Ranking Wladimir Klitschko Above Max Schmeling. Can It Be Justified?

[BennyST]

1. Joe Louis was 24-0 and had won nearly every fight by lethal KO.

2. He already had quality names on his resume' like Levinsky, Primo Carnera and was the first person to KO Max Baer

3. He was an absolute beast at the time and the entire nation of Germany begged Schmelling not to face the american wrecking machine. Id argue that Joe Louis was actually better in 1936 than he was during the War and the 1940's.

Who has Wlad fought that had that kind of juice? Wlad has never beaten a single fighter with a fan base. He has no spectacular names to counter his embarassing losses.

There are many wins as good and better than Schmeling's over Louis. Duran over Leonard, Leonard over Hagler, Lamotta over Robinson, Ali over Foreman, Pep over Sanders etc etc etc.

[BennyST]

This opinion can be totally devalued by asking a simple question;

Name me one heavyweight who moved faster than Muhammad Ali, from any era - surely, with the advancement of training and nutrition, and the fact that speed records are constantly broken across Olympic sports, there must consequently be a heavyweight who moves faster than the speed and agility of Muhammad Ali in the 60's!

There is not a single heavyweight since Ali who can move as quickly as he - who was a 6'3" heavyweight.

He is by all accounts, a much greater athlete than any of the heavyweights who succeeded him.



FWIW, you place too much emphasis on how big the Klitschko's are - more muscle mass becomes a liability and not an asset. The greater the muscle mass, the more oxygen your body requires, which means you have less stamina and a lesser work-rate.

Roy Jones!!!!!

[BennyST]

Numerous MLB and NFL players from the 70s have admitted to taking PEDs. Does anyone really believe it took another two decades for them to filter into boxing? Doubt we'll ever know the full extent of roid use in boxing.

That's right. The one certainty though is that with all the money, corruption and greed that has constantly ruled boxing we can be 100% positive that they have been in wide use for a long time and still are among many of the best today. It's just a part of all sports now as sad as it is.

[Joeyzagz]

There are many wins as good and better than Schmeling's over Louis. Duran over Leonard, Leonard over Hagler, Lamotta over Robinson, Ali over Foreman, Pep over Sanders etc etc etc.

Lamotta was a Middleweight.

Hagler was robbed.


Foreman/Ali and Duran/Leonard are the only fights in the same neighborhood as the Schmelling victory.

[NChristo]

Lamotta was a Middleweight.

Hagler was robbed.


Foreman/Ali and Duran/Leonard are the only fights in the same neighborhood as the Schmelling victory.

No, the Hagler fight was close, there was no robbery at all, you can make an argument for both sides winning.

[Barn]

No, the Hagler fight was close, there was no robbery at all, you can make an argument for both sides winning.

Hagler was past it.

[RubenSonny]

Good Post... The reason that Olympic records in athletics are constantly broken is down to PEDs & Steroids with the same applying across the board in football, rugby and other sports..
1/. Do you think Vitali & Wlad could both fight a 15rd fight against Muhammad Ali or Joe Frazier?

2/. Do you seriously believe that Vitali, Wlad, Lewis, Holyfield & Tyson have never taken steroids?

It should also be noted that those sports are much more limited and conservative than boxing in terms of movement. For example in a 100 metre dash, your repeating the same relatively simple movement, breaking a record is going to be much more determined on athleticism and natural gifts. With boxing theres so many things you can do and your not looking to break the same record you have to engage in a contest for a number of rounds being creative and doing a wide range of complex movements(not trying to discredit sprinting or athletics). Not sure if I worded that right standard english is not my first language.