Where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the all-time great heavyweights?

[Freedom]

Based on what he's done so far, where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?

[DavilaJones]

I think people's memory of his fight with Poveitken will skew the result of this fight by the same token that most people don't remember Ali's fight with Floyd Patterson will skew his. Mind you I'm not saying one is better than the other, its just that timing is poignant here.

[IamInuit]

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.

[DavilaJones]

I think 7 times out of 10 vitali would KO Wlad and I do like him, I think he is more fluid even with his apparent robotic style. he's far more adaptive and I challenge anyone to point me towards a successful heavyweight champ who ducks punches a la Roy Jones Jr.

However I also believe Emanuel Augustus Burton had the talent to be a multi-weight division champion if not for poor management. Potential and actuality regrettably don't mix.

[powerpuncher]

2 votes so far put him in the top 10 ever? haha. is that a joke.

im somebody who never used to give wlad credit but i give him a lot more credit now than i used to. he is nowhere near top 10 ever though. my main argument is that he started dominating once the competition died out. no more lewis, tua, ruiz (yes, i just said ruiz), holyfield (even an older holyfield), or even a prime rahman. there are a few other alright HWs at that time but im not going to take time to check out who i missed.

my point being that he lost to lesser opposition earlier in his career. and some of these fights were when he was a vetran like against sanders and brewster. he had quite a few years experience under his belt at the time of those losses. then the loss he should have had that people forget about is davaryll williamson who knocked him down with a jab and then the fight was stopped due to a headbutt i think. anyways, williamson should have gotten the decision but they gave it to wlad.

i admit that he did get better since that time due to manny working with him, but since then, he hasnt actually fought one fighter i would consider "good." the best fighter he faced was haye and he isnt a HW and ran most of the fight. i actually probably rank him higher on this list because of his accomplishments rather than where i think he actually deserves to be.

[Hulk]

2 votes so far put him in the top 10 ever? haha. is that a joke.

im somebody who never used to give wlad credit but i give him a lot more credit now than i used to. he is nowhere near top 10 ever though. my main argument is that he started dominating once the competition died out. no more lewis, tua, ruiz (yes, i just said ruiz), holyfield (even an older holyfield), or even a prime rahman. there are a few other alright HWs at that time but im not going to take time to check out who i missed.

my point being that he lost to lesser opposition earlier in his career. and some of these fights were when he was a vetran like against sanders and brewster. he had quite a few years experience under his belt at the time of those losses. then the loss he should have had that people forget about is davaryll williamson who knocked him down with a jab and then the fight was stopped due to a headbutt i think. anyways, williamson should have gotten the decision but they gave it to wlad.

i admit that he did get better since that time due to manny working with him, but since then, he hasnt actually fought one fighter i would consider "good." the best fighter he faced was haye and he isnt a HW and ran most of the fight. i actually probably rank him higher on this list because of his accomplishments rather than where i think he actually deserves to be.

Very well said and pretty much how I feel. Although I think I give Wlad a lil more credit than you do, but not by much.

He's a different fighter than he was in the Sanders and Brewster fights. Much more confident and effective.

The Davarryl Williamson fight was a shit show and sham with stopping the fight before Wlad most likely was KO'd.

Again he's progressed a lot since then, but these things did happen.

[Violent Demise]

I think 7 times out of 10 vitali would KO Wlad and I do like him, I think he is more fluid even with his apparent robotic style. he's far more adaptive and I challenge anyone to point me towards a successful heavyweight champ who ducks punches a la Roy Jones Jr.

However I also believe Emanuel Augustus Burton had the talent to be a multi-weight division champion if not for poor management. Potential and actuality regrettably don't mix.

No doubt it was his management that would have him out late night. That told him there was no need to take training seriously. It's just training. And I'm sure it was management that gave him all them drugs and most likely rolled up the joint for him to smoke

[BIG H]

Based on what he's done so far, where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?

There are 2 ways of looking at 'what he has done so far'

1./ He has dominated the division for the best part of 10 years

2./ He has dominated the worst 10 years of HW in history, his best win is against Sam Peter, would is probably not top 100 all time HW and he has never beaten anybody that at least the top 40 HW of all time would not also have almost certainly beaten.

[El Kabong]

Based on what he's done so far, where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?

There are 2 ways of looking at 'what he has done so far'

1./ He has dominated the division for the best part of 10 years

2./ He has dominated the worst 10 years of HW in history, his best win is against Sam Peter, would is probably not top 100 all time HW and he has never beaten anybody that at least the top 40 HW of all time would not also have almost certainly beaten.

I wouldn't call it that at all. Wlad has fought some very good opponents who will sadly never get the credit they deserve because boxing "fans" won't give them their due because they are spiteful and want to play up how great past champions were and never appreciate the present. Same shit happened with Lennox Lewis if you'll recall

[ross]

Based on what he's done so far, where do you rank Wladimir Klitschko among the ATG heavyweights?

There are 2 ways of looking at 'what he has done so far'

1./ He has dominated the division for the best part of 10 years

2./ He has dominated the worst 10 years of HW in history, his best win is against Sam Peter, would is probably not top 100 all time HW and he has never beaten anybody that at least the top 40 HW of all time would not also have almost certainly beaten.

No! No he hasnt!

Everyone is forgetting that there is another heavyweight champion who Wlad refuses to fight and would also not beat.

How can you dominate if there is another fighter regarded as a genuine world champion and who most feel would beat you?

In fact, put it this way...

If Wlad and Vitali were not brothers but had both been world champions for the last 5 years, would you still think Wlad has dominated?

Would you be annoyed that they have avoided each other? Who would you think wins based on their previous fights like Vitali giving Lewis his hardest fight and beating the man that smashed Wlad and then how vulnerable Wlad looks against punchers.

Would you even be singing Wlads praises?

Do you think Sven Ottke dominated the super middle division?

[El Kabong]

Do you think Sven Ottke dominated the super middle division?

Chris John and now Sven Ottke. You're comparing Wladimir to these boxers who ACTIVELY avoid testing themselves against the best just because Vitali is around? You're going to drop a fighter out of greatness because he won't fight his brother, but alright I'll play that game with you. George Foreman never fought Earnie Shavers, Mike Tyson never fought: Riddick Bowe, Tommy Morrison, Michael Moorer, George Foreman, or Ray Mercer. Evander Holyfield never fought Andrew Golota or Donovan Ruddock or Tommy Morrison, Lennox Lewis never fought: Wlad, John Ruiz, or Chris Byrd. Roy Jones Jr never fought: Eubank, Benn, McClellan, Collins, Ottke, Michalzswski. Shane Mosley never fought Trinidad. Joe Frazier never fought Norton or Lyle. Are those fighters any less great because there's a name or two that's not on their records?

Wlad and Vitali are brothers, they won't fight each other we never expected JMM and Rafael to fight each other or the Quarry brothers or anyone else. If Vitali wasn't Wlad's brother they WOULD fight of course, but this idea that brothers ruling a division makes it "easier" is bullshit. 1 of them is in the ring at a time, they both have won consistently and decisively.

I think with certain posters Wlad will never be accepted as great because they have a huge chip on their shoulder either about his fighting style or his brother being a great fighter too.

[ross]

Do you think Sven Ottke dominated the super middle division?

Chris John and now Sven Ottke. You're comparing Wladimir to these boxers who ACTIVELY avoid testing themselves against the best just because Vitali is around? You're going to drop a fighter out of greatness because he won't fight his brother, but alright I'll play that game with you. George Foreman never fought Earnie Shavers, Mike Tyson never fought: Riddick Bowe, Tommy Morrison, Michael Moorer, George Foreman, or Ray Mercer. Evander Holyfield never fought Andrew Golota or Donovan Ruddock or Tommy Morrison, Lennox Lewis never fought: Wlad, John Ruiz, or Chris Byrd. Roy Jones Jr never fought: Eubank, Benn, McClellan, Collins, Ottke, Michalzswski. Shane Mosley never fought Trinidad. Joe Frazier never fought Norton or Lyle. Are those fighters any less great because there's a name or two that's not on their records?

Wlad and Vitali are brothers, they won't fight each other we never expected JMM and Rafael to fight each other or the Quarry brothers or anyone else. If Vitali wasn't Wlad's brother they WOULD fight of course, but this idea that brothers ruling a division makes it "easier" is bullshit. 1 of them is in the ring at a time, they both have won consistently and decisively.

I think with certain posters Wlad will never be accepted as great because they have a huge chip on their shoulder either about his fighting style or his brother being a great fighter too.

Wlad has an element of greatness, depending on how low your expectations are for a great fighter

My whole point is that at no point in Wladamirs career has he been dominant. You know that as well.

Like I said. What would your opinion on Wlads standing be if Vitali wasnt his brother but he was still a fellow title holder for the past 5 years and one that beat someone who had just smashed Wlad to bits.

It would be exactly the same as someone giving massive credit to Ottke. Calzaghe would have the same criticisms if he hadnt puncuated his super middle reign, unifying against Lacy and Kessler to become the undisputed champ and having beaten the other top fighters.

George Foreman was never dominant! He only made 2 defences!

Your amike Tyson point is an absolute joke because Mike epitomised dominance during his reign. Yes he got beat but before that he was the most dominant fighter on the planet, beating everyone that was anyone in the heavyweight division, winning and defending all 3 belts 7 times.

Holyfield or Lewis id never have said were ever dominating the division because iv said it before, they got beat or avoided fighters. People always call for another Tyson because he truly ruled the division and was THE one and only champ.

[El Kabong]

Your amike Tyson point is an absolute joke because Mike epitomised dominance during his reign.

Not just beaten by Buster Douglas, SCHOOLED for 10 rounds by Buster Douglas. It's 1 thing to get caught hard and KO'd it's quite another to just get absolutely dominated. And Buster never made 1 successful title defense....NOT....A......ONE.

But you just keep fighting the truth bud