That still puts him on an average of 4 years younger than Marciano.And be honest Thompson isn't among his best wins is he?And neither is a fading Byrd.The point is I am right and the other guy is wrong.
Wlad by ko Anyone who says anything otherwise does not understand how strength and size apply to combat sports
Marciano's opponents: Average age of ranked opponents (10) = 31.5 (Layne, 2x LaStarza, Cockell, Louis, 2x Walcott, 2x Charles, Moore) Average age of Marciano in those 10 fights = 29.2 Differential: -2.3 years (younger than opposition) Wladimir's opponents: Average age of ranked opponents (17) = 30.7 (2x Peter, 2x Byrd, McCline, Brewster, Chagaev, Ibragimov, Haye, Brock, Povetkin, Pulev, Chambers, Thompson, Jennings, Joshua, Fury) Average age of Wladimir in those 17 fights = 33 Differential: +2.3 years (older than opposition) Not all ranked fighters are great fighters (or even good actually). LaStarza could be old or young, it won't make a big difference. Whether Thompson was 36 or 26, it wouldn't have mattered. If we judge Wlad and Rocky by their best wins, it favours Wladimir. Marciano's best wins are Charles, Walcott, Louis, Moore Their average age: 36.5 Marciano's average age for these fights: 31.7 Differential: -4.8 years (younger than opposition) Wladimir's best wins are Byrd II, Chagaev, Ibragimov, Haye, Povetkin, Peter I Their average age: 31 Wlad's average age for these fights: 32.5 Differential: +1.5 years (older than opposition)
Wlad isn't anywhere near 6'6.5". He's actually 6'4.5". He was 195 cm (6'4.5") when he won gold, but as soon as he turned pro they started listing him at 6'6" and even 6'7", which is laughable, since I've met both of the Klitschko brothers and neither was 6'7". Vitali is 6'6" though. Here is Wlad's Olympic listing https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/kl/wladimir-klitschko-1.html Marciano on the other hand according to my deceased football coach, who measured Marciano personally said he was 5'9".
It's not just Wladimir though. Lennox was listed as 6'4 at the Olympics and 6'5 or 6'6 during his pro career. Holyfield and Byrd at 6'0½. Both were listed around 6'2 during their pro career. It could be a difference in measurement method (olympics vs pro boxing). Or maybe they just use the height from previous tournaments because weight is what's most important.
Unfortunately Its marketing, which from the promoter's point of view I understand. On paper 6'2" is more impressive and appealing to the common fan than 6'0" and this is also the case with 6'6" being more impressive than 6'4". This is also very common in basketball as well. When I used to recruit for the NCAA the trick was to take the player's height with shoes on and add an inch, so you could take a 6'4" player and make him 6'6" on paper. This was also the case with Tyson, who they tried to market as 5'11", but was clearly a few inches shorter.
This is what you said . " Average age of a Wlad opponent was much older...fyi." And its just plain wrong.So just admit it and move on. Let's also consider than Marciano had his last fight at the age of 32, against a man claiming to be 38 who, according to his Mother was actually 40 years old. After the age of 32 Wlad defended against the following Chambers Wlad was 33 Chagaev 33 Peter 34 Haye 35 Mormeck 35 Thompson 36 Wach 36 Pianeta 37 Povetkin 37 Leapai 38 Pulev 38 Jennings 39 Lost title to Fury at age 39. Want to speculate how Rocky would be doing in his late 30's?
Probably would have been fine till 36 or so but we will never know. Swarmers have shorter careers then large men who run from their opponents because they can’t take a shot.
Actually, we do know. Start at 4:30 for Marciano's answer to that question: This content is protected
I didn’t have a tape measure for either, but Vitali himself told me he was 6’6”, since I used to see both brothers regularly about 14-15 years ago at Laker games and their seats were right in front of my Uncle’s. Vitali even donated to a charity toy drive I used to volunteer for. Looking back in hindsight it wasn’t a shocker that he became a politician. Wlad was noticeably shorter than Vitali by almost two inches. Also, since you mentioned a tape measure I did measure Latrell Sprewell back in the late 90's at 6'4" and here is a picture of him with Vitali, Wlad, and Clarence Weatherspoon, who himself was forced to come clean about his height during the draft when he was measured at barely 6'4" instead of his college listing of 6'7". https://imgur.com/5DOMUA8
