Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko currently amonst list of Heavyweight greats?

I have Wlad at #9, but it's weird to rank him when his career is not over yet. doesn't seem right.

Now Wlad can make a strong run in his next 3-4 fights going through names like Fury, Wilder, Joshua. That could propel his name to a new level in the future.

 

It is hard to rank fighters while they are still fighting. If Wlad gets to 20 title defenses and retires his resume is basically the same as Holmes. Some people have Holmes as high as #3 and as low as #10. I would assume Wlad would be somewhere in that mix if he retires with 21 title defenses ate age 40 or 41. There are a lot of parallels between Holmes and Wlad's reign.

 

vlad could defeat anyone of any era

 

So could Stephen Hawking,but the thing is,is it likely?

 

They're just numbers. Paper Stats from the weakest HW division in history.

Look at the films. Where are the great fighters he beat. Show me the great fights.

Look at Holmes clinically out box Shavers in a master class display of pure boxing. Shavers being a better version of Povetkin with a harder punch and quicker feet.

Now look at Wlad against Povetkin:tired . The most disgraceful HW fight in history.
Povetkin having been out boxed by Huck who gave up 25 pounds in weight.
Yet Wlad has to cheat, hold, clinch and foul his way to a win with a massive size and reach advantage.

You want to rank him alongside Holmes? You must be having a laugh atsch

Holmes past his best at 42 holds a win against Ray Mercer thats better than anybody Wlad has beaten

Holmes-Norton is ranked as the 10th greatest heavyweight fight of all time.
Ring mag listed the final round of the Holmes-Norton bout as the 7th most exciting round in boxing history.

1983 Ring Fighter Of The Year

Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year for 1978

These awards given to him while active.

Show me a list of Wlads accolades:think

 

numbers don't mean much.

with fighters like holmes and louis who were round for years and years they have maybe 4 or 4 weak defences on their record for sure.
With waldo its the other way round, he only has 3 or 4 decent defences! Hes obviously not a top atg, since anyone half decent could rack up most of the "defences" he has made.

 

Shaver was a troglodyte who had nothing but a hook. Povetkin is twice as good.

Holmes OPENLY ducked Greg Page and Pinklon Thomas. OPENLY. He bragged about doing it. Then he lost to a LHW. In his own time, he was not considered a great fighter, but his legend has grown, as will Wlad's.

 

page isn't going to beat Holmes in any scenario.

pinklon was a threat though.

 

Irrelevant. He OPENLY ducked them. Abandoned a belt out of fear of page, and bragged to the press about not fighting Thomas.

I could rate Holmes as high as number ten, but his competition was too poor, he was too unwilling to unify and defend, he had to many close or gift decisions, he lost to a LHW and he was not really regarded as great in his own time. We cannot lose sight of these things because of nostalgia.

 

then you ought to watch the fights.

 

This makes no sense and addresses nothing that I have said. I have watched the fights anyway, and no, going life and death against mediocre completion like Norton, Witherspoon, Carl Williams etc. does not do anything to buffer his case.

But as you like it.

 

I rank purely on H2H.

I see the following beating wlad:

Ali, Louis, Tyson, Liston, Foreman, Holmes, Vitali, Bowe, Dempsey, Lewis and maybe Holyfield.

So a great heavyweight who will achieve more than most, but due to his frailty I see him coming short at the upper echelon.

The big guys like Lewis, Foreman, Bowe and Vitali I see walking him down and beating him up mid rounds. The bulldogs like Louis, Liston and Tyson I see knocking him out early doors. The other three, Ali, Holmes and Holyfield I see out boxing him before catching him with a shot as he tires. Both have heavily dropped more durable fighters than he.

I don't see what he can do I'm the remainder of his career to remove the doubts I have because he has shown tendency to tire and get knocked out. Of course he is one punch away from reversing any of those predictions but I have him an underdog.

 

calling Norton and witherspoon mediocre explains your attitude perfectly, thank you.

as you like it, more like.

 

I get you listing Bowe, Lewis... heck even Holyfield. But Dempsey? You can't be serious.

Dempsey would get clobbered by today's LHWs and CWs. Wlad would decapitate him. He'd have 5 inches and more than 50 (!) lbs on him. Plus Wlad's infinitely more skilled. This has "ridiculous mismatch" written all over it.