I see alot of similarities between Wlad and Chuck Wepner, only Chuck had superior athleticism, guts, and grit. Stepping into the ring with Ali is more of an accomplishment than any modern "heavyweight" can even hope to accomplish. Wepner TKO8.
Wrong, he takes Frazier out early:dead, has good chance for 8 tko--after being down with poor stamina Foreman:tired-- then the shock of all, decisions Ali.:happy Does that hurt or what?:deal Take some of your own medicine. You guys underate him way too much.
The diff is that the NFL and NBA weren't as dominant a draw for the young athletes in America in the 70s. So, they wouldn't be fighting only the C level athletes that couldn't get into the pros. The Klits have titles during the "war years" when the able bodied men were all away fighting.
If wlad fought in the 70's, that era would be called ****, an some might suggest if brewster went back then, he would of dominated, an Hayes, he would of been god
Objectively, Wlad would of been competitive. But would he have dominated in the 70's? No. But comparing eras is just vacuous. Would Babe Ruth be as successful as he was, if black players were allowed to play during that era? Whose to say. It's like comparing oranges and apples.
You are right. Mostly what people are saying here (whether they know it or not) is whether they are a Klit fan or not. The other thing that they are saying is whether they are willing to be non-conformist (challenging the status quo). See Asch's conformity studies for just how stupid people will be for the sake of conforming. Naturally there are other forces, such as the recency effect which counteract this. (i.e. I just saw Wlad dominate another fighter, so he is in my mind as a dominant fighter. I haven't seen Ali dominate anyone recently...) It's funny seeing what people post, what they think they are posting versus what they actually are posting.
Wladdy would have been a hell of a contender. Keep in mind styles make fights when I do this, which is why I think Foreman does even better than Ali: Ali V Wlad 65-35 Ali. Wlad actually presents a tough style match up for the Greateast, as Ali rarely fought anyone as big as himself, never anyone significantly bigger (he was almost 6'4, not much differnent than Foreman), and certainly never anyone that big who could box and punch. Nor would Ali really test Walddy's chin. The greatest is the greatest, however, and. if nothing else, I think he just outlands Wlad. Goes without saying that Wlad never fought a man as fast, determined, or smart, and Wladdy would not hurt Ali despite his tremendous power. Foreman V Wlad 75%-25% Foreman. Foreman is just too rugged and hits too hard. Foreman wins any kind of infighting with his brutal uppercut, and does very well with his own poleax jab in a distance fight. just a terrible style match up for the big Ukrainin. Frazier V Wlad 55%- 45% Frazier. I could really see Wladdy doing great in this fight. He could either keep the smallish Frazier at the end of his jab, or just whack him out, as Frazier never had the best chin of the heavyweight greats. However, I think Wlad would fight tentative, weary of Frazier's power, and over time, the unreal stamina and workrate of the smoking one means he wins rounds down the stretch. Great fight here that either guy could win. Norton V Wlad 60%- 40% Wlad. Hard to see here what Norton brings to trouble Wlad. He is awkward and had a good hook, but folded against punchers. Wladdy could outbox or outpunch Ken. Just a very bad style match up for Ken. Quarry V Wlad 60%- 40% Wlad. Quarry could box or fight, but often chose the wrong strategy. Like Norton, its hard to see either strategy beating WLad, who was just to big and strong. If Quarry could get him into later rounds, he has a shot. Shaver V Wlad 65%- 35% Wlad. For all of his vaunted power, Shaver did not like other guys punching back. If Wlad were smart enough to turn it up early, it would be a short night for him. This is not the fight for Wladdy's patented jab and grab. Though I have never believed that Wlad's chin is as bad as is sometimes said, with Earnie's kind of power, 1 shot really is all it would take. Lyle V Wlad. 65%-35% Wlad. Again, styles make fights, and though Ron was not as good as quarry, or Norton, that combo of size, power, and willingness to fight would be tough for Wladdy. That being said, Ron did not hit quite as hard with one punch as Shaver or Foreman, and could probably be comfortably outboxed. Wlad is a great fighter with a lot of tools in the box, and might win against anyone. He has more to do though before I give him odds agaisnt the Holy Trinity of Ali, Foreman and Frazier. Lets see how he does agaisnt Haye, Povetkin and the winner of Dimentrenko-Chambers, and we can do this again next year.
Better question would probably be if Latin American players were allowed to play at the time, since black players only make up around 8% of the league right now. I'm not just going to be a nitpicking ***** though, I see your analogy and it's spot on. :thumbsup
How? explain it. Frazier's bobbing and weaving all the time, always works his way in from down low. Ali couldn't jab him, had to hook from the hip or uppercut and had a very low connect percentage in their first fight (the one that really counts). Frazier fighting from a crouch takes away Wlad's jab and right hand leaving him with the left hook because he doesn't have an uppercut and you know what they say about hooking with a left hooker. Remember they're fighting in the seventies, that means all the jab, jab clinch bull**** goes out of the window, when Frazier gets inside Wlad is going to have to try and fight him.