pound per pound wrote: ↑29 May 2023, 08:45
HomicideHenry wrote: ↑21 May 2023, 22:03
Valuev
Fury
Wilder
W. Klitschko
V. Klitschko
Lewis
Bowe
Carnera
Willard
Like grades in school:
F, D, C, B, A with +/- increments if you desire.
What constitutes a big heavyweight?
Let's say 6'4" and over by height, 220 and over by weight
I'll say Lewis is A+
Bowe is A
Fury is A-
W. Klitschko is B+
V. Klitschko is B+/A-
Carnera is C+/B-
Wilder is B-/B
Valuev is C-/C
Willard is C-
Do all the big guys active count? Using just the names given.
Lewis A+
Vitali A
Wlad A
Bowe A-
Fury B+
Wilder B
Valuev B-
Carnera C
Willard C -
IMO, Valuev, Carnera or Willard would not rate in the top 3 around today.
I think you can make that case for Willard, but Carnera unfortunately has fallen victim to many apocryphal stories that his entire career was manufactured and that he couldn't fight a lick, etc and its untrue.
For an overly muscular man who started off as a circus strongman, like Victor McLaglen, he went farther than any strength athlete in the history of boxing. No man who was manufactured could get knocked/thrown eleven times by Max Baer with a broken ankle and just keep taking it round after round. No man who was a fraud could go fifteen rounds with Tommy Loughran and actually win basically every round. No man who was crap could go fifteen rounds with Jack Sharkey and then knock him out in six a few years later. Etc.
He was actually lighter on his feet than people give him credit for and he was more agile than you would think. I'd certainly rate him above guys like Jameel McCline, Michael Grant, Nicolai Valuev, and most of the behemoths you saw in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s.
At his peak he had great conditioning, a good jab, was really tough, and a desire to prove he wasn't some sideshow attraction. And if he timed you just right he could hit like a ton of bricks, like he did Sharkey when he pushed him into the ropes and Sharkey bouncing off walked straight into an uppercut.
