HW prospects..

[El Kabong]

I like Joe Hanks, he's got fast hands, he's a likeable character, he's respectful, but at the same time he's confident. He has good power, and he looks comfortable in the ring. I can't wait until he moves a little farther up the heavyweight ladder.



Deontay Wilder should be mentioned, but I understand he's taking things rather slowly.

Hanks is training chisora for haye!

Awesome, that will be great experience for him. Joe has quick hands and has a bit of pop in his punches as well. He's a well rounded boxer.

[TitoFan]

The Klitschkos have got to be the luckiest sons of bitches on Earth. While not dissing their obvious skills.... it's an inescapable fact that they have ruled the HW division during one of the biggest talent droughts in the division's history. I'm neither a Klitschko fan or a hater, but this should be obvious to the most casual observer. You can talk up Wlad's opponents all day long, but the sad fact is that the division has been dismal during his reign.

Now, there's a slow trickle of new HW blood coming in..... but a dollar short and a day late. By the time they're ready to challenge for titles, the Klits will be long gone. Talk about incredible timing. I for one have enjoyed a couple of Wlad fights. But for the most part, I've been bored stiff. The one fight I was looking forward to in recent times was with Haye. And we all know how THAT turned out. Frankly, hope is dimming that there will be any Klitschko fight worthy of tuning in for..... much less PPV.

Again... I'm not blaming the Klits (Lyle). I'm just stating what I'm sure a lot of us feel. It's too bad, really. It would've been good to see Wlad truly challenged by a great fighter, one who wasn't carrying around some shit in the seat of his boxing trunks.

I'm looking forward for the HW division to be great again someday.

[TitoFan]

The Klitschkos have got to be the luckiest sons of bitches on Earth. While not dissing their obvious skills.... it's an inescapable fact that they have ruled the HW division during one of the biggest talent droughts in the division's history. I'm neither a Klitschko fan or a hater, but this should be obvious to the most casual observer. You can talk up Wlad's opponents all day long, but the sad fact is that the division has been dismal during his reign.

Now, there's a slow trickle of new HW blood coming in..... but a dollar short and a day late. By the time they're ready to challenge for titles, the Klits will be long gone. Talk about incredible timing. I for one have enjoyed a couple of Wlad fights. But for the most part, I've been bored stiff. The one fight I was looking forward to in recent times was with Haye. And we all know how THAT turned out. Frankly, hope is dimming that there will be any Klitschko fight worthy of tuning in for..... much less PPV.

Again... I'm not blaming the Klits (Lyle). I'm just stating what I'm sure a lot of us feel. It's too bad, really. It would've been good to see Wlad truly challenged by a great fighter, one who wasn't carrying around some shit in the seat of his boxing trunks.

I'm looking forward for the HW division to be great again someday.

And now Wlad is fighting retreads.
Oh well.....

[El Kabong]

Wlad has had 3 rematches: Chris Byrd, Lamon Brewster, & Tony Thompson and even Wlad has admitted he doesn't WANT to fight Thompson because he's already beaten him, but in order to keep all his belts he has to.

ALSO The Klitschko era is no less different than many of the other heavyweight eras where there was just 1 (or in this case 2 great fighters....yes they are great). Joe Louis' era was poor, Marciano's era was poor, Jack Johnson's era was poor, Jack Dempsey's era was poor, the Baer-Braddock years were lean, Larry Holmes' era was bad...wouldn't have been as bad if Larry was older & fought with Ali, Frazier, & Foreman, or if he was younger and guys like Witherspoon, Snipes, et al were more experienced, hell there are extremely few cases of really great eras there's Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Norton, Lyle and there's Tyson, Holyfield, Lewis, Bowe, Golota, Ruddock, etc.

The point is The Klitschko's are great champions and they can't control who they have to fight against. Wlad wanted Povetkin or Arreola but Povetkin will NEVER fight Wlad and Arreola will be thought of as "washed up" just because of a loss to Vitali & Adamek and it shouldn't be the case, he's a good fighter. People are too fucking picky these days.

[TitoFan]

Wlad has had 3 rematches: Chris Byrd, Lamon Brewster, & Tony Thompson and even Wlad has admitted he doesn't WANT to fight Thompson because he's already beaten him, but in order to keep all his belts he has to.

ALSO The Klitschko era is no less different than many of the other heavyweight eras where there was just 1 (or in this case 2 great fighters....yes they are great). Joe Louis' era was poor, Marciano's era was poor, Jack Johnson's era was poor, Jack Dempsey's era was poor, the Baer-Braddock years were lean, Larry Holmes' era was bad...wouldn't have been as bad if Larry was older & fought with Ali, Frazier, & Foreman, or if he was younger and guys like Witherspoon, Snipes, et al were more experienced, hell there are extremely few cases of really great eras there's Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Norton, Lyle and there's Tyson, Holyfield, Lewis, Bowe, Golota, Ruddock, etc.

The point is The Klitschko's are great champions and they can't control who they have to fight against. Wlad wanted Povetkin or Arreola but Povetkin will NEVER fight Wlad and Arreola will be thought of as "washed up" just because of a loss to Vitali & Adamek and it shouldn't be the case, he's a good fighter. People are too fucking picky these days.

I know you're a devoted fan of the Klitschkos. I have no dislike for them, trust me. But you're being a bit blind with your devotion. You won't admit that this is probably the shittiest time period in the history of the HW division, due mostly to the riff-raff that poses as heavyweight fighters nowadays. Why do I say that? Because on top of being mostly "out-of-shape" tubs of lard... most of them come into the ring scared to get KO'ed. It's not a damn sporting event. It's a modern day Christians vs. lions match.

Not only that. This comes at a time when the HW division is needed the most, in order to bring more fans to boxing and counteract this new MMA craze that is taking fans away. Because as you surely know... at least I hope you do... as the heavyweight division goes... so does the popularity of boxing. At least for the casual fan, not the hardcore fans like us.

Just once I'd like someone to go against their biases and say:
"You know... you're right. The HW division IS the shits. What could I have been thinking?"

[THE PHILOSOPHER]

Tito no offense but u are talking nonsense! The division is thriving and is just as good as ever!)

We all know a motivated povetkin and a fully fit chagaev (both gold medallists, in fact ruslan beat felix savon twice!) would slot well into any era let alone the klitschkos! We all know slick southpaw world champ's ibragimov and byrd would too (go watch them against tua, golota, holy and briggs!) If fatass solis gets himself in proper shape he will pick up a belt post klitschko too no doubt...

You wanna talk bad eras?? Try larry holmes'....tim witherspoon (a fight most thought holmes lost,badly!) had fought 15 fights, Leon Spinks had a 10-2-2 record when he fought holmes, james Smith was 14-1, ossie Ocasio 13 fights, David Bey had 14-0-1, Marvis Frazier had 10 fights etc and lets be honest larry lost to bummy carl williams too....

Now A slick historian may tell you that he defeated 5 world champions and was a dynamite champion himself. Let’s look at that:

A.Ken Norton was not a World Champion. He was given a belt (WBC) and lost it in his first defense against Holmes.

B.Muhammad Ali was waaaayyyy past his prime and nobody really gives Holmes credit for that victory.

C.Leon Spinks? that fact that a man who had half a dozen profesional fights became the ring mag and WBA champ tells you everything! Larry's main protaganist was gerry cooney a man who suffered with alcohol and drug dependancy for years during his career ffs!

spinks was 6 -1, yes all of 6 -1 when he beat ali for the ring and WBA titles,he was 10-2-2 when he challenged holmes!!

[THE PHILOSOPHER]

[TitoFan]

Tito no offense but u are talking nonsense! The division is thriving and is just as good as ever!)

We all know a motivated povetkin and a fully fit chagaev (both gold medallists, in fact ruslan beat felix savon twice!) would slot well into any era let alone the klitschkos! We all know slick southpaw world champ's ibragimov and byrd would too (go watch them against tua, golota, holy and briggs!) If fatass solis gets himself in proper shape he will pick up a belt post klitschko too no doubt...

You wanna talk bad eras?? Try larry holmes'....tim witherspoon (a fight most thought holmes lost,badly!) had fought 15 fights, Leon Spinks had a 10-2-2 record when he fought holmes, james Smith was 14-1, ossie Ocasio 13 fights, David Bey had 14-0-1, Marvis Frazier had 10 fights etc and lets be honest larry lost to bummy carl williams too....

Now A slick historian may tell you that he defeated 5 world champions and was a dynamite champion himself. Let’s look at that:

A.Ken Norton was not a World Champion. He was given a belt (WBC) and lost it in his first defense against Holmes.

B.Muhammad Ali was waaaayyyy past his prime and nobody really gives Holmes credit for that victory.

C.Leon Spinks? that fact that a man who had half a dozen profesional fights became the ring mag and WBA champ tells you everything! Larry's main protaganist was gerry cooney a man who suffered with alcohol and drug dependancy for years during his career ffs!

spinks was 6 -1, yes all of 6 -1 when he beat ali for the ring and WBA titles,he was 10-2-2 when he challenged holmes!!

Has Wlad fought Povetkin? No. Also, you mention Ibragimov and Byrd. I'll ignore Byrd for the purpose of this argument. Byrd is shit to me, although he's got his fans. A shit heavyweight, who honestly should've never ventured beyond light heavy. Ibragimov..... yes..... I seem to recall the "fight" between Wlad and the Sultan. In all likelihood the most BORING fight the division has ever seen. A pawing-fest by Wlad, and a timid Ibragimov. I fell asleep 28 times during the fight.

Oh.... and Solis. IF, the "fatass" gets himself in shape, like you say. Hardly a ringing endorsement on the state of the division, wouldn't you say?

I'm sorry, but I've watched enough Wlad fights to know that for some reason, no matter how "decent" (tongue-in-cheek) the opponent's resume.... they all seem to climb into the ring like the prisoner being taken to the gas chamber. And they fight like that, too.

Now... you compare Wlad's era with that of Larry Holmes. First, let me make this disclaimer perfectly clear. I am the world's biggest Holmes hater. Can't stand the guy... never could. But one thing is hating the guy, and another is hearing someone compare Holmes' career with Wlad's. How many memorable fights has Wlad been in? How many memorable fights was Holmes in? End of point. No comparison whatsoever. And no... I don't count his win over Muhammed Ali at all. That was a travesty of a boxing match. It probably caused Ali much of his unfortunate disease. The rest of his career and opponents are far superior to Wlad's.

I stick by my previous assessment.

[THE PHILOSOPHER]

Wlad has had 3 rematches: Chris Byrd, Lamon Brewster, & Tony Thompson

You forgot peter.

[GOAT]

Speaking of passing David Haye before mentioning the Klitschkos.

[THE PHILOSOPHER]

Can u honestly envision prime peter vs i.e oscar bonavena or randall cobb lol

[El Kabong]

You can hate on Wlad all you want, but he's had 12 successful title defenses, he's a lock for the Hall of Fame, and he'll be a Top 10 All-Time Heavyweight champion by the end of his career. He's 19-2 with 16 KO's in Championship fights that's very respectible no matter the era. Who did Holmes fight that Wlad wouldn't beat? Holmes got dumped on his ass by lesser fighters than Wlad that's for certain.

I like how all this boils down to a "weak era"....well Wlad wins doesn't he? What more do you want? I'm certain a lot of guys want a Dempsey/Tyson-esque 1st round KO every single fight but that (and I'm sorry if I offend anyone) is fucking stupid, Wlad doesn't fight like Dempsey or Tyson, Wlad fights like Wlad and Wlad wins like Wlad so why try to do anything different? People don't ask Lebron James to play like Karl Malone you know, you don't ask Ichiro to hit like Babe Ruth, or R.A. Dickey to pitch like Nolan Ryan. As for his opponents Wlad can only fight who is out there, he can't help it if they don't train or if they don't come to fight....what Wlad's opponents do isn't Wlad's fault. Wlad ain't the one training those guys he just gets paidf to beat their asses and that's what he does. Also all this "The Klitschko's are boring" bullshit needs to stop, 30,000 people watched him KO Tony Thompson (again) in Switzerland, 50,000 watched him stop Eddie Chambers and Ruslan Chagaev....so if he's sooo fucking boring why are all these fans still buying tickets? He does well on TV in Europe as well....certainly I would rather he fight in the US, but Jesus it makes $$$ sense to fight in Europe when you're drawing a gate like that!

Hate on the guy all you like it doesn't change the fact that he is one of the most dominant heavyweight champions OF ALL TIME....which puts him in the company of Louis, Ali, Marciano, Lennox Lewis, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield et al....all the hate in the world can't wipe away the man's record

[rjj tszyu]

Deontay Wilder needs mentioning. He's going to be at least good IMO. Also I know he isn't pro yet but I can't help but get excited everytime I see Anthony Joshua clips. I don't see anyone stopping him getting the gold this year and then I see him taking well to the pros too.

[GOAT]

Can u honestly envision prime peter vs i.e oscar bonavena or randall cobb lol

Yes I can!

[Peter Som]

This is a great thread. I'm not very familiar with the present heavyweight division, this has given me a good start. Cheers.