>> While I do not agree with all of the article, it has some points. Wlad appears to be in his prime, and should stay there for at least 3 more years. This means 6-8 more title fights.
LoL at Wlad pulling ahead of Holyfield. Yeah, he doesn't have defenses but he has some of the best wins at HW against Bowe and Tyson.
I love the line about one or two more defences and WALDO "officially puts Tyson in the rear view mirror" :rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl Yeah right, 2 more bums and he's ahead of the guy that was the youngest ever world champion, and was the undisputed champion at an age where WALDO was making up bull**** excuses for being KO'd by Purrity. It really doesn't matter how many defences he makes against this current crop, his competition is abysmal compared to the likes of Holmes, Lewis, Tyson and Holyfield. I also like the way there's an insinuation in there that Holmes reign was flawed because of poor competition. Yeah it was, but WALDO's competition is just as bad.
Holyfield has a better legacy but unforunately never had a strong run as Champion. Here's how the big 3 break down: Lennox Lewis' Title Reign Starting with McCall Top 10: 6-1-1 3 KOs Top 5: 4-0-1 2 KOs Non Ranked: 2-0 1 KOs Total Defenses: 9 This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected Mike Tyson's Title Reign Starting with Berbick: Top 10: 6-1 5 KOs Top 5: 4-0 3 KOs Non Ranked 3-0 3 KOs Total Defenses: 9 James Douglas #7 1989 This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected Wlad's Title Reign Starting with Byrd: top 10: 6-0 5 KOs Top 5: 2-0 2 KOs Non Ranked: 3-0 3 KOs Total Defenses: 9 Samuel Peter Eddie Chambers#4 2009 Ruslan Chageav #3 2008 Hasim Rahman Tony Thompson #9 2007 Sultan Ibragimov #6 2007 Lamon Brewster #7 2006 Ray Austin Calvin Brock #7 2005 Despite equaling the number of consecuitive defenses of Tyson and Lewis, Wlad still comes up a little short in quality. However he is in very good company and still has time.
If you can't see the glaring difference between those 2 lists of fighters then I really don't know what to say to you.
Interesting article: Incidentally, the writer appears to have Tyson above Holyfield in his ATG list. Anyway there are 2 schools of thought to this: 1. Wladimir Klitschko could very easily be the next Larry Holmes, under-appreciated in his reign and missed when he's old and gone. He's beating everyone now; and he only keeps winning. When your quality of opposition is lacking, the next best thing is to look at longevity and dominance. Wlad seems to have it. 2. The problem with claiming that Wlad has eclipsed Evander and is closing in on Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis is that unlike Wlad; Mike, Evander and Lennox were all at one point and time in their career undisputed. Wladimir Klitschko cannot claim that he was the undisputed champion because quite frankly his brother has a stake in the title and technically can make a case for being lineal champ. Mike Tyson was undisputed. When Tyson reigned nobody could say otherwise. Also, Tyson's competition was better. Evander Holyfield was undisputed; and has better signature wins and his body of work even as a non champion is pretty decent. Lennox Lewis beat better competition over a long period of time. Wlad at this point and time cannot say that he is unequivocally the best fighter in the world. His brother throughout most of his reign would have been favored over him. He never unified, those are glaring deficiencies in his legacy.
Say that you love me. :nut At any rate: Chageav, Smith, Sultan, Williams, Chambers,and Thomas are roughly the same level of flawed contender. Despite his inactivity Spinks really puts Tyson over the top for me. Holmes is also a great legacy scalp.
Wladimir Klitchsko Monte Barrett Chris Byrd x2 Ray Mercer Jameel McCline Samuel Peter x2 Calvin Brock Lamon Brewster Sultan Ibragimov Hasim Rahman Ruslan Chagaev Eddie Chambers Evander Holyfield Dwight Muhammad Qawi x2 Ossie Ocasio Carlos De Leon Pinklon Thomas Michael Dokes James Buster Douglas Geroge Foreman Larry Holmes Riddick Bowe Ray Mercer Bobby Czyz Mike Tyson x2 Michael Moorer John Ruiz Hasim Rahman Holyfield EASILY and i mean EASILY has the better resume. This ****en idiot who wrote this article is pathetic. Lewis and Tyson also have better resume than Wlad, it's not close yet.
Larry Holmes never did unify. In fact, he split the titles further by legitimizing the IBF while dropping the WBC. Wlad is not undisputed, but he did unify two of the four major HW titles. Wlad became unequivocally the best after Vitali retired. Vitali's four years of retirement has frankly put him at the back seat. He cannot claim to be the best until he has beaten Wlad. Wlad has proven during 2006-2008 that he was unequivocally the best of the Heavyweights. Vitali's return does not diminish that. To me, and to many others, he is the lineal champion. It's like the Mayweather Pacquiao situation. Mayweather was number one p4p when he retired, then Pacquiao became number one during Mayweather's retirement. When Mayweather beat Marquez, he didn't automatically regain number one spot or became co number one with Pacquiao, even if you favor Floyd H2H over Pac. So unless Mayweather beats Pac or Pac loses, he's firmly number 2 P4P. Besides, Wlad's career is not over. Vitali's career is coming to a close. When Vitali retires, and Wlad continues his Heavyweight career, then nobody would dispute Wlad's dominance. If he retires in 2015 without further losses, and with victories over Haye, Povetkin and Adamek, I have no doubt his place in HW history is secure.
After Vitali retired, Wlad KOed the #1 ranked top heavyweight Chris Byrd for the IBF title. Wlad unified the WBO and IBF belts with his win over Sultan, and he KOed the lineal WBA Champion. At the time of the fight Chagaev was the legitimate [url] This content is protected [/url] Heavyweight Champion, but the WBA didn't sanction the fight as a title bout-boxrec In a time of absurd politics with two fighters sitting on titles he can't get in the ring, there is no question that Wlad is the top dog. The purpose of the Ring belt is to clean up the alphabet mess of today and in this case it is doing its job.
Yes...they are. 6 incredibly gifted but only sporadically motivated fighters that never brought it all together. Having spoke highly of him, Mike Tyson would certainly agree about Sultan's apparent talent and skill: [url]http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=5586&more=1[/url] Besides sitting down on almost every serious punch, his mobility is better every time. He does not seem intimidated by size or any other attribute of his opponents. Though winded at times, Sultan had enough evasive mobility to be able to pace him until he was ready to go again, which, in fact he did with renewed vigor, often as a result of Whitaker’s ill-advised taunting of the Russian. The guy is a fierce competitor and it would be interesting to see him fight someone his own size rather than these hulksters. Chris Byrd, Lamon Brewster or even John Ruiz might be interesting. Why John? Because Sultan seems to be able to avoid clutchers and get on with the action, the usual Ruiz hugfest might be neutralized. Mike Tyson seemed beside himself with admiration and affinity for Sultan. As soon as the fight was over, he injected himself into Ibragimov’s corner and stuck to him like a remora (those sucker fish you see on sharks all the time) until he left the [url]ring[/url]. In fact Sultan ended up as the meat in a Tyson-Charles sandwich during the post fight TV interview. Too bad he stunk up the place against Wlad and disappeared from the sport.
Even if this was the case, which I dont agree with, (incredibley gifted :?)whats more effective a talented unmotivated fighter or a determined workhorse? Hmm, lets ask Ross Purrity and Lamon Brewster?
-It was the case, Tyson worked with Sutlan quite a bit and claimed he had comparable speed and skill. Unfournately legal trouble kept Mike from working in his corner against Wlad. Maybe he could have offset Mayweather's saftey first preaching. -I can agree with that unless your claiming Bonehugger Smith, and an injured drug addicted Thomas were motivated workhorses in their fights against Tyson.
Thomas showed more heart against Tyson than any of those fighters your mentioned. Tyson's opinion of a fighter really is meaningless. He also thought Friday Ahunaya was a great fighter.