Best of a nation: Germany

[oliverfennell]

Who is Germany's best ever, pound for pound?

(Let's limit this to German-born and/or German citizens, since German boxing is so multinational. So, being German-based is not qualification, e.g. the Klitschko brothers, Dariusz Michalchzewski, etc, are not German)

[oliverfennell]

I say Maske. Scmelling was great but possibly overrated because of his division and the fame/infamy of the era he fought in. Maske had a very long and decent title run, in itself as good as Ottke's, and gets bonus points for his "one night only" comeback after a decade to beat his only conqueror.

[giacomino]

Schmelling is the sentimental favorite because he beat Louis. Ottke has the record, although I thought he lost four or five of his defenses. Maske is also a pretty good choice, an underrated boxer.
He may prove me wrong, but I went with Abraham both because of what he's accomplished so far and what he may still accomplish. Ottke and Maske were both relatively light punchers who fought decent competition, always at home, and outpointed their opponents. Nothing wrong with that, but Abraham was willing to travel overseas to KO his chief rival as a middleweight at the time (Miranda) and I suspect he will win overseas in the Super 6 tournament. Ottke would have gotten a little more respect if he'd, say, have fought a second fight with Reid in England, taken on Brewer in the U.S. or fought a second fight with Branco in Italy. I give a slight edge to the guy who is willing to go outside his comfort zone and try to make a name for himself worldwide

[Panzerfaust]

As i recall it from those deffences Ottke should have lost, the most decisive in my book was against Mads Larsen. The Reid/Brewer matches as i remember it could have gone either way and wasent clear losses. But i think im gonna watch these fights over again to refresh my memory

[giacomino]

As i recall it from those deffences Ottke should have lost, the most decisive in my book was against Mads Larsen. The Reid/Brewer matches as i remember it could have gone either way and wasent clear losses. But i think im gonna watch these fights over again to refresh my memory

Part of the deal in the Reid fight was really bad, pro-home-fighter refereeing. The ref wouldn't let Reid fight. Not hugely one-sided fight, but I remember scoring it for Reid.

[Panzerfaust]

Ill have another look at it :)

[dempseyfire]

I don't know how anyone could put Abraham over Schmeling.

Schmeling if anything is under-rated. Only man to beat arguably the greatest heavyweight of all time when he was still young, beat HOFers Stribling, Sharkey (most had him winning their rematch) and Uzcudun. Abraham's big wins by contrast are over Edison Miranda and Jermain Taylor, no comparison.

[Grimm]

Sven Ottke is the greatest fighter of all times.

[elmersalsa]

Max Schmeling!

How can a man that beat the great Joe Louis in his prime is not the best of his country?

[oliverfennell]

Max Schmeling!

How can a man that beat the great Joe Louis in his prime is not the best of his country?

Of course it's an awesome result, but more of a one-off than an indication of his true standing. Louis was indeed one of the greatest of all time, but many boxers have lost to "lesser" opponents, even in their primes, and it's more of a learning experience for the loser than an indication of the winner's worth. The rematch bore this out.

[allworld80]

I would say Schmeling is underrated if anything.