New Ring P4P rankings: Wladimir Klitschko moved up to #2

[crold1]

I disagree. Take wlad out. Deontay wilder, Aeereola, pulev, fury, stivernne.

The division would be "hot" only because everyone is equally limited and anyone could be defeated on any night. Like the NFC south in football right now.

That's not the same "hot" as say the FW division where there are a lot of talented fighters that could beat each other. Like the AFC North.

It would be lukewarm because the fight quality would be what it has been for most of the last 8 years: occasionally good, more often okay, too often terrible. There has not been a single GREAT Heavyweight fight since Brewster-Lyakhovich and only a few that were really all that memorable.

Thank God the Klits were there or it would have lacked for the events that Heavyweight has at least maintained. Wlad-Haye was globally a Superfight even if the fight petered.

[bojangles1987]

I agree. This gets to the debate about what these silly lists should be in terms of weighing talent, accomplishment, and the imaginary what if they were all relatively the same size question.

Wlad is a great Heavyweight( top ten AT IMO) I don't think his game is as well rounded as the best men in smaller divisions but works very well given the reality of his talents and class. A guy with shaky whiskers, limited counter punching ability, zero infighting ability, but great jab and power can get a ways but that doesn't come close to ruling in the current Welterweight or Fly class (as examples). It just wouldn't. That's wny Wlad would never rate that high for me P4P

Same way I look at it. You don't even have to go that low in weight. People act like heavyweights have always been lumbering, slow fighters who can't fight at high paces or employ head movement like lower classes. Have they seen fights even as recently as 10-15 years ago? There is NO excuse for heavyweights today to be so inept in so many basic, fundamental areas of boxing.

If you took a middleweight and trained him so he had the same strengths and weaknesses that Wlad has, do you think he'd have any chance against Gennady Golovkin? Or a light heavyweight like that against Sergey Kovalev?

I know I'm hating on Wlad, and I'm not going to pretend he isn't a skilled fighter. I'm not going to pretend it isn't impressive for him to dominate like he has for so long, either. But he is a very basic fighter relative to so much of the sport. I can't bring myself to rate him as one of the 10 best fighters in the world.

[DeadLikeMe]

I don't believe that at all. It'd be a bad division with no one very good, the same way LHW was considered before this year and the same way MW has been considered for a while now.

Bad divisions are bad divisions, "competition" doesn't change that and wouldn't if Wlad wasn't there right now. No one is loving all the terrible fights that are close between the contenders there right now.

That mystique attached to the heavyweight division would be revived. You would have American and British champions potentially. All of a sudden the heavyweight division is back in Western sports media. The various champions are on late night shows. By getting worse in quality the heavyweight division would make itself more appealing and popular. People will want to hype their fighters and suddenly the court of public opinion will rate them right up there with the greats of past eras.

[soul_survivor]

New Ring magazine P4P rankings:

1. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

2. Wladimir Klitschko

3. Manny Pacquiao

4. Andre Ward

5. Tim Bradley

6. Juan Manuel Marquez

7. Roman Gonzalez

8. Guillermo Rigondeaux

9. Carl Froch

10. Saul Alvarez

i dont care much for these rankings but wlad deserves that, honestly he makes a better no. 1

[bojangles1987]

That mystique attached to the heavyweight division would be revived. You would have American and British champions potentially. All of a sudden the heavyweight division is back in Western sports media. The various champions are on late night shows. By getting worse in quality the heavyweight division would make itself more appealing and popular. People will want to hype their fighters and suddenly the court of public opinion will rate them right up there with the greats of past eras.

It doesn't make the fights any better, though. Yeah, some people get hyped more. Doesn't make the fights better, so boxing fans would still consider the division bad. Same way they do other divisions that are bad. Besides, it's not like there have been all these American and British fighters who would have been champ but lost to Wlad. Most of them lose to the Europeans. Without Wlad, another European is probably the best fighter, likely Povetkin.

I think you'll see this when Wlad does retire and no one worth a damn is there to replace him. Boxing better hope Anthony Joshua is the real deal, otherwise HW will be a barren wasteland. No one will call the division hot and consider it better.

[AgainstTheRopes]

Ward and Rigondeaux are #2/3 for me but both guys haven't been very active.

I dont mind Klitschko at #2 if you left those two off

[PAC-BOY]

Ring has no more substance. Owned by a promotional company. Cant take them serious anymore:ANYWORD:

[The Big Dunn]

It would be lukewarm because the fight quality would be what it has been for most of the last 8 years: occasionally good, more often okay, too often terrible. There has not been a single GREAT Heavyweight fight since Brewster-Lyakhovich and only a few that were really all that memorable.

Thank God the Klits were there or it would have lacked for the events that Heavyweight has at least maintained. Wlad-Haye was globally a Superfight even if the fight petered.

good point. but wlad's performances have been really a big problem as well. The US doesn't get to see him often. when they do its been haye, povetkin level disasters.

This is a lot like when Holmes was hbut even then it wasn't this bad. there was the "post ali drought" but this feels different. HWT's are bigger and stronger than ever but fans are turned off.

That mystique attached to the heavyweight division would be revived. You would have American and British champions potentially. All of a sudden the heavyweight division is back in Western sports media. The various champions are on late night shows. By getting worse in quality the heavyweight division would make itself more appealing and popular. People will want to hype their fighters and suddenly the court of public opinion will rate them right up there with the greats of past eras.

IDK DLM. I can't see US/British fans getting excited over a guy like Deontay wilder.

think about it-Tyson was 17-0 and everyone was buzzing about him. Wilder has KO'd almost twice as many guys and there is just no buzz about him. even if wilder were to somehow KO wlad people still wouldn't care.

[HanzGruber]

Ring has no more substance. Owned by a promotional company. Cant take them serious anymore:ANYWORD:

PAC moved from 2 to 3- can't take them serious anymore hahaha. You mad bro?

[Ray Corso]

Total joke! The guy is an awkward blob in the ring fighting guys who wouldn't be sparring partners for past p4p fighters.
he has NO defensive skills at all, look at him thrust both arms out when he got hit with a jab last week! watch his feet come off the canvas too! his height is his defense and that's not a developed skill its a genetic help!
He never punches in combination and he has NO lateral movement! Getting up on his toes in front of the blob he fought last week was a "high light" hahaha!!!!

p4p king right now in boxing is RIGO watch him box and then watch Wlad and if you think Wlad is more skilled than RIGO you have no idea what technique and boxing IQ is!

To ad Carl Froch to a p4p BEST list is delusional, he has no form no style and is at best a club fighter with heart! Having guts and heart is very important but the p4p ranking is for "highly skilled" fighters!
Wlad is the giant modern day Canera and Froch is the crowd pleasing ruff house guy who people enjoy seeing.
If you can imagine these fellows competing against past p4p greats, they would be slaughtered.
Imagine a RIGO at 6'3" 218-222 Wlad has No Chance! None!

Sorry but p4p is for elite fighters not just because you win against inferior competition.
Ray