2?

The klitschko win was generational also

 

I did say he was very impressive. I'm actually rating him higher than you!!!!

 

Wilder is hard to assess. I'm not sure i class that win above his win over a lineal champion that hadn't been beaten in over a decade and had amassed defense after defense after defense. Not even remotely to be honest.

The Klit was still performing extremely well and hadn't overly been looking ready for the taking.

 

Holyfield never proved himself the best of his own era. I think such a ranking cannot reasonably be defended

 

I have reflected on the question further.

What it might take in practice, is a talent like Tyson, or Lewis, or Wlad, who did not lose to somebody that they had no business losing to.

Louis and Ali only lost to the best fighters of their day, so when you factor in the depth of their resumes, it is hard to argue against them even today.

Matching their depth of resume today, would be nigh on impossible.

However if you had a man with the depth of a Tyson, Lewis or Wald, who had only lost to other exceptional fighters, then many people might come to see that man as the third member of the holy trinity.

He might then ultimately dislodge Louis and Ali, as the people who saw them died off, and the fans who grew up with him became the mainstream.

 

Well, Larry Holmes didn't lose at all until he was nearly 36 years, so that has to count for something. He also had a 7 year reign at the top and 20 world title wins or so.
Yes, he did lose to Michael Spinks, but Ali lost to Leon Spinks, and Louis was losing to Ezzard Charles at the same age. And they'd both lost before.

 

Fury is a million miles away from the top 10. There are a dozen heavyweights who could clear his resume with ease.

 

Was that what you said before Fury faced Wlad? That Wlad was there for the taking?

If you were - and that's definitely an if - you were fairly alone.

 

Depends on if you're judging by quality or quantity. If it's quantity then yeah he's not top 12 but quality I'd say he has a good argument for being top 12 or close to it. Vitali Klitschko for example most have in the top 10 or certainly 12 but what are his best wins ?? Corrie Sanders ? Samuel Peter ?
I'll take lineal champ Wlad and Wilder over those wins anyday, in fact in terms of quality I'd take those over Wlad's best wins - Haye and the foul filled debacle win over Povertkin (wouldn't put Fury over Wlad though solely because of longetivity).

 

I said most have Vitali in the top 10 or top 12, you disagree ??

 

Don't keep a record of others lists but fairly sure I've seen Vitali on quite a few around the 9-12 range, I don't agree with that BTW

 

I think the manner of victory over Wilder (in both fights, despite the first bout being called a Draw) is perhaps what has captured the imagination of onlookers - each fight a polar opposite of the other, in terms of the tactics employed.

Getting up from a 12th round KD, which looked like the end, and then taking it to Wilder, will have surprised, even shocked a lot of people watching - especially, given the backstory to Fury's comeback and his less than perfected shape. Coming out in the rematch to bully the bully and stop Wilder will have added a significant layer of respect from his peers and fans, both hardcore and casual alike.

I think the win over Wlad was impressive, too - but for different reasons. Watching Wlad being effectively bamboozled by Fury's movement, a guy who is bigger than him, as well as him getting beaten to the punch, made for irregular viewing. Audiences had become unaccustomed to seeing Wlad in an actual contest and Fury was enjoying himself in there.

It was a far cry from anything we'd seen Wlad faced with before and yet, to all intents and purposes, Fury had remained unproven, up until that point. Fury's game-plan, with the discipline and concentration to deliver on it, certainly deserves kudos.