I don’t know. The dude takes a lot of hate and at times I'm one of the guys dishing it out. He's boring with all his pawing and grabbing but on paper he has not lost in many years. W/o checking probably closing in on Holmes.
Part of the problem thus far is as much the opponents as it is Wlads. We or rather I at times tend to blame only Wlad. He's not going to stick his chin out and take a bunch of chances to satisfy a pizza delivery generation ergo his future earning. Neither is Floyd.
The division is scrutinized by many and most likely more then any other. Its been looked at as the alpha division since it landed on the shores of Britain. Speaking for myself I've always been a bigger fan of 126, 135,147 and 160.
If not for his brother he would have been the first unified/undisputed champ since Tyson. That is all 4.
If you are smaller then he is, there are only certain ways to get to him. He's figured that out largely because of Manny (rip). Lets remember that springs on the bottom of shoes were outlawed by the Queensberry rules. Anyone near his stature has the skill of a tree trunk. I do think that Wilder is a guy that could get over the top in the first few rounds. Just the game over the top with skill/speed is something Wlad has never seen before and its not cause I think Wilder is better then him.
Wlad has no obligation to open up the fire wall. Its the challenger that needs to hack it. Come in low head down and underneath to the chest is going to get you grabbed.
See but here is where I have a problem ranking him. His competition has been a bunch of gold diggers. Not only short but short on talent. Its an era along the lines of Marciano. Marciano fought a group of men with big names years past their prime and Wlad has fought a group of men who could give a flying U-KNOW about legacy. Now that's not Wlads fault. He's not in control of other peoples lives but this division is pretty lame and has been since Lennox left. To be perfectly honest I rank Vitali over Wlad. Not near the paper trail but would probably still knock his brother out.
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