Emanuel Steward: Ali is the greatest HW of all time, Wladimir is 8th

[Szef]

This interview was recorded before Wlad vs Haye. It has never been published before.

[Anderson Silva]

He says it here folks, Lenox before Klitchschos

[PainfromUkraine]

Interesting. I think his longevity, coupled with a few more good wins, will propel him closer to the top 5.

[LacedUp]

It seems like he's mixing H2H in with overall greatness and resume's.

I like his take on Marciano, something I completely agree with. I can't say I agree on his take on Jack Johnson - but I get where he's coming from.

Wladimir might be number 8 or 9 in terms of H2H, but never in terms of resume.

[LacedUp]

Interesting. I think his longevity, coupled with a few more good wins, will propel him closer to the top 5.

Who would be good enough for Wlad to beat to put him up with the 5 greatest heavyweights of all times?

I really don't see anyone out there who can put him there.

[PainfromUkraine]

Who would be good enough for Wlad to beat to put him up with the 5 greatest heavyweights of all times?

I really don't see anyone out there who can put him there.

At the moment, that's true. But it all really depends on when he retires, and what those fighters do after he is gone. For example, let's say he handed one of the up and comers a first loss, and then they went on to rule the division - it would look like a bigger win. Unfortunately though, as he is at the moment, there isn't any big, signature wins open to him. It's MAINLY going to be longevity, beating the top ranked opponents, and any records he breaks along the way, that will boost him closer to the top 5. Whether he ever breaks into that top 5, that's a matter of opinion. But we'll see how the division progresses.

[LacedUp]

At the moment, that's true. But it all really depends on when he retires, and what those fighters do after he is gone. For example, let's say he handed one of the up and comers a first loss, and then they went on to rule the division - it would look like a bigger win. Unfortunately though, as he is at the moment, there isn't any big, signature wins open to him. It's MAINLY going to be longevity, beating the top ranked opponents, and any records he breaks along the way, that will boost him closer to the top 5. Whether he ever breaks into that top 5, that's a matter of opinion. But we'll see how the division progresses.

I agree, but that doesn't make Lamont Brewster, Corrie Sanders or Ross Purrity greater than they were?

You need to beat fighters in their prime to make it fully count. So say someone like AJ or Jennings for example. If they were to make their way through the legitimate top 10-15 and get 5 or so from this list on their resume before stepping up to face Wlad and then get beaten, that would count for something.

Haye had 1 win over a legit top 10 opponent (past his prime), Povetkin had 1 maybe 2.

Of course this is not Wlad's fault as none of these guys seem like they want to take the tough route to a title shot, they just want to hang around fighting bums before their name is called. And they aren't even queuing up to fight him either!

But really, what we have is a load of fighters with padded records. For instance, Povetkin was fighting Rahman, Wrawzyk and Boswell as his tune ups to Wlad! - Embarrassing!

It's really such a shame that Wlad wasn't born 10 years earlier so we could really see how good he was in a stacked division. Beating the likes of Wach, Pianeta, Leapai, Mormeck, Thompson etc is certainly not enough to put him in the top 8 of all times, let alone top 5.

[PainfromUkraine]

I agree, but that doesn't make Lamont Brewster, Corrie Sanders or Ross Purrity greater than they were?

You need to beat fighters in their prime to make it fully count. So say someone like AJ or Jennings for example. If they were to make their way through the legitimate top 10-15 and get 5 or so from this list on their resume before stepping up to face Wlad and then get beaten, that would count for something.

Haye had 1 win over a legit top 10 opponent (past his prime), Povetkin had 1 maybe 2.

Of course this is not Wlad's fault as none of these guys seem like they want to take the tough route to a title shot, they just want to hang around fighting bums before their name is called. And they aren't even queuing up to fight him either!

But really, what we have is a load of fighters with padded records. For instance, Povetkin was fighting Rahman, Wrawzyk and Boswell as his tune ups to Wlad! - Embarrassing!

It's really such a shame that Wlad wasn't born 10 years earlier so we could really see how good he was in a stacked division. Beating the likes of Wach, Pianeta, Leapai, Mormeck, Thompson etc is certainly not enough to put him in the top 8 of all times, let alone top 5.

Well, none of those guys you mentioned established themselves as THE champ after beating Wlad. I mean it more in the sense of, let's say, Lennox's win over Vitali - that looked like a better win years later when Vitali established himself as the next 'man' in the division.

Yeah, if only the top guys fought each other, it would greatly organise the division and truly filter out the potential from the useless. Unfortunately, it's too easy these days to get a title shot and most fights just don't get made...

Anyway, I guess it all depends on the individual ranking the heavies to have their criteria on how to rank them. I agree though, even if K2 were around 5 years earlier, they could have got a lot of great tests, but unfortunately it didn't happen.

[Simurgh]

Although Wlad simply doesn't have any opportunity to fight mega-big fights he can still be in top5-10 ATG after he retires. I have him somewhere around 6-7 atm, but if he goes to beat Fury, Wilder and maybe Josuha (although I doubt AJ will be ready anytime soon) he can enter top5. He would basically dominate 2 generation with the significant impact even on the earlier generation by beating Mercer and Byrd...
He can't touch Ali, Luis and Foreman. All the others are not untouchable IMO.

[fabie]

I really do think that ALI IS THE GREATEST OF THEM ALL...yes, way above everybody including Mayweather.