BoxRec

De Mori. He just had a bad night. Maybe Chuck Gardner?

tobyh5 wrote:

thechump wrote:Its a matter of opinion

It is not a matter of opinion at all. Someone is the best heavyweight on the planet and that is not an opinion but a reality and fact. Until or unless they all fight to prove it, what people write or say is a matter of opinion yes. Some will be right, some will be wrong but the answer to the question is a fact, not opinion

I disagree. I don't think there is a single 'best' heavyweight on the planet at the moment. Fury beat Wlad, but I think Povetkin (who obviously lost to Wlad) beats Fury, etc. The only name on that list who can definitely be ruled out is Martin, all the others are valid answers imo. So I believe it is a matter of opinion

I'd currently fancy Haye to beat Fury, today's Klitschko, Wilder and Joshua. But perhaps not Whyte, who I see as a better version of Chisora; Whyte has a real mean streak and a great chin, with a bit of power, decent timing, and underrated skills on the inside. He was able to outbox Joshua until he tired. If he's in shape, he's a real threat to Haye. Likewise, I'm sure Haye'd dominate Ortiz for the first few rounds, but Ortiz is a tank to Haye's low-fuel A-10. I think I'd still pick Haye to win, just because Kong's so damn sluggish.

I think Haye needs to avoid Povetkin, Whyte and Ortiz, and the others need to avoid Haye. A year from now, Joshua might beat the lot.

Imagine if you could send the results of this poll back in time a few years. You'd puzzle a lot of people (though not the handful of people on here that backed him from day one)

I voted Tyson Fury, but to all those who are shooting people down for suggesting it might not be a foregone conclusion, think again

Yes he beat the man, yes I'd favour him right now over just about anyone and yes he deserves his place at the top of the tree
But as Tyson himself is fond of saying this is heavyweight boxing.
Anything can change with one punch. Wlad, Wilder,, Ortiz, Haye, and Joshua have the power to change things with one dig, Tyson could be outboxing them for 10 rounds and make one mistake.
Povetkin for me personally is the best of the lot ability wise but has size issues to overcome, but I think he should still be in anyones thinking and would be a risky risky bout for Tyson or anyone else.
There's also a lot of guys who haven't yet faced the best competition to prove how good they are, we might just not have seen the likes of Ortiz at 100% yet (admittedly I think there's a bit too much hype following his last win but you get the gist of what I'm trying to say)

Another thing to consider is 1 win doesn't always make you better. Wlad maybe beats Fury 2 out of 3, he just got his loss out of the way in the first one. The rematch often goes the other way, again I favour Tyson next time round but anyone thinking this is a given hasn't spent a lot of time watching boxing over the years.
Sometimes, as Steve Collins is fond of saying, you can beat a better fighter with the right game plan.

Wlad. Purely because (if rumours are to be believed) Tyson is on the piss this January and Wlad won't be.

davie wrote:I voted Tyson Fury, but to all those who are shooting people down for suggesting it might not be a foregone conclusion, think again

Yes he beat the man, yes I'd favour him right now over just about anyone and yes he deserves his place at the top of the tree
But as Tyson himself is fond of saying this is heavyweight boxing.
Anything can change with one punch. Wlad, Wilder,, Ortiz, Haye, and Joshua have the power to change things with one dig, Tyson could be outboxing them for 10 rounds and make one mistake.
Povetkin for me personally is the best of the lot ability wise but has size issues to overcome, but I think he should still be in anyones thinking and would be a risky risky bout for Tyson or anyone else.
There's also a lot of guys who haven't yet faced the best competition to prove how good they are, we might just not have seen the likes of Ortiz at 100% yet (admittedly I think there's a bit too much hype following his last win but you get the gist of what I'm trying to say)

Another thing to consider is 1 win doesn't always make you better. Wlad maybe beats Fury 2 out of 3, he just got his loss out of the way in the first one. The rematch often goes the other way, again I favour Tyson next time round but anyone thinking this is a given hasn't spent a lot of time watching boxing over the years.
Sometimes, as Steve Collins is fond of saying, you can beat a better fighter with the right game plan.

Good post.

Maybe a big hitter like Joshua would've wrecked that version of Wlad; maybe Wlad had an off night and will beat Fury if they fight again; maybe Luis Ortiz is well above the rest but just hasn't gotten the chance to show it; maybe Fury had the right style to beat a passive Wlad but would falter against more aggressive fighters like Povetkin and Wilder.

Fury has a very strong claim to being the best, but it's not a foregone conclusion just because he beat Wlad.