Your Unshakeable Boxing Opinions

Fun thread.

Mike Tyson wasn't that far removed from his best when Buster Douglas knocked him in Tokyo. Even at his absolute best, that iteration of Douglas had everything needed to defeat him. That second sentence also holds true for Holyfield.

 

Ruben Olivares is among the greatest living fighters, and is himself a much greater fighter than given credit by most people.

Few fighters challenge themselves (at the mid to later part of their careers none the less) with deficits in size like & power like Ruben did with the likes of Alexis Arguello & Danny Lopez. That is daring to be great. It's besides the fact that he only nearly succeeded. Few on here will say they believe Olivares is even as great a fighter as Julio Cesar Chavez, despite the fact that Chavez would never in a hundred years book himself into such a nearly unwinnable contest where he was totally dwarfed and outgunned like Olivares routinely did.

 

George Foreman was the world's best heavyweight in 1976 and deserved a rematch.

 

2 things.
I believe Duran possesses the skills to possibly be considered the GOAT.
I feel Holmes is a top 3 HW of all time and has the best jab of any weight class period.
These are things I've stood firmly on for decades.

 

Golovkin beat Canelo clearly.

 

Ever watch Arrested Development? "That was a freebie!".

 

Ouch. Critical, but I have to agree. Vitali's career was pretty softball throughout & and certainly never passed up the opportunity to feast on a smaller opponent moving up. People certainly love the ideal perception of what he "should" be in their minds, a heavy handed & iron chinned super heavyweight who was never beaten through "legitimate" means. In reality he was a softly matched giant who seemed terrified of being engaged in an actual fight at times and who in my opinion doesn't even hit harder than his brother.

 

1) Jim Lampley doesn't know **** about boxing

2) Teddy Atlas is an awful trainer who ruined many fighters' careers

 

I think Vitali's three main achievements were:

1) Win over then-WBC HW champion Sam Peter after 4-year layoff. That's great achievement even if Peter was crude and fat.

2) Never suffered a KD in 47 fights, despite having faced hard-hitters and being hit by them clean.

3) 10 title wins after comeback.

BUT. His comeback opponents mostly were weak.
Peter and Solis were probably the best, and Solis went on to become a fat lazy underachiever (Sam Peter to some extent too).

Chisora a decent contender, but no more than that.

Adamek and Gomez were elite CWs but not nearly as good at HW.

Arreola was very limited, never elite.

Others were just weak challengers, easy fights.

 

Wlad was a knock you dead puncher with laser accuracy. Vitali was... more of a lighter hitting volume guy. He didn't typically try to put much mustard on his punches to begin with...

 

There's no such thing as an unbeatable fighter... but if there is, it was Sugar Ray Robinson at welterweight.

 

****in A. Right brother