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Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 21 Dec 2018, 01:03
by ajwesty13
Ok just having a quick chat with other folk on here an Im personally starting to beieve the HW division is at the alive and kicking stage after it suffered hopping along drearliy from one clingy title match to another..
Now I can think of at least a good dozen interesting match ups
Aj v wilder
Fury v wilder 2
Fury v aj
Povetkin Ortiz Parker whyte can scrap each other
While usyk makes his way to the top fighing all of the above..
i mean how many good fights in there?? Plus not forgetting there is good set of young talented fighters coming through the likes of dubious hrgovic and Joyce to name but a few..
I'm not saying its blessed with the most talented of fighters but for me it's got strength in depth with all fighters being roughly on the same level
So is the HW currently the most entertaining it has been or dare I say the most entertaing division today???. IIMHO I do believe so.. welcome back HW we missed you
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 21 Dec 2018, 01:08
by jamamb
its better for sure , 3 guys better then wlad
but i never count hypo matches because so many dont happen
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 21 Dec 2018, 01:23
by ajwesty13
jamamb wrote: ā21 Dec 2018, 01:08
its better for sure , 3 guys better then wlad
but i never count hypo matches because so many dont happen
I can definitely understand your critical thinking with many fights we've been robbed of in the past.. but like him or loathe him hearns has been good for this div and hes up for putting on these type of fights. Plus Eddie's perfect end game is the AJ v usyk bout ..
.. which would be a belter..
We ve already had some good match ups .. itl also be good if one fighter to have all the belts because to see the others having to jostle for position to be the next mandatory will be fascinating
Ok I might be an optimistic old coot but it definitely has a chance to entertain us..
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 21 Dec 2018, 12:39
by DrDuke
This decade is better, than the previous one for sure. In the 2000s there was Lewis early in the decade, but by that moment he was the only truly elite boxer. Then there were Klitschkos, who appeared to be in the same situation. Now there's The Gypsy King, The Bronze Bomber and AJ. And current top fighters seem to be better overall, than the ones from the previous decade. Plus we are probably to witness the coming of the second Holyfield to the division. And we've got some interesting prospects out there. But for the moment the current era isn't that good, how good the 90s were. But it's better, than the 80s.
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 21 Dec 2018, 12:51
by candyslim
I think the Heavyweight division is great. Maybe not in overall quality but certainly in terms of the thousands of possible fascinating match-ups.
People complain about the lack of quality in depth but even if you take the seventies which is the greatest decade of Heavyweight boxing I ever lived through, no question about it, you look outside the top 20 or 30 and you find people of the dubious credentials of Jose "King" Roman, Terry Daniels, Pedro Lovell and so forth.
There is a great tendency to overrate the past at the expense of the present in all walks of life, and we should be aware of that to keep a degree of perspective. Unless of course you're very young in which the here and now is the greatest ever and everything that came before is shite
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 21 Dec 2018, 13:12
by oogiebe
I don't know about BEST but it's certainly amongst the most competitive since the 70's.
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 22 Dec 2018, 07:02
by ajwesty13
candyslim wrote: ā21 Dec 2018, 12:51
I think the Heavyweight division is great. Maybe not in overall quality but certainly in terms of the thousands of possible fascinating match-ups.
People complain about the lack of quality in depth but even if you take the seventies which is the greatest decade of Heavyweight boxing I ever lived through, no question about it, you look outside the top 20 or 30 and you find people of the dubious credentials of Jose "King" Roman, Terry Daniels, Pedro Lovell and so forth.
There is a great tendency to overrate the past at the expense of the present in all walks of life, and we should be aware of that to keep a degree of perspective. Unless of course you're very young in which the here and now is the greatest ever and everything that came before is shite
The quailty appears to be more shared in the division instead of one or 2 fighters at the top of their game ...
The top 6 or 7 presenting problems when/if OR have fought each other .. I am far from saying it's the most talented division ever but it's definitely very entertaing .. and I pretty sure there not going to be to much ducking that we've been so disappointed To in the past...
Plus like I mentioned before there's a very good crop of youngsters coming through the ranks ...
going be a pretty healthy division for 'the next 5 year's or so..
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 22 Dec 2018, 07:20
by Onetimeonly
oogiebe wrote: ā21 Dec 2018, 13:12
I don't know about BEST but it's certainly amongst the most competitive since the 70's.
It's not even remotely as competitive as the 90s. It's definitely more interesting then it's been since then, but there is no depth.
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 22 Dec 2018, 08:54
by ewenhay
It's fairly competitive but the standard generally is low.
There have been other eras eg 70s and 90s which were also competitive but the standard of the top guys was much higher.
This is more reminiscent of the post Dempsey /Tunney era, post Joe Louis era or post Holmes era.
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 22 Dec 2018, 10:00
by Thomastearns
oogiebe wrote: ā21 Dec 2018, 13:12
I don't know about BEST but it's certainly amongst the most competitive since the 70's.
Agreed. Just imagine the post-Klitschko era without AJ, Wilder, Fury, Parker, Whyte, Ortiz, Chisora etc
These guys will inspire the future generation and then there's the influx of the Eastern European fighters.
Can't remember it being this good for decades. Even the 70s was pretty dire toward the back end. Heartbreaking to watch Ali's last few fights. People think Holmes went easy on him, but that was probably Ali's toughest and bravest performance. Sickening to watch now.
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 22 Dec 2018, 10:26
by Loki
jamamb wrote: ā21 Dec 2018, 01:08
its better for sure , 3 guys better then wlad
but i never count hypo matches because so many dont happen
A prime Wlad beats all three.
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 22 Dec 2018, 10:28
by Loki
ajwesty13 wrote: ā21 Dec 2018, 01:03
Ok just having a quick chat with other folk on here an Im personally starting to beieve the HW division is at the alive and kicking stage after it suffered hopping along drearliy from one clingy title match to another..
Now I can think of at least a good dozen interesting match ups
Aj v wilder
Fury v wilder 2
Fury v aj
Povetkin Ortiz Parker whyte can scrap each other
While usyk makes his way to the top fighing all of the above..
i mean how many good fights in there?? Plus not forgetting there is good set of young talented fighters coming through the likes of dubious hrgovic and Joyce to name but a few..
I'm not saying its blessed with the most talented of fighters but for me it's got strength in depth with all fighters being roughly on the same level
So is the HW currently the most entertaining it has been or dare I say the most entertaing division today???. IIMHO I do believe so.. welcome back HW we missed you
The last three Elite Heavies were Lewis, Vitali and Wlad. Any three of those in their prime beat the current three and it remains to be seen who will come out on top. Iād pick AJ personally.
I agree, the division is more interesting because nobody as yet has proved themselves dominant.
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 22 Dec 2018, 23:07
by ajwesty13
Onetimeonly wrote: ā22 Dec 2018, 07:20
oogiebe wrote: ā21 Dec 2018, 13:12
I don't know about BEST but it's certainly amongst the most competitive since the 70's.
It's not even remotely as competitive as the 90s. It's definitely more interesting then it's been since then, but there is no depth.
Im going to disagree that there's no strength in depth...there a good top 8/9 of fighters that on their day could and have cause problems ...plus theres quite a few youngsters up and coming to..
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 22 Dec 2018, 23:13
by ajwesty13
Loki wrote: ā22 Dec 2018, 10:26
jamamb wrote: ā21 Dec 2018, 01:08
its better for sure , 3 guys better then wlad
but i never count hypo matches because so many dont happen
A prime Wlad beats all three.
I'm not comparing fighters.. ithe division is just becoming more competitive ..
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 23 Dec 2018, 00:20
by Mexi-Box
It's worse than the Klitschko era. Joshua almost got stopped by a half-retired Klitschko. If this was prime Klitschko, everyone would be calling this era the weakest ever. It's just hilarious how a dominant champion can make fighters look weak.
I could understand if no one from his era was competitive, but we still have Pulev, Povetkin, and Chisora hanging around and being competitive. Neither of these guys are in their prime, yet their dishing out beatings and giving out tough fights to the current elite.
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 23 Dec 2018, 00:50
by Finkel
Trouble is not many give the credit Fury deserves for his performance in going to Germany and dethroning Klitschko. Saying a prime Klitschko beats him, doesn't take into account that Fury went off the rails when he had done what he set out to do. Fury has always raised his game to meet the challenge.
Did we see Fury in his prime? Will we ever after what he went through/did to himself?
Emanuel Steward who trained both Lewis and Klitschko knew how special Fury was.
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 23 Dec 2018, 06:37
by dagilechia
current HW sucks, fighter on 34 years old Dereck Chisora's level is seen by a lot of people as a top 5 fighter
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 23 Dec 2018, 08:01
by sweetviolenturge
IMHO, the division is in the best shape that it's been in for quite a few years.
We have three elite champions in Wilder, Fury & Joshua. Then, on the tier below them, there's Ursk, Ortiz, Povetkin, Whyte & Parker. Followed by men like Pulev, Jennings, Miller, Breazeale, Michael Hunter, Chisora, Kabayel, Kownacki & Takam. And, nipping at their heels, ready to emerge as contenders themselves are men like Joe Joyce, Filip Hrgovic, Sergei Kuzmin, Tyrone Spong, Dubois, Trevor Bryan, Zhilei Zhang, Tony Yoka, Oleksandr Teslenko, Oscar Rivas, Alfonso, Milas, Gorman, Fa & so on. Then, intermixed with all these men there are decent fringe contenders that are still useful & who could reemerge down the line like Hughie Fury, Helenius, Fedosov, Ugonoh, Washington, Ruiz Jr., Chas Martin & others.
I think that this is the deepest that the weight class has been in ages.
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 23 Dec 2018, 08:58
by candyslim
That's how I see it.
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 23 Dec 2018, 09:25
by Perseus
I don't know about best in decades but it's been more entertaining in recent years. Heavyweights are being matched appropriately more often. A boxing match does not need to be fought at a high level to be competitive and entertaining.
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 23 Dec 2018, 10:02
by tobyh5
Better than it has been since Lennox walked away but nowhere near the Holy/Bowe/Tyson/Lewis/Foreman/Moorer generation. The first four would trounce AJ, Fury and Wilder on the same night IMO
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 23 Dec 2018, 10:16
by RScarf1
I think it's a weaker era compared to previous decades, but there could be some competitive fights depending on the matchups such as Dillian Whyte vs. Jarrell Miller. People really want to see Joshua, Wilder, and Fury fight each other and only one fight happened. There is a significant drop in talent lower than the legitimate top ten which includes the champions.
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 23 Dec 2018, 10:43
by tiny_acres
I don't know if it is better, just more evenly matched
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 23 Dec 2018, 12:14
by candyslim
Perseus wrote: ā23 Dec 2018, 09:25
A boxing match does not need to be fought at a high level to be competitive and entertaining.
Amen brother.
Re: Heavy weight best it's been in decades??
Posted: 23 Dec 2018, 12:17
by oogiebe
candyslim wrote: ā23 Dec 2018, 12:14
Perseus wrote: ā23 Dec 2018, 09:25
A boxing match does not need to be fought at a high level to be competitive and entertaining.
Amen brother.
x2