Originally Posted by
generalbulldog
Ali: I take the '67 Ali which would be the closest to his prime to beat Wlad the majority of the time if they fought. Had great chin and speed of hand and foot with decent power, not to mentioned high ring IQ and adaptability. Wlad of course would beat the 70s version of Ali, but we're talking at their peak here.
Foreman: Had 2 careers, the 70s version of his prime physically but the 80s/90s version was a better well rounded boxer that knew how to conserve stamina and had smarts. But the 70s version was a wreckless wrecking ball, so I pick Wlad to beat him majority of the time if they were to fight on multiple occasions, but make no mistake if Foreman landed it's lights out for Wlad.
Lewis: Best version of Lewis takes it for me almost every time. I don't see Wlad having a chance to beat a motivated and determined Lewis. A fat, out of shape, semi-shot, inactive, and 38 year old Lewis still managed to turned Wlad's older brother's face into spaghetti and meat balls. The worst version of Lewis was still able to beat a prime Vitali, so just think of what a prime and motivated Lewis would do to younger bro.
Holyfield: A prime HW version of Holyfield circa 88-92 takes Wlad. This version had good speed and power, mobility, heart, chin, and iron will. He was momentarily staggered by Foreman with a flush shot but still came back and fired off multiple punches and push Foreman back in 1 of the earlier rounds of their fight, so yes he can handle Wlad's power. People seem to be under the impression since he lost to Lewis in '99 at 37 years old that he would have a problem with the bigger and taller hws, I disagree for that version was not at his best anymore and has started to seriously fade.
Holmes: Has great boxing ability, but I don't know if his chin can hold up considering a prime one went life and death against Norton who was past it. I think his chin wouldn't hold up and Wlad takes it most of the time.
Tyson: 80s version with Rooney training him was a wrecking ball. He takes it most of the time because of head movement, speed, power, and granite chin. Wlad beats post prison Tyson not 80s Rooney trained one.
You must be joking Larry Holmes had a 10x better chin than Wladimir Klitschko, and Wladimir Klitschko would never stop Larry Holmes. This is the same Wladimir Klitschko who didn't take a chance against someone like Sultan Ibragimov, and you think he stops Larry Holmes ?
Larry Holmes took a flush shot from Earnie Shavers right on the button. One of the single most devastating shot's in Heavyweight history, and he was up within 4 seconds.
I think you need to watch more of Larry Holmes. He had a better jab than Wladimir Klitschko, better stamina, better speed, better footwork, better chin. The only thing Wladimir Klitschko beats Larry Holmes on is power. But Larry Holmes had enough power to stop Wladimir Klitschko very easily.
As for Ken Norton he wasn't past it, that was his best performance of his career outside of the 1st and 3rd Muhammad Ali fights. Ken Norton gave boxers like Holmes, Ali, trouble. But his style is very awkward and is nothing like Wladimir Klitschko.
Nor does Wladimir Klitschko put on anywhere near the pressure Ken Norton did, and you may not know this but Larry Holmes had a torn bicep going into the fight with Ken Norton.
And still beat him by atleast 4 rounds. I think its an overrated close fight in all honesty. Ken Norton hardly won a round between 2-9, he won alot of the later rounds but still not enough to make up for losing pretty much almost all the early rounds.
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