BoxRec

My personal, subjective list:

1. Tyson Fury 24(18) 0 0 vs Wladimir Klitschko 64(53) 3(3) 0 - UD 12

Date: 28.11.2015
Location: ESPRIT Arena, Duesseldorf (66.500 seats)
Referee: Tony Weeks
Scorecards: Raul Caiz Sr 115-112, Ramon Cerdan 116-111, Cesar Ramos 115-112
Belts at stake: WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, The Ring

Comment: Klitschko, undefeated for 11 and a half year, lost his belts to underdog, undefeated Tyson Fury, who was the first to outpoint him. The Gypsy King captured 3 out of 4 major belts. It was a boring fight, but Wlad finally got dethroned.

2. Andy Ruiz Jr 32(21) 1(0) 0 vs Anthony Joshua 22(21) 0 0 - TKO 7

Date: 01.06.2019
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York (20.789 seats)
Referee: Michael Griffin
Scorecards: Michael Alexander 57-56, Julie Lederman 57-56, Pasquale Procopio 56-57
Belts at stake: WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO

Comment: Joshua, widely regarded as the #1 in HW division, makes his debut in United States. At first, he was scheduled to fight Miller, but the American tested positive on banned substances. Andy Ruiz Jr, a fat Mexican, came in as a replacement. The challenger was a massive underdog. Joshua won the first rounds, as expected, and even had Ruiz down in round 3. He went for the KO but got caught and was down himself. AJ never completely recovered and Ruiz finished him in round 7. Huge upset, comparable to Douglas-Tyson.

3. Anthony Joshua 18(18) 0 0 vs Wladimir Klitschko 64(53) 4(3) 0 - TKO 11

Date: 29.04.2017
Location: Wembley Stadium, London (90.000 seats)
Referee: David Fields
Scorecards: Don Trella 96-93, Nelson Vazquez 95-93, Steve Weisfeld 93-95
Belts at stake: WBA, IBF, IBO

Comment: Klitschko's comeback 1 and a half year after a defeat to Tyson Fury. Step up for Joshua, a lot of people thought it's too early for him for such a fight. Very close fight, fantastic battle, both fighters been down, eventually Joshua knocked out the Ukrainian veteran. Arguably the best HW fight of 21th century. Both were Olympic gold medalists.

4. Wladimir Klitschko 60(51) 3(3) 0 vs Alexander Povetkin 26(18) 0 0 - UD 12

Date: 05.10.2013
Location: Olimpiyskiy, Moscow (35.000 seats)
Referee: Luis Pabon
Scorecards: Glenn Feldman 119-104, Ted Gimza 119-104, Philippe Verbeke 119-104
Belts at stake: WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, The Ring

Comment: Povetkin was widely considered as the best heavyweight without a belt. Klitschko went to Russia and took his 0 after a very awful, full of clinches contest, though nonetheless, he was clearly the better there. Povetkin went down 4 times, but he lasted to the final bell. Both were Olympic gold medalists.

5. Wladimir Klitschko 55(48) 3(3) 0 vs David Haye 25(23) 1(1) 0 - UD 12

Date: 02.07.2011
Location: Imtech Arena, Hamburg (57.000 seats)
Referee: Genaro Rodriguez
Scorecards: Adelaide Byrd 117-109, Stanley Christodoulou 116-110, Michael Pernick 118-108
Belts at stake: WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, The Ring

Comment: Unification bout. Haye, ex Cruiserweight champion, didn't took the risk in that fight and Klitschko easily collected the 3rd out of 4 major belts.

6. Wladimir Klitschko 62(52) 3(3) 0 vs Kubrat Pulev 20(11) 0 0 - KO 5

Date: 15.11.2014
Location: O2 World Arena, Hamburg (16.000 seats)
Referee: Tony Weeks
Scorecards: Glenn Feldman 40-33, Jerry Jakubco 40-33, Joseph Pasquale 40-33
Belts at stake: WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, The Ring

Comment: Pulev, a top 5 contender, and previously a very good amateur boxer, was down very quickly in that fight. Klitschko finished him in round 5, beautiful KO and a very dominant performance.

7. Anthony Joshua 21(20) 0 0 vs Alexander Povetkin 34(24) 1(0) 0 - TKO 7

Date: 22.09.2018
Location: Wembley Stadium, London (90.000 seats)
Referee: Steve Gray
Scorecards: Jean Robert Laine 59-55, Matteo Montella 58-56, Carlos Sucre 58-56
Belts at stake: WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO

Comment: After his loss to Klitschko, Povetkin had a very good streak of 8 wins over notable opponents. He started very strong and won the first rounds, but Joshua did a very good job with his jab to Povetkin's body and knocked out tired Russian in round 7. Both were Olympic gold medalists.

8. Vitali Klitschko 42(39) 2(2) 0 vs Tomasz Adamek 44(28) 1(0) 0 - TKO 10

Date: 10.09.2011
Location: Stadion Miejski, Wrocław (42.771 seats)
Referee: Massimo Barrovecchio
Scorecards: Duane Ford 90-80, Esa Lehtosaari 90-80, Craig Metcalfe 90-80
Belts at stake: WBC

Comment: Older of the Klitschko brothers went to Poland to face ex 2-division champion Tomasz Adamek, who was considered a top 5 contender at that time by most of the fans. As it came out, Vitali dominated the much smaller Pole and stopped him in round 10.

9. Alexander Povetkin 21(15) 0 0 vs Ruslan Chagaev 27(17) 1(1) 1 - UD 12

Date: 27.08.2011
Location: Messehalle, Erfurt (3.236 seats)
Referee: Hubert Earle
Scorecards: Glenn Feldman 116-112, Paul Thomas 117-113, Jean Francois Toupin 117-113
Belts at stake: WBA World

Comment: Undefeated Povetkin faced ex-titlist Ruslan Chagaev in Germany, competetive fight of two technically sound fighters. It was a step up for the Russian Olympic gold medalist.

10. Deontay Wilder 39(38) 0 0 vs Luis Ortiz 28(24) 0 0 - TKO 10

Date: 03.03.2018
Location: Barclays Center, New York (16.000 seats)
Referee: David Fields
Scorecards: Glenn Feldman 85-84, Kevin Morgan 85-84, Carlos Ortiz Jr 85-84
Belts at stake: WBC

Comment: Wilder finally stepped up to face undefeated, skilled Cuban Luis Ortiz. After a very entertaining and competitive fight, Ortiz gets stopped in round 10. The best win on Wilder's resume.

Fury should get the nod vs Wilder, this win deserved to be included, but since it isn't official i can't include it there, also, Haye vs Chisora was close to the top 10 at #11, Ruiz vs Joshua rematch has a chance to make it to the list.

Dag until you put this list together I did not realize how bad the last decade has been

tiny_acres wrote: ↑31 Oct 2019, 19:39 Dag until you put this list together I did not realize how bad the last decade has been

Yeah it was obviously far from a great era. It has some nice fights, good wins, but the lack of depth is evident.

Wilder/Ortiz should be on there. Vitali/adamek? Did anyone have hopes of that being competitive? Though after the top 3 it's just fishing. Edit: sorry, don't know how I missed it, that should be 4th.

Onetimeonly wrote: ↑31 Oct 2019, 21:34 Wilder/Ortiz should be on there. Vitali/adamek? Did anyone have hopes of that being competitive? Though after the top 3 it's just fishing. Edit: sorry, don't know how I missed it, that should be 4th.

after top 3 you can just rank the fights randomly, it was a weak, really weak era.

A good list.

Drop Adamek fight and chuck in Parker v Ruiz. But agreed it’s a piss poor list, and shows up the era badly.

polecateddy wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 13:53 Drop Adamek fight and chuck in Parker v Ruiz. But agreed it’s a piss poor list, and shows up the era badly.

Parker barely won that one and Ruiz obviously wasn't as highly regarded back then as he is now. Let's wait to the rematch to see whether he's just a flavour of the month or not.

dagilechia wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 04:44

Onetimeonly wrote: ↑31 Oct 2019, 21:34 Wilder/Ortiz should be on there. Vitali/adamek? Did anyone have hopes of that being competitive? Though after the top 3 it's just fishing. Edit: sorry, don't know how I missed it, that should be 4th.

after top 3 you can just rank the fights randomly, it was a weak, really weak era.

You can make a list however you want, just looks silly having that below complete mismatches. Vitali/adamek was a better win? You're exactly right that the decade was garbage and he's polish but that's ridiculous.

Vitali v Adamek doesn't belong on the list imo. Wlad's win over Peter was better, as was his win v Chagaev.

Parker v Ruiz deserves a spot in hindsight perhaps.

Gnome wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 14:57 Vitali v Adamek doesn't belong on the list imo. Wlad's win over Peter was better, as was his win v Chagaev.

Parker v Ruiz deserves a spot in hindsight perhaps.

Where they not both before 2010?

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 15:02

Gnome wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 14:57 Vitali v Adamek doesn't belong on the list imo. Wlad's win over Peter was better, as was his win v Chagaev.

Parker v Ruiz deserves a spot in hindsight perhaps.

Where they not both before 2010?

Chagaec-Klitschko was in 2009, sorry. The Peter fight in 2010.

Onetimeonly wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 14:42

dagilechia wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 04:44

after top 3 you can just rank the fights randomly, it was a weak, really weak era.

You can make a list however you want, just looks silly having that below complete mismatches. Vitali/adamek was a better win? You're exactly right that the decade was garbage and he's polish but that's ridiculous.

Had Wilder fought this version of Adamek, it wouldn't look like a total mismatch, Vitali's advantages and style made this fight look as such. Beating Adamek, who was considered top 5 back then, on a stadium in Poland is a more significant win than going life and death with a 50 years old almost untested Ortiz.

Onetimeonly wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 14:42

dagilechia wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 04:44

after top 3 you can just rank the fights randomly, it was a weak, really weak era.

You can make a list however you want, just looks silly having that below complete mismatches. Vitali/adamek was a better win? You're exactly right that the decade was garbage and he's polish but that's ridiculous.

Imo Wilder-Ortiz on the paper was a more evenly matched fight than for example Klitschko-Haye but it doesn't mean to me that a win over Ortiz is better just because Wilder is a less dominant fighter than Klitschko's were.

dagilechia wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 16:06

Onetimeonly wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 14:42

You can make a list however you want, just looks silly having that below complete mismatches. Vitali/adamek was a better win? You're exactly right that the decade was garbage and he's polish but that's ridiculous.

Had Wilder fought this version of Adamek, it wouldn't look like a total mismatch, Vitali's advantages and style made this fight look as such. Beating Adamek, who was considered top 5 back then, on a stadium in Poland is a more significant win than going life and death with a 50 years old almost untested Ortiz.

Wilder would have smashed adamek. Not that it matters, nobody gave him any chance against vitali. You're one stubborn dude. Lol

Onetimeonly wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 16:19

dagilechia wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 16:06

Had Wilder fought this version of Adamek, it wouldn't look like a total mismatch, Vitali's advantages and style made this fight look as such. Beating Adamek, who was considered top 5 back then, on a stadium in Poland is a more significant win than going life and death with a 50 years old almost untested Ortiz.

Wilder would have smashed adamek. Not that it matters, nobody gave him any chance against vitali. You're one stubborn dude. Lol

Nobody would give chances to Ortiz vs Vit (except you)

I think it's fair to take into account more than just pre-fight betting odds, such as fighting on the road etc. otherwise you'd have to have Whyte's win over Parker at #3

Wilder was still a favourite going into the Ortiz fight. It IS a very good win and I think deserves its spot, but as Dagilechia said, he went life and death, Ortiz is relatively untested (though clearly passes the eye test) despite his advanced years.
Plus, personally, I don't think it's right to ignore the controversy of the 8th round

dagilechia wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 16:25

Onetimeonly wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 16:19

Wilder would have smashed adamek. Not that it matters, nobody gave him any chance against vitali. You're one stubborn dude. Lol

Nobody would give chances to Ortiz vs Vit (except you)

That's equally irrelevant and incorrect. I wouldn't give either much of a chance against vitali.

Onetimeonly wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 20:08

dagilechia wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 16:25

Nobody would give chances to Ortiz vs Vit (except you)

That's equally irrelevant and incorrect. I wouldn't give either much of a chance against vitali.

So what makes Wilder's win over Ortiz better than Vit's win over Adamek?

dagilechia wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 20:15

Onetimeonly wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 20:08

That's equally irrelevant and incorrect. I wouldn't give either much of a chance against vitali.

So what makes Wilder's win over Ortiz better than Vit's win over Adamek?

It was a much better fight where wilder had to dig deep and beat a much better contender. It should be obvious.

Onetimeonly wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 20:57

dagilechia wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 20:15
So what makes Wilder's win over Ortiz better than Vit's win over Adamek?

It was a much better fight where wilder had to dig deep and beat a much better contender. It should be obvious.

So, would you rank it higher than Joshua vs Povetkin? Povetkin was ranked above Ortiz by majority of fans and experts and Joshua defeated him easier, in better fashion than Wilder vs Ortiz.

If Wilder knocked Ortiz out in 1 would you call it a mismatch and a worthless win? I think that it was so competitive not because Ortiz is so great, but because Wilder is in fact a very beatable champion.

Much better contender? Adamek was ranked as high as Ortiz was and their best wins (Adamek vs Arreola and Ortiz vs Jennings) are comparable (but Adamek was a very good CW champion as well).

Overall i think that Ortiz is a slighty better HW than Adamek (wouldn't say that Ortiz is much better than the best HW Adamek though) but Vitali's win was much more dominant than Wilder's.

I can understand why some people rate win over Ortiz higher, it's totally ok, but, i assume that you would rank it above Wlad's win over Haye, right? Haye's HW resume was poor, and in fact he lost to Valuev.

dagilechia wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 21:10

Onetimeonly wrote: ↑01 Nov 2019, 20:57

It was a much better fight where wilder had to dig deep and beat a much better contender. It should be obvious.

So, would you rank it higher than Joshua vs Povetkin? Povetkin was ranked above Ortiz by majority of fans and experts and Joshua defeated him easier, in better fashion than Wilder vs Ortiz.

Yes

It makes much less sense than ranking Vit-Adamek higher than Wilder-Ortiz