Why isn’t Deontay on most P4P lists?

[Curt Henning]

https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/...syk-makes-move

wilder was #10 on espns list before fury fight and even after it

[Mindgames]

I feel that Deontay Wilder, while not deserving of a P4P number 1 spot, definitely deserves consideration for top 5 or at the very least top 10 status.

Why, in your opinion, does he still fail to get recognized in this fashion for his many exploits in the ring and contributions to the great sport of Boxing?

He has an undefeated record, he arguably could have gotten the TKO win against Fury, who is a good boxer in my opinion, and he won a war with Luis Ortiz, a great boxer who is better than Fury and whom everyone avoids.

I am not a Wilder fanboy but seriously what does this man still have to do to get the recognition he deserves?

Ortiz was old with high blood pressure, it was a great fight but a struggle. Fury was a returning drug addict and alcoholic who boxed Wilders ears off for round after round. He even took the fight to Wilder after the knockdown. The whole heavyweight division suffers from the best not fighting the best. And you need good op to make the p4p lists.

[boliodogs]

He is not on my list because I think more than ten boxers are better than him pfp. I have no heavyweights on my list because I think too many lighter weight boxers are better than any current heavyweight. If I thought a heavyweight was one of the 10 best boxers pfp he would be on my list.

[HitmanTommy]

I don't put any HWs on p4p

Why?????????

[Marchegiano]

Why?????????

Quick answer is history


P4P is not meant to be a classification or rating of accolades but rather a title to juxtapose against the HW champion.

Before sanctioning bodies and formalized weight divisions lighter champions were seen as lesser because very good small men fought at HW. HW wasn't really a weight division itself. What it was, was the fellas willing to take on any and all challengers where as the other divisions are just men not willing to take on all challenges agreeing to fight one another at agreed weights, places, times etc. Most times the two champions or challenger and champion wouldn't even be the same weight. They just agreed on if you weigh x then I'll come in no less than Y etc. negotiated, made a contract, then fought one another for the LW or WW or whatever 'championship', and yes, there are loads of times with multiple champions claiming the same weight designation.

It wasn't size that made HW the division, it was willingness to fight anyone, in the olden the actual size of HWs, MWs, LWs, is the same...that's why Mendoza was all three while actually weighing 150.

HW was open ended on both ends until the late 19th century. No max, no min. Which meant yes, the HW champion had bigger brags, but also, given the format of the other informal divisions prior to sanctioning bodies the smaller guys tended to display higher level skills. Because they did not have the fight anyone, any size, any where, any time thing to deal with they could pick and choose who to fight. Less 'just power' opponents for the champions to face and more skill oriented opposition and shows for them.

In fact the only LW to HW champion I know of, Daniel Mendoza, only became HW champion because he was doing his normal make a deal kind of thing with a name fighter only he shifted what he called himself. The HW crown was vacant so he made the biggest fight he could and called it a HW title fight. The audience thought it was good so they went with it, he wins, he's HW champion. Same weight as he was at LW but now he's seen as a serious fighter by all.

Anyway, the lighter guys started to form divisions long before the bodies. They became famous for their skill and putting on displays of skills, so plenty of no-name guys wanted to be around their weight in order to get a chance to fight them.


That's the era P4P came from. When the HWs shifted from being willing to take on anyone to actually being a division of bigger men and the smaller guys went from a rag-tag group of outsiders unwilling to fight in the big show to the highly regarded keepers and displayers of skills, P4P was the title the fans gave to the smaller divisional champions as a claim that if not for size that man would be the HW champion.


P4P was how we dealt with the growing skill level of small men not willing to fight anyone at any size in a time prior to sanctioning bodies. Once bodies came in no one gave a **** about p4p or lineal anymore. Until Nat, in an effort to keep his grandad's era alive in some form, remade p4p as promotional listing to bring names to fans.

Ring made p4p a list of talented fighters to be argued in merits and resumes. I chose to just not follow their reimagination of an old title.


edit- I just sat and typed, I'm sure I ****ed some bits up, but y'all get the picture I reckon.

[ShaneMosleySr]

Usyk is a blown up Cruiserweight, Parker is a nobody who has beaten no one, Whyte is a nobody who’s beaten no one, Joshua just got knocked out by a fat guy, Ruiz is a fat guy, Povetkin is old and crappy, Chisora has 9 losses and sucks, Hunter is a blown up cruiserweight.

If he beats Fury, he deserves credit. Still shouldn’t be on a p4p list.

Fight some actual top 10 competition perhaps?

Fury was obese and coming off the couch and Wilder didn't win. Ortiz is an old nobody. Breazeale was a joke.

All he has to do is fight and beat 2 or 3 of the best guys in his division and he can go top 10 p4p.

Usyk, Parker, Whyte, AJ, Ruiz Jr, Povetkin, Chisora, Miller, Pulev, Fury, Hunter.

Fight and beat some of those guys.

[TheCell8]

1.) The HWs suck, so he's only very good relative to the division (which isn't good)

2.) Based on 1, no HW should ever be considered anywhere close to a P4P, especially when they're going up against fighters who don't even have a six pack.

3.) HW skills don't translate over smaller weight classes ie. You can't get away at lower weights just throwing a 1-2. His offensive arsenal simply isn't diverse enough.

[Boksfan]

Because Wildher is a female

[_Rexy_]

Because he's a heavyweight

[Nash out]

Whilst your post is utter crap. He should be top 10 or even top 5 p4p. The fact is, Wilder is very hard to beat. Yes he lost to Fury in reality, but Fury is unbeaten and incredibly hard to beat also. If I had to list 10 actors who are the hardest to beat, for whatever reason, both of these would be in it. In fact, Fury is my p4p number 1 just ahead of Crawford and Canelo.