Re: Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?
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Originally Posted by
El Kabong
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Originally Posted by
Master
Tua beat both Ruiz and was considered more dangerous than Byrd. Lewis was made £1million and a range rover for giving up his title.
David Tua did NOT beat Chris Byrd
I know I should not have put in both but most people preferred to see Tua v Lennox than either Byrd or Ruiz. John Ruiz would have been easy for Lennox like Botha was.
Re: Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?
Disagreed there, Ruiz wasn't great but he was leagues above Botha.
Again, I don't fault Lewis for not fighting those guys, because he could make more money fighting lesser opposition. Ruiz would have been a tough fight for him given his ugly style, and Byrd would have made him look bad, even in winning.
Re: Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?
Anyway my point in bringing up Byrd was that he was a fantastic HW and Wlad beat his ass like no one else could. Wlad's beaten just about every size and style there is in the HW division.
Re: Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?
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Originally Posted by
Beanflicker
Disagreed there, Ruiz wasn't great but he was leagues above Botha.
Again, I don't fault Lewis for not fighting those guys, because he could make more money fighting lesser opposition. Ruiz would have been a tough fight for him given his ugly style, and Byrd would have made him look bad, even in winning.
Ruiz was open for an uppercut from Lennox and big right hands. He was limited and only managed to hold on to the title by fighting poor old fighters and dumb luck.
Re: Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?
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Originally Posted by
Master
Ruiz was open for an uppercut from Lennox and big right hands. He was limited and only managed to hold on to the title by fighting poor old fighters and dumb luck.
He was limited but he was a legit top 3 guy at the time. Botha stunk and was always a joke.
But Ruiz was a man, he called Lewis out and called him a girl for not fighting him, and Lennox chose to fight Kirk Johnson, the guy who Ruiz had just beat, instead. I mean it's not like Ruiz was a Shannon Briggs character trying to talk himself into a fight, he was a legit champ at the time.
Re: Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?
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Originally Posted by
Beanflicker
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Master
Ruiz was open for an uppercut from Lennox and big right hands. He was limited and only managed to hold on to the title by fighting poor old fighters and dumb luck.
He was limited but he was a legit top 3 guy at the time. Botha stunk and was always a joke.
But Ruiz was a man, he called Lewis out and called him a girl for not fighting him, and Lennox chose to fight Kirk Johnson, the guy who Ruiz had just beat, instead. I mean it's not like Ruiz was a Shannon Briggs character trying to talk himself into a fight, he was a legit champ at the time.
This is exactly why Floyd wont ever get close to being recognised as the best ever. Lewis beat everyone BUT he didn't fight John Ruiz or Chris Byrd - you understand why, it's politics, it's styles, but he swerved them all the same for safer opposition.
Re: Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?
As much as I see (so and so) was afraid...but this time: really?
Boxers for sure aren't afraid in the sense I think we fans use it.
And Lennox Lewis wouldn't give a gosh darn about a Ruiz or a Byrd. The dude (also) took on Vitali in days notice when Kirk Johnson punked out.
This is the same Lennox that said Now that a (PRIME) Roy who beat Ruiz is a HW champ- if he wants some he can get some...He said it on HBO.
Not a weight drained RJJ that Tarver fought. The RJJ that is uh...:-\ quicker than Byrd, HAD more power than Byrd, freak-azz reflexes and what did RJJ say on HBO in response to that?
"He aint got no stones in my backyard" then back peddled his butt back to the LHW division.
Byrd was all wrong for Lewis..in what sense? In the sense he wouldn't helped ticket sells , sure...I can accept that...
Re: Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?
If he keeps winning i think we might have to put him in the top ten been champ fro ever i mean shit. Louis comp was shit but had a lot of title defenses i mean what else can i say really. Wald boring and all but he has had some good fights thing is being champ for 10 years is a hard thing to do at hw.
Re: Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?
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Originally Posted by
Fenster
This is exactly why Floyd wont ever get close to being recognised as the best ever. Lewis beat everyone BUT he didn't fight John Ruiz or Chris Byrd - you understand why, it's politics, it's styles, but he swerved them all the same for safer opposition.
Yeah but there is no champion in the history of boxing who hasn't - or wouldn't - take a smaller money fight with a tough fighter over a larger money fight with a slightly lesser opponent. Why do you think all these guys have managers and handers? Do you think these businessmen who control the fighters sit around and say "hmmm, who out there can we fight that will bring us mediocre money and pose the biggest risk to beating the shit out of our meal ticket?" Come on, lets be real here. If you can make 20 million (or whatever Lennox made) fighting 36 year old washed up Tyson, you're going to do it.
Some people on here talk like Floyd is the first boxer in the history of the sport to calculate risk vs reward. I wish these people would read about the history of boxing so they knew what they were talking about. It's idealistic, naive child shit that really boggles my mind.
Re: Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?
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Originally Posted by
SlimTrae
Byrd was all wrong for Lewis..in what sense? In the sense he wouldn't helped ticket sells , sure...I can accept that...
Bro, if you can't see the danger that Chris Byrd presented to Lewis, you need to watch more prime Chris Byrd.
Re: Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?
Yes if Wlad beats Holmes record then that will elevate him into the top 10 and and Louis record may even get top 5 if they are with the top fighters like Wilder/Stiv, Fury, Jennings and co.
Re: Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?
Maybe its not fair or just assbackwards..but while the skill is obvious, for the most part the standard usual names in a random 10...Holmes, Tyson, Ali, Lewis, Holyfield, Louis, Foreman etc intersect, they collide. Sometimes in 2 different eras. For all the trinkets Wlads names just do not click. Top 15 for me
Re: Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?
The only reason this is a big issue for some is for one the early losses kinda hurt him pretty much Sanders but shit this is heavyweight division shit happens. The bigger problem is we have something that has never happened in hw history the top guys are brothers so kinda fucks it that way.
Re: Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?
I think you have to take a fighter at his prime, the highest level he achieved in his career. For most guys, they peak in their 20s and start going downhill in their 30s. Wlad peaked in his late 20s and 30s so he kind of went the opposite way. I think it's more impressive that Wlad managed to battle his way back into relevancy, because he was considered a complete bust after the Brewster loss. Boxing history shows that most guys who take those brutal upset losses early in their career never recover and fade into irrelevancy.
