Wladimir Klitschko Retires - Where Does He Rank ?

Top ten. Lower level. 9 or 10. It's getting hard to keep some of the old timers in the top ten a times passes.

 

Except for he never gave anybody a chance to become 'elite' during his reign. He made them all look mid level.

Your credibility out the window, about now.

The Pokemon forums are on another website, dude.

 

The mere existence of a reigning champion has no influence on the available talent[-less] pool, over which they preside. Even Steward acknowledged Wlad's lack of a defining fight, due to there being no challengers around to fit the bill.

I wonder... ...when Wlad lost to three unranked opponents by way of stoppage, was that his ability to turn B and C Level opposition into elite giant killers? (Yeah - thought not...).

The argument that Wlad faced talented fighters, only to make them look ordinary, is the worst kind of explanation for his long, excruciatingly boring run, against some of the most mediocre opposition known to the division's history.

 

Lots of Wlads opponents were mediocre if not outright incompetent. But inbetween those opponents you can find a handful of good challengers who would be top 10 im any era and probably alphabet champions in the 80s and 90s. He lacks a victory over a genuine ATG but he beat quite a few guys a level below that and usually did in dominant fashion.

 

Good point. It's amazing how highly a level Wlad fought at at an advanced age. Clearly a great champion and an amazing fighter.

 

Wlad made his opposition look average. Even Povetkin and Haye . Look at Povetkin who was successful in his late 30's

 

I don't doubt there were a few challengers that might have hit the Top-10 in another era, but I do doubt they'd have been serious players (save Povetkin) and, in any event, there simply are not enough of them to make Wlad's resume stand out as anything like great.

It really is all about longevity, where Wlad is concerned (which, in itself, was helped along by a fair bit of mediocrity). He actually looked awful against some modest opposition, as well, whilst losing to a few unranked fighters.

I do find the idea that Wlad was somehow this suppressor of elite talent to be utterly laughable, however.

 

I’d say around 15-20 seems about right. Weak era, multiple bad losses, never was undisputed, no defining wins, but has defining losses. Pluses are that he was dominant and had longevity so numbers-wise he’s good. On a mythical match thing (which shouldn’t count) he could do better than his ranking but that would be due to size.

 

And yet some of that mediocre opposition challenged for world titles after he was gone. The latest in line is that old fossil Helenius, another remnant from the Klitschko era. I guess they all magically got better after he left

 

Hes a top 10 lock. Top 5 might be pushing it. Reason being his h2h ability has some question marks for me. Quite a lot of fighters throughout history have been fan favorites and had some shady rulings in their favor by judges and refs. But Wlad took it to a whole new level. Running his own promotional company, calling the shots from the start, making sure he never comes up unprepared or in bad shape, on short notice etc. dragging his opponents to Germany and most importantly having a ref that allows him to do pretty much whatever he wants.

I know, I know. Clinching has always been a part of the sport. Ali did it Lewis did it. Typical Klitschko fan rhetoric. But look at the Povetkin fight. I didn't count but read somewhere that Klitschko clinched 360 times in that fight. Seems about right. And we are not just talking about regular clinches, no...we are talking about head locks, putting your hands down on your opponents shoulders and pushing his head down, throwing him to the ground etc. He damn near turned that fight into a wrestling match. That **** is dirty , illegal and in a neutral environment a dq loss for Wlad. And thats his biggest win. You cant tell me Povetkin wouldnt have been a lot more competitive with a chance of getting the KO if the number of clinches was cut in half. (Still a lot) He had little trouble getting behind Wlads jab early on. And its not like he did some matrix Lomachenko type **** in there. He popped out a jab and crossed the gap with good footwork. He kept getting inside time and time again. And all Wlad could do was bear hug to a victory. BS. Let Povetkin work on the inside and lets see the result.

There's a reason Wlad got booed out of America. Lewis built his career there even though he was more on the cautious side like Wlad. But he knew how to turn the heat up, knew how to go for the KO and knew that eventually you need to let go of the safety first approach and just fight. Wlad didnt, at least not under Steward. People loved him, the fans, the HBO commentary team when he let his hands go and showed the heart of a fighter. But fighting in that manner exposed some serious weaknesses. His chin, his gas tank and his fragile bully mentality were problems, and he never fixed them...he just started employing a safety beyond everything else style mixed up with some serious cheating tactics and the yanks turned their backs on him after the Brock and Ibragimov spectacles.

It is what it is. This post is focusing more on Wlads negatives so it may come off as unappreciative. I respect the big man and think he beat some good fighters clean. Haye, Byrd, Pulev, Peter. Very good wins. Brock and Thompson also get underrated. But he never proved himself against an opponent that could apply pressure with quickness and skill. And most importantly, came to win.

 

He ranks top 10, just like now. His losses to Fury and Joshua don't downgrade him at all.

 

He usually produced stinkers against the best guys he beat and in Povetkin's case he produced the most foul riddled performance ever seen.. Guys would and have been DQ'd for less.

What does it say when his best win should have been a DQ loss? An ATG should look good , not terrible against the best of his era.

 

Yes. The Wlad/Povetkin bout made a mockery of Heavyweight boxing. It's the worst championship performance I can ever recall seeing - by both a champion and the referee.

 

He floored Povetkin multiple times in his back yard.Its not like Povetkin fell onto a clinch. Wlad kept the right distance for him. Povetkin was out if range and he no small man. He could do the same vs many past greats. A mater of distance, and strong as a bull up close. Clinching to extent is a talent and Wlad was great at it.

 

@dinovelvet how many posts can you make on one thread. Did the great Wladimir Klitschko steal your girlfriend or something. The hate is strong.