I personally still have AJ rated #1 at heavyweight, by virtue of him being the unified heavyweight champion.
There is a valid argument to be made though that Ortiz is a better win than Klitschko from a sporting perspective. Obviously Klitschko is the much better win from a commercial standpoint.
But take commerce out of it and judge simply on sport. Klitschko was coming off of a humiliating defeat and a year and a half layoff. AJ wasn't fighting someone at the top of their game. AJ was fighting a 41 year old former champion who hadn't looked good in several years and had already been exposed in his previous fight.
Wilder was facing an undefeated Ortiz ranked #3 or #4 in the world according to most experts. Klitschko had been inactive for so long after the embarrassing loss that many didn't even have him ranked anymore due to the inactivity.
You'd obviously rather have Klitschko on your resume, but certainly you can understand why some would put more stock in a 38 year old undefeated Ortiz than a 41 year old rusty Klitschko who had looked terrible in his last fight and lost convincingly.
There is a valid argument to be made though that Ortiz is a better win than Klitschko from a sporting perspective. Obviously Klitschko is the much better win from a commercial standpoint.
But take commerce out of it and judge simply on sport. Klitschko was coming off of a humiliating defeat and a year and a half layoff. AJ wasn't fighting someone at the top of their game. AJ was fighting a 41 year old former champion who hadn't looked good in several years and had already been exposed in his previous fight.
Wilder was facing an undefeated Ortiz ranked #3 or #4 in the world according to most experts. Klitschko had been inactive for so long after the embarrassing loss that many didn't even have him ranked anymore due to the inactivity.
You'd obviously rather have Klitschko on your resume, but certainly you can understand why some would put more stock in a 38 year old undefeated Ortiz than a 41 year old rusty Klitschko who had looked terrible in his last fight and lost convincingly.

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