[QUOTE=IamInuit;1367767]
Quote Originally Posted by mikeeod View Post
Quote Originally Posted by IamInuit View Post
One of the most overrated heavyweights in the history of the sport. His legacy was captured after he retired for 8 years. In his prime he had the same resume as Wilder and when he beat Frazier he was somehow vaulted to some weird status. "Clubbed" is a perfect word to describe the guy

Its comically ironic that those who downplay Ali will then go on to bolster the likes of him and Larry Holmes.
I take it you weren't/aren't a fan of Larry's? Always interested in hearing other's perspectives on him. I personally rank him high, but can understand when his detractors don't. Definitely should've unified the titles and he was unfortunate to come along during a weak era of big men.
Or fortunate, depending on ones view. I kind of think he was somewhat an artificial construct of Don King. I certainly wont deny the mans skill. He had the best walk away jab I have ever seen and was a damn good pugilist but the timing of his rise was impeccable imo. King over played his hand though when he forced through the Ali fight.

And just to be clear, I think the division itself has been the weakest one consistently for 150 years and at times its the most difficult to discuss or rank because of that fact.[/QUOTE]

Highlighted the bolded text because super middle, cruiserweight, and even light heavy have been abysmal at times when I think the heavies were stacked. The 90's was a VERY good era of heavyweights, in my opinion. Tons of great match ups with most coming to fruition. I used to complain about that group at the time but looking back, I was spoiled and needed a reality check. Anyways, appreciate the perspective and alternate POV, so thanks for elaborating. Larry did have a phenomenal jab...