Which past contender would best stack up in today's heavyweight division?

Shavers is too chinny. He could cause upsets even against the likes of Joshua. Conversely, he would get stopped by a lot of guys too.

Ibeabuchi is unproven vs many styles. We know he can beat a tough hard hitting stocky come forward guy like Tua (and there are no Tua like heavies today) and we know he can track down a slickster like Byrd. But we don't know how he would do vs big heavies that can keep him at bay or versus hard hitting southpaws like Zhang.

Strangely, i am willing to give Ike the benefit of the doubt. Why? He had a very good jab which is a key punch versus any type of opponent. He had a proven chin which is needed at heavyweight level (he took clean left hooks of Tua). He had a good work rate. He was not a one punch guy but hit hard and could throw a lot of punches. He also had variety in his punches - see the left uppercut that stopped Byrd. Its unusual for a heavyweight to have a good jab plus a good left uppercut, hook and straight right.

I despise Ibeabuchi for what a horrible man he is outside the ring and how he damaged a child. But putting that aside, he could do really well. Yes, we know he didn't fight super heavies but who is to say he couldn't beat them? Fury is very hittable and a man with the come forward style of Ike and his stamina and power would repeatedly land on Fury. I see Ike stopping Fury. Maybe the younger Fury who beat Wlad could hit and move for 12 rounds vs Ike but this version can't hit and move for that long. I see Ike stopping him.

Likewise, Ike is unproven vs southpaws that can punch. But if Zhang can't stop him in the first 5 rounds, would Zhang have the stamina to deal with him? I don't think so. Zhang better get Ike out of there fast. If not, Ike will maul his body and give him a real thrashing.

Joshua may outbox Ike but what happens when he gets hit? Joshua ain't Usyk.

The one guy that i give a clear edge to would be Usyk. I think Usyk outboxes him but even Usyk isn't stupid enough to trade with him.

Despite Ike being unproven vs big heavies, i see him stopping Fury, Joshua, Zhang and Dubois. That is 4 of the top 10. I think he probably outworks Parker.

So yes, i pick Ibeabuchi. Good power, excellent stamina and workrate (higher than majority of top 10 guys can maintain), proven chin, good punch variety, very good jab. I despise the man but its hard to see how he wouldn't dominate majority of the top 10 despite him never facing this type of super heavy in his career.

 

I am thinking of how relatively easily Chisora and Whyte were able to land on Fury recently. He is simply too hittable even vs slow guys. Yes, he can show some great head movement sometimes but his size means he will always be relatively easy to hit. The more that i think about it, the more i favour Fury.

On the other hand, had Ike fought Lewis, i would favour the latter. I think Lewis wasn't stupid enough to trade with him. A motivated Lewis knew how to keep punchers at bay. Of course, Ike would present an even tougher challenge than Tua because of his longer arms but still.... I think a tall, skilled jabber with huge power who could keep Ibeabuchi at a distance and threaten him from coming in could beat him. However, guys like Dubois are too hittable.

I'd give Joshua a 40% chance of pulling it off. But Joshua isn't Lewis, good as he is.

 

I'm rolling with Jimmy Young.

 

I'd like to see how the likes of Fulton and Godfrey perform in the modern division.

 

No footage of Fulton as far as i am aware.

 

Young would undoutedly be a top 10 guy, maybe even higher. But in a modern era, its hard to fight guys 3-5 inches taller than you if you are fighting purely defensively. You need some power and some agression. I am not entirely sure how well Young's defensive style translates. I think Young could beat Zhang but might struggle with Joshua. Look at Usyk - he hits harder than people think he does and also comes forward quite a bit. Young may struggle to hit and move away from guys 3-5 inches taller than him. He would no doubt have a lot of success but he might need to throw with a bit more authority and be more agressive than what he naturally was.

 

If Usyk can do it Jimmy can do it. He might not win every single fight but he'd do better than he did in the 70s.

 

Fultons a VERY good pick.

 

I strongly want to go with Ibeabuchi because unlike the others his career was ended short (we all know why) but he had a lot of potential, and what I saw of him I think he could of given the top guys of today a real run for their money or outright beat them.

Then I think Tua, because I like Tua but I will concede if he's not in top shape (and maybe even if he is) he gets outboxed by Fury and Usyk, though I think he would KO Joshua and the rest.

Elmer Ray I don't think I remember any video of him, though he seemed capable enough from what Ive read. Maybe him in the light heavyweight division or cruiser would be better for current day?

So I'll go with Ibeabuchi

 

Alot of you may not agree but I think Lyle had the size power and toughness to cause alot of mayhem in today's HW division

 

I went w/ Tua over Ike b/c I feel he's almost guaranteed to be a factor in any era, whereas we never learned the extent of Ike's strengths & limitations.

 

I went with Povetkin because it wasn’t long ago he had success being one of the top guys in this era of big men. In his prime he might have beaten a lot of the current top ten