Wlad vs Marciano's contenders.

[Ivich]

The list below shows the top 10 (as The Ring saw it) contenders for Marciano's heavyweight crown 60 years ago (end of 1954). The weights are those listed by BoxRec, for their last fight that year.

1. Nino Valdes 6'3", 208 lbs
2. Don ****ell 5'11", 210 lbs
3. Ezzard Charles 6'0", 192 lbs
4. Bob Baker 6'2", 211 lbs
5. Earl Walls 6'2½", 196 lbs
6. Heinz Neuhaus 6'2", 215 lbs
7. Rex Layne 6'1", 208 lbs
8. Tommy Jackson 6'2", 190 lbs
9. Charlie Norkus 6'0", 192 lbs
10. Jimmy Slade ?, 175 lbs

The question is: If we time-machined Wladimir Klitschko back to December 1954, and matched him with these men in fights scheduled for 15 rounds, would he be able to defeat them all, from top to bottom - on consecutive nights?

He would start with #1 (Valdes), the next day he would meet #2, etc. If (for example) the first one against Valdes turns out to be a gruelling, strength-sapping distance fight... well, that's just tough luck! There will be no rest days! Already the following night ****ell will be waiting for him.

Now let's say, there's a hefty bonus for Wlad, if he can beat them all in less than 10 days... and the fewer days it takes him, the bigger the bonus! In other words, he's allowed to take on 2 (or more!) on the same night, if he feels up to it! If he does take on more than 1 contender on the same night, let's give him 45 min between fights - where he's allowed to go to the bathroom, change gloves, have his hands rebandaged, or whatever.

Under those conditions, would Wladimir:

A... beat them all in 10 days?
B... beat them all in less than 10 days?
C... or would he at some point come unstuck and lose to one of them?

What do you guys think?

In passing I'd point out that Marciano only fought three of them.
****ell
Layne
Charles

[Ivich]

Wlad wouldnāt beat Charles. He wouldnāt be able to hit him and Charles will likely get a few good ones in each round. Iām not sure if Charles stops him, wlad does have a weak jaw and Charles would probably find it - but not being a big puncher himself he may not be able to get the job done reaching up that high.

wlad is too tight though and muscle bound, heās gonna struggle to hit Charles with anything even a jab. The skill gap is massive.

Wlad had no trouble landing his jab on Byrd and Haye, two good movers.

[them_apples]

Wlad had no trouble landing his jab on Byrd and Haye, two good movers.

Byrd and Haye arenā€™t Charles. Not even close. They move but Charles has a similar ring craft to Toney, only heā€™s bigger and in shape. He has a tool set you donā€™t see anymore. That baiting head movement to draw shots in, make them miss and counter. Its a completely different style. Byrd and Haye were just runners vs Wlad, had the mobility to stay away, but not real ring craft.

[Ivich]

Byrd and Haye arenāt Charles. Not even close. They move but Charles has a similar ring craft to Toney, only heās bigger and in shape. He has a tool set you donāt see anymore. That baiting head movement to draw shots in, make them miss and counter. Its a completely different style. Byrd and Haye were just runners vs Wlad, had the mobility to stay away, but not real ring craft.

Byrd had better defence than Charles,imo.

[QueensburyRules]

Byrd had better defence than Charles,imo.

- - Ez has the jock strap that Byrd can't carry...yeah...