Conflict in Opinion
Posted: 20 Jul 2006, 23:01
I read an article some months ago, about whether or not there was hope for the Heavyweight division, and one of the things that brought my attention was the quote in the magazine that, this current era of HW's was superior to both the 1980's and Joe Louis' 'Bum of The Month' club.
I vastly disagree from this statement. The current crop of HW's, title holders and contenders alike, would have struggled against ANY of Joe Louis' opponents, and would have had trouble with some of the 80's HW's if they weren't so inconsistant.
This is the contenders that were said to be superior to 'The Bum of The Month' and the 1980's eras:
1.) Fres Oquendo
2.) Dominick Guinn
3.) Jameel McCline
4.) Kirk Johnson
5.) Oleg Masaev
6.) Clifford Ettienne
7.) Andrew Golota
8.) Kevin McBride
9.) Samuel Peter
10.) Ross Puritty
11.) Drake Thadzi
12.) Danell Nicholson
13.) Charles Shufford
14.) Monte Barrett
15.) Danny Williams
16.) Lamon Brewster
17.) John Ruiz
18.) Chris Byrd
19.) Hasim Rahman
20.) Wladimir Klitschko
That's not including guys like Shannon Briggs, Nicolay Valuev, Evander Holyfield, Joe Mesi and others who either have more questions than answers on their abilities, or who have stayed around too long.
Let's compare this to the 1980's crop of Heavyweights:
1.) Tony Tubbs
2.) Greg Page
3.) Pinklon Thomas
4.) Micheal Dokes
5.) Mike Weaver
6.) Gerrie Coetzee
7.) John Tate
8.) Tim Witherspoon
9.) Trevor Berbick
10.) Frank Bruno
11.) Micheal Spinks
12.) Gerry Cooney
13.) Mike Tyson
14.) Evander Holyfield
15.) Gary Mason
16.) James Tillis
17.) Ken Norton
18.) Bernardo Mercardo
19.) Leon Spinks
20.) Ossie Ocassio
That's not including several other men who Holmes defended his title against, or Tyson defended against---or who Tyson fought on the way up.
Joe Louis' Era of Contenders and His Title Defenses:
1.) Tony Galento
2.) Buddy Baer
3.) Arturo Godoy
4.) Johnny Paycheck
5.) Jersey Joe Walcott
6.) Tami Mauriello
7.) Billy Conn
8.) Abe Simon
9.) Turkey Thompson
10.) Lou Nova
11.) Tony Musto
12.) Gus Dorazio
13.) Red Burman
14.) Al McCoy
15.) Bob Pastor
16.) Jack Roper
17.) Harry Thomas
18.) Nathan Mann
19.) Tommy Farr
20.) James Braddock
21.) Max Baer
22.) Primo Carnera
23.) Jack Sharkey
24.) Max Schmeling
25.) John Henry Lewis
Not also including other great fighters such as Jimmy Bivins, Turkey Thompson and few other HW's that Louis never got the chance to face off with or defend his title against.
***********************************************************
Our division is hardly a challenge to either of these eras, sure some would win against some of the lesser men, that's a gimme, but over-all I'd say 9 times out of 10, a man from our current time, would get bombed out by any of the men listed.
I vastly disagree from this statement. The current crop of HW's, title holders and contenders alike, would have struggled against ANY of Joe Louis' opponents, and would have had trouble with some of the 80's HW's if they weren't so inconsistant.
This is the contenders that were said to be superior to 'The Bum of The Month' and the 1980's eras:
1.) Fres Oquendo
2.) Dominick Guinn
3.) Jameel McCline
4.) Kirk Johnson
5.) Oleg Masaev
6.) Clifford Ettienne
7.) Andrew Golota
8.) Kevin McBride
9.) Samuel Peter
10.) Ross Puritty
11.) Drake Thadzi
12.) Danell Nicholson
13.) Charles Shufford
14.) Monte Barrett
15.) Danny Williams
16.) Lamon Brewster
17.) John Ruiz
18.) Chris Byrd
19.) Hasim Rahman
20.) Wladimir Klitschko
That's not including guys like Shannon Briggs, Nicolay Valuev, Evander Holyfield, Joe Mesi and others who either have more questions than answers on their abilities, or who have stayed around too long.
Let's compare this to the 1980's crop of Heavyweights:
1.) Tony Tubbs
2.) Greg Page
3.) Pinklon Thomas
4.) Micheal Dokes
5.) Mike Weaver
6.) Gerrie Coetzee
7.) John Tate
8.) Tim Witherspoon
9.) Trevor Berbick
10.) Frank Bruno
11.) Micheal Spinks
12.) Gerry Cooney
13.) Mike Tyson
14.) Evander Holyfield
15.) Gary Mason
16.) James Tillis
17.) Ken Norton
18.) Bernardo Mercardo
19.) Leon Spinks
20.) Ossie Ocassio
That's not including several other men who Holmes defended his title against, or Tyson defended against---or who Tyson fought on the way up.
Joe Louis' Era of Contenders and His Title Defenses:
1.) Tony Galento
2.) Buddy Baer
3.) Arturo Godoy
4.) Johnny Paycheck
5.) Jersey Joe Walcott
6.) Tami Mauriello
7.) Billy Conn
8.) Abe Simon
9.) Turkey Thompson
10.) Lou Nova
11.) Tony Musto
12.) Gus Dorazio
13.) Red Burman
14.) Al McCoy
15.) Bob Pastor
16.) Jack Roper
17.) Harry Thomas
18.) Nathan Mann
19.) Tommy Farr
20.) James Braddock
21.) Max Baer
22.) Primo Carnera
23.) Jack Sharkey
24.) Max Schmeling
25.) John Henry Lewis
Not also including other great fighters such as Jimmy Bivins, Turkey Thompson and few other HW's that Louis never got the chance to face off with or defend his title against.
***********************************************************
Our division is hardly a challenge to either of these eras, sure some would win against some of the lesser men, that's a gimme, but over-all I'd say 9 times out of 10, a man from our current time, would get bombed out by any of the men listed.