Which is the greatest name you would rank wlad above? ?

Lewis lost only twice in his career, and avenged both his losses with ease in the rematches. Plus he beat guys who are at least in the conversation as ATGs like Holyfield, Tyson, Vitali, plus Bowe in the Olympics, 3 of those 4 guys he beat by KO or TKO.

Wlad lost 5 times during his career, 4 of them by KO, and apart from AJ all those losses were to complete tomato cans, and he only avenged one of those losses. He also beat zero ATGs. Zero. Plus he was never undisputed champion in his entire career.

As for Lewis being boring, well if you compare his career to Mike Tyson's, the fighters they fought in common were Tyrell Biggs, Razor Ruddock, Tony Tucker, Frank Bruno, Andrew Golota, Evander Holyfield, Francois Botha and they fought each other of course. With the exception of Frank Bruno, Lennox Lewis knocked them all out quicker than Mike Tyson did. Plus Lewis beat Holyfield twice (yeah I said it... twice), while Tyson lost twice. And they both went went 12 rounds with Tony Tucker, but Lewis at least floored Tucker once, while Tyson failed to.

So really, when you look at Lewis' dominance, you'd really have to have a pathological hatred of him to place him alongside Wladimir Klitschko. Either that or you have been getting a bit too gooey eyed staring at Wlad's red trunks of his.

So tell me, what the hell more does Lewis have to do to get the credit he deserves round here?

 

Lewis is a tier above Wlad. I wouldn't argue against that.

 

Holyfield is a good win but was clearly past prime. Tyson was virtually shot. Bowe in the Olympics doesn't count.
Vitali a good win.

Wlad had more losses but he also had more wins.

Tyson Fury wasn't a "complete tomato can".
McCall and Rahman weren't a hell of a lot better than Sanders and Brewster, to be honest.
Purrity was mediocre, but Wlad was young.

Wlad held 3 belts, same as Lewis. Except he never dumped any to avoid mandatories.

Lewis was often dull. That's just the truth.
Mike Tyson is irrelevant to the discussion really.

No, Lewis doesn't have much on Wlad, that's all.
I'm not a fan of either.
I've never rated Lewis as high as some. It's not hate, it's just based on facts of his career. His best wins are a couple of faded greats or Vitali Klitschko, who I don't rate much either. His was twice stopped by one punch. His opposition were mostly crude heavyweights, not particularly good boxers at all.

He was a great heavyweight but not on the top tier.

 

Well the other guy said Lewis was a 'safety first' boxer, and you said he was dull, yet he was knocking the same guys out that Tyson was far quicker and far easier. Those are facts. Now I don't think anyone would call Mike Tyson a 'safety first' boxer or dull, yet Lewis was more impressive than Tyson when they fought they same guys (with the exception of Bruno where it took Lewis 7 rounds to KO him to Tyson's 5 & 3).

Now if you think Lewis is dull, then that's your opinion, I'm probably not going to change that, I have a feeling though if Lennox Lewis was going round saying he was going to "eat his opponents children", or saying he was going to "**** you till you love me" or maybe if he'd just snarled a bit more, then you'd have a different opinion.

If Lewis isn't top tier, then who the hell is?

 

A case for Wlad over Lewis can be made. To me they're splitting hairs in placement. Back when they were supposed to meet it was being viewed as a 50/50 fight they even filmed a scene in a movie - to think Wlad is/was fighting the best all these years later in 2017 is pretty remarkable.
Wlad won 22 more fights then Lewis but also had 3 more defeats but when you fight nearly 70 professional bouts and into your 40s I really don't think that's a big disadvantage to Wlad.
Wlad reigned for much longer and dwarfed Lewis in title defenses. Wlad also fought many opponents at their absolute peak. Turning back prime top challengers again and again is not easy at heavyweight.
I remember early in Lewis's career he wasn't viewed in the top tier of Bowe, Tyson and Holyfield. He only rose as they fell back to earth.
Lewis did defeat every man he ever faced so that is a big feather in his cap. Although I would of liked to have seen rematches given to Mercer and Vitali. He also never faced an elite southpaw in his entire career. Some of his best wins, the opponents under close inspection had issues going into the fight. McCall, golota, Morrison was hiv positive, or they were past prime such as Holyfield or shot like Tyson.
The names on Lewis's ledger will always look better but you can't count out Wlad 18 defenses in a row is impressive in any era. It take dedication and mental focus at such a level few athletes in any sport are able to be that consistently good.

 

And Wladimir could have won Wimbledon and the Grand National too, but it makes no difference, because he only beat bums.

To have him on the same level as Lennox Lewis is, quite frankly, absurd. The guy can't even fight on the inside for goodness sake. Open your eyes, he was incredibly limited. Lennox Lewis had way more power, way better movement, better speed, was a much better finisher, his all round skill makes him far more dangerous and he knocks Wlad spark out inside 7 rounds, both at their best.

No way on God's earth does Wlad win that fight. You know it, and I know it.

 

I disagree. Wlad had better footwork and better speed and better defense. Also a better jab, straight right, and hook. Lewis had equal power was a better in fighter and had a better uppercut. He also didn't panic as much as Wlad did when hit.
They both have pros and cons.
Wlad also performed better against common opponents destroying two guys in Rahman and Mercer who gave Lewis fits. Yes he fought past prime versions of those two men Lewis fought but by that logic we have to remove the luster of Lewis's wins over Tyson and to an extent Holyfield. Which goes back to my point of defeating prime contenders. Wlad did that by the bucket load and to think the whole division was good while Lewis was champ and then stunk for Wlad's immediate reign right after that lasted for 11 whole years is absurd.

 

With the exception of Joe Louis and maybe Holmes, you couldn't get more dominant than Wlad was as champion with his longevity at the top. Yes, his opposition was poor. Yes, he didn't face the #2 contender (Vitali) to his crown. And yes, he reacted BADLY when he got hit. It's the main reason why Man Stew was rushed in, to protect that chin ala Lennox Lewis. But Lennox' chin looked like Chuvalo's compared to Wlad's.

Wlad always showed up in tip top shape. He's definitely in the Top 10. Maybe somewhere around Lennox, Foreman and Dempsey.

 

In terms of longevity at the top, he fits snugly between Holmes and Louis.

Head to head, he belongs top 10ish, give or take 2-3 spots.

 

Wlad wouldn't blow wind up Lewis' rear ports for mine. Lewis is top 5 for me, Wlad 10-15.

Wlad and Vitali adversely affect each other when it comes to ATG ratings. Neither can say they beat the best or next best (depending on which one was the best of the two, we will never know) of their era. There is no doubt after Lewis retired this pair ended up the best two heavyweights in the world for a helluva long time. It's unfortunate but for me it comes into play. Lewis also did actually beat Vitali and this is a better win than Wlad ever had.

Wlad wasn't dominant at the top for umpteen years simply because he and his brother didn't/couldn't meet. How can you be dominant not meeting the top challenger.

Ironically the chance of such an occurence must be milions to 1.

 

Yeah the brother thing does muddle the issue.

Wlad was the more dominant champ over longer duration.

Both brothers should be close in head to head matchups, as one had slightly more power and the wheels to manage distance, the other didn't mind mixing it up and had the chin to match.

I always assumed Vitali would win had they fought based on styles and the big brother mentality. He would always have an edge mentally.

 

Come off it!

Power equal?
Wlad had a better jab?

Now I know you're pulling my chain. Lewis had the most devastating jab of all time.

As for Wlad's so called 11 year reign at the top... well it simply didn't happen. His brother was considered the better brother by virtually everyone right up, I'd say, until Wlad beat David Haye in that stinker in 2011, then he lost his titles in 2015 (in another stinker) where Fury was a huge underdog, and was beat again by a novice in 2017. Although that said I did enjoy the Wlad/Haye & Wlad/Fury fights, but most people did think he stunk the joint out when he fought those two. So he had a record of 1 win and 2 losses on his three biggest nights.

Now Lennox Lewis, his reign at the top really did last 11 years, from the moment he destroyed Razor Ruddock in 1992, to the moment he left Vitali's eyebrow hanging off in 2013. He was the main man that entire time. Everyone who knows boxing knows that. If he wasn't the best out there who was? Plus on Lennox Lewis' biggest nights, he turned up EVERY time, there was certainly no stage fright with him, he was ready for business. The only time he didn't turn up was the more low key fights.

The Klitschkos, they could have given guys like Holyfield a shot who was still fighting on, they knew he was broke so could have given him an opportunity after all he'd done for boxing. They wanted no part of him though after they saw the trouble he gave Valuev. In fact they wanted no part of Valuev either, and between them they only fought Haye once who was really the only genuinely competitive fight out there for them. They'd rather fight the bum of the month club and Carlos the road sweeper. Wlad even dodged Derek Chisora, he knew he was going to pose a serious threat on the inside and expose Wlad, Vitali only got in the ring with him when they realised he probably wasn't all that after he lost his unbeaten record to Tyson Fury. And of course they ducked each other. Okay I'll let them off the hook for that one. But still...

 

Agreed. It cuts both back quite a bit on where they could have sat. Both still sit pretty high tho. I think i'd have Wlad a bit higher in the 10-15 bracket than Vitali.

 

Wlad ranks higher than Lewis by almost every definition. More defenses against peak contenders for a longer time. Vitali ( Wlads Brother) was beating Lewis until the cut, and if the fight ( minus the cut) was to continue Lewis was looking at a Loss. Lewis retired rather than fight him again!

Head to head ( Wlad vs Lewis) is 50/50. Maybe a hairs edge to Wlad.

Wlad to me ranks higher