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Yeah, Bruno was well ahead in that fight, and let's be honest, Bruno, whilst very big and very strong, was hardly a great boxer, so that lewis was losing round after round to Big Frank speaks volumes. I also recall in the Mercer fight (which he definitely lost by the way) Lewis was so one-paced, no other gear at all. He was very good, but in recent years especially he has became insanely overhyped. Would I bat an eyelid if Wilder knocked prime Lewis straight out, or if Usyk or Fury beat him, absolutely not. Even 3rd rate contenders from the oder generation get talked about as though they were world class. Those nostalgic glasses mask the real view. Nash out.
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I agree that we glorify fighters of the past, it's easier to remember the great moments and forget some of the blemishes. As an example, when I think of Tua my memory brings me back to the explosive guy at 225 whose punches made a thud I can still hear but I forget the 245lb version that labored in the ring swinging at air.
I also think that we can glorify the present and fall victim to hyperbolic praise of things that happen in the now. A year from now, will Usyk still be viewed in the same light that he is now?
Add into the mix that training methods were different, PEDs, PED testing, nutrition, etc.
It's why I almost never engage in mythical matchups. I took the bait on this thread.
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Some good musings here about waxing nostalgic on past fighters and propping them up a peg or two beyond their station, on the one hand; and on the other; characterizations about today's Heavyweight class as being weak (which is inaccurate). Like always, a mixture of truth and bull about it all. When your career is fighting guys who are all almost as good, just as good or better than you are, your record is inevitably going to showcase your greatest moments AND your worst. A denigrating narrative is always feaseable. If you retire without a scratch, they'll hit you with "He cherry picked opponents in a weak era". Best a fighter can hope for I suppose, whereas the spot breeds critics and criticism.
These guys chose to train for and fight under the big dollar and long history MOQ rules rather than setteling for something less. Then, they met with enough success to rise to the top of their profession. None were perfect in doing that and none were, evidently, required to be.
To be a pick for the IBHOF, you have successfully outran your critics as well as your imperfections.
Those who've campaigned during the past half century who have or will earn mention on the IBHOF ballot are these few:- Muhammad Ali. Inducted 1990
- George Foreman. Inducted 2003
- Lennox Lewis. Inducted 2009
- Larry Holmes. Inducted 2008
- Mike Tyson. Inducted 2011
- Tyson Fury. Active
- Wladimir Klitschko. Inducted 2021
- Joe Frazer. Inducted 1990
- Deontay Wilder. Active
- Evander Holyfield. Inducted 2017
- Ken Norton. Inducted 1992
- Vitali Klitschko. Inducted 2018
- Anthony Joshua. Active
- Rid**** Bowe. Inducted 2015
- Michael Spinks. Inducted 1994
- Jerry Quarry. On Ballot
- Leon Spinks. On Ballot
(A few notes about criteria: There were some contenders thought to have been better than Michael Spinks during the 50 focus years and well more than a dozen who were better than Leon, but points being awarded for historical impact, their respective "night in the sun" earns them great accolade, because; quality is not merely what you were good enough to do, but also what you did with what you had, in proper measure. Regarding that, James Buster Douglas, Shannon Briggs and Michael Moorer receive frequent mention, as does Jimmy Ellis and 2 or 3 others for IBHOF ballot inclusion. Certainly, Andy Ruiz Jr. and Oleksandr Usyk will too. Inductees Roy Jones Jr and JamesToney won minor title recognition at Heavyweight but were inducted for accomplishments at lower weights, obviously).Last edited by Willow The Wisp; 02-05-2022, 06:13 PM.Comment
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