Where do you rate Wladimir Klitschko among all-time heavyweights?

[El Kabong]

I'm not sure whether I interpreted this correctly. Would you care to elaborate?

I'll guess that he was referring to The Cold War era and how over time there have been more and more fighters coming from the former Soviet states.


I don't rate Wladimir top 10 yet, but he's not far off. Wladimir has been a dominant champion and looks to continue that for the foreseeable future. Wlad has a great record in title fights, he's defended his title often and with great success, and given what he personally has control of he's been an All-Time great boxer. The things Wladimir cannot control do not help his case, but they shouldn't hurt it so much either, he's in a "weak era", he has 0 true rivals...the closest guys would have to be Chris Byrd and shit I can't even think of anyone else, but he wins, he wins by KO and he's a brilliant technical fighter. Certainly people consider being a great technical fighter boring, but Tim Duncan is a boring basketball player, but it doesn't make him bad. By the end of his career wladimir Klitschko will be a top 10 heavyweight of All-Time.

[TitoFan]

I'm not sure whether I interpreted this correctly. Would you care to elaborate?

I'll guess that he was referring to The Cold War era and how over time there have been more and more fighters coming from the former Soviet states.


I don't rate Wladimir top 10 yet, but he's not far off. Wladimir has been a dominant champion and looks to continue that for the foreseeable future. Wlad has a great record in title fights, he's defended his title often and with great success, and given what he personally has control of he's been an All-Time great boxer. The things Wladimir cannot control do not help his case, but they shouldn't hurt it so much either, he's in a "weak era", he has 0 true rivals...the closest guys would have to be Chris Byrd and shit I can't even think of anyone else, but he wins, he wins by KO and he's a brilliant technical fighter. Certainly people consider being a great technical fighter boring, but Tim Duncan is a boring basketball player, but it doesn't make him bad. By the end of his career wladimir Klitschko will be a top 10 heavyweight of All-Time.

Good post, Lyle. You're by far the biggest Klitschko fan on this forum.... but this is one of your more objective posts so far on the subject of Wlad. And yes.... there are things outside of Wlad's control. And yes.... he's got no true rivals (damn it!!), and that hurts him some. IMO, it also hurts him some that lately his procession of hapless victims....er.... I mean.... opponents... have entered the ring with only "survival" on their minds. Again, not in Wlad's control. The IBF choosing Thompson (again) as his mandatory..... out of Wlad's control.

I also feel that if he keeps busy and continues to mow down his opponents.... he should be considered as one of the top all-time HW's. How high he'll be ranked will always be a matter of personal opinion, but he'll certainly be ranked highly. If some of these highly touted HW prospects develop quickly and can challenge Wlad while he's still active.... and if these fights can be quality fights.... THAT will help Wlad's final place among history's heavyweight champions.

He started out on shaky ground with 3 KO losses, but at least he avenged one of those. Yes.... he's a bit too cautious sometimes for my personal liking, but a lot of that is on the challenger. If you're going to allow me to jab the crap out of you and you're not even going to attempt to take my title..... I'm more than willing to accomodate you. I'm still waiting and crossing my fingers hoping someone eventually shows up to fight.

I chose to address your response rather than the "Philosopher's", for obvious reasons. To claim "Americans fought mainly Americans" and that boxing corruption was limited to the last century, IMO does not even warrant a response.