Former HW Champions Who Could, and Could Not Compete in Today's Era?

[JayE]

Haye's a very similar kind of size to Ali without as much skill and still easily outboxed Valuev.

Also, the 90s crop of heavyweights were still more talented than the ones we have right now. Holyfield, Bowe, Tyson, Lewis. They'd beatFury/Wilder/Joshua/Usyk in head to head matchups, but the modern group still have time to develop obviously. And you can go a little further back and see the connections from that 90s era to the earlier talentpools, Holmes, Ali, Frazier, Ken Norton, Foreman etc, all those guys would be fine today. The big guys we have right now are all powerful and athletic but they're not too skilled compared to heavyweight greats. Fury can be outhustled, Wilder's sloppy, Joshua's stiff. They've all got issues.

I'd actually say that Ali was clearly a bigger man than Haye is (ignoring when Haye tacked on a bunch of pointless muscle late in his career), and it goes without saying that he's levels above Haye.

 

[Aegon Spengler]

I'd love to see Earnie Shavers vs Wilder.

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

Holyfield was clearly a smaller man than Ali and a 85 year old version of Holyfield was robbed against Valuev.

Which Ali would we see against Valuev?

Circling or rope a dope?

How would each look against him?

 

[JayE]

Which Ali would we see against Valuev?

Circling or rope a dope?

How would each look against him?

Which Ali are we talking? 60s Ali? Early 70s Ali? Post-Manila Ali? They all beat Valuev without much issue.

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

Which Ali are we talking? 60s Ali? Early 70s Ali? Post-Manila Ali? They all beat Valuev without much issue.

Pre-ban Ali vs Rumble in the Jungle. That's a good assessment, Ali beats him any version? I can respect that.

 

[JayE]

Pre-ban Ali vs Rumble in the Jungle. That's a good assessment, Ali beats him any version? I can respect that.

I mean, late 70s Ali could lose to a lot of fighters, so maybe on a bad day he might lose, but anywhere close to his prime he easily beats a guy like Valuev. Valuev was not a good fighter.

 

[IGotAHugePeckah]

Ali, Holmes, Tyson, Lennox, Riddick Bowe, Joe Louis, George Foreman could compete no problem.

An 185lb guy like Marciano you have to figure would be fighting at 175 or even 168, depending on how much weight he cared to cut. Hard to imagine him fighting a Deontay Wilder.

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

Ali, Holmes, Tyson, Lennox, Riddick Bowe, Joe Louis, George Foreman could compete no problem.

An 185lb guy like Marciano you have to figure would be fighting at 175 or even 168, depending on how much weight he cared to cut. Hard to imagine him fighting a Deontay Wilder.

Stepping outside of the OP, is Marciano big enough to have fought Tyson convincingly, and won?

 

[djacobox372]

Good assessment. You think Smokin' Joe would do good with his style? I've heard arguments that his style wouldn't have crossed over to the modern era well. Too square, and too flat footed.

He would have done well, but only because the HW's of today can't box for crap.

 

[TheGreatA]

Deontay Wilder only weighs 212 lbs. He's tall and rangy for sure, but he is not a true super heavyweight as far as his weight goes.

I think anybody above 200 pounds will always have a chance. Just look at UFC HW division. Most 205 lbers would probably dominate the heavyweights. Most modern heavyweights could stand to lose 20-30 pounds like Wilder has, and compete at lower weights, from 215 to 230 pounds. Even Fury, despite his good performance, was carrying probably 15-20 extra pounds.

Joshua is about the only guy who legitimately has the frame to carry 250 pounds.

The fighters who used to weigh below 200 lbs and compete at heavyweight, they'd probably be light heavies or cruiserweights nowadays. Rocky Marciano, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, guys like that would probably be discouraged from fighting at heavyweight, nowadays.

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

Deontay Wilder only weighs 212 lbs. He's tall and rangy for sure, but he is not a true super heavyweight as far as his weight goes.

I think anybody above 200 pounds will always have a chance. Just look at UFC HW division. Most 205 lbers would probably dominate the heavyweights. Most modern heavyweights could stand to lose 20-30 pounds like Wilder has, and compete at lower weights, from 215 to 230 pounds. Even Fury, despite his good performance, was carrying probably 15-20 extra pounds.

Joshua is about the only guy who legitimately has the frame to carry 250 pounds.

The fighters who used to weigh below 200 lbs and compete at heavyweight, they'd probably be light heavies or cruiserweights nowadays. Rocky Marciano, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, guys like that would probably be discouraged from fighting at heavyweight, nowadays.

Yeah, especially considering HW division has no ceiling I could see guys being directed away from that weight class.

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

I think most of the elites who were 6'2/6'3 and up would be fine. Fury is really the only guy right now whos mixture of size and skill presents some unique problems. Joshua and Wilder are big but not exactly giants, they are roughly Bowe, Cooney height with Wilder being lighter.

 

[Hagler]

I have a weird vision of Joe Louis all bulked up like HW Holyfield. That's kind of disturbing.

That being said, the greats from the 70s to the 90s would fare well today. Maybe Frazier belongs to CW (he'd be a monster in there), but prime Ali, Foreman, Holmes, Tyson, Holyfield, Bowe and Lewis would all do well today. Guys like Lyle and Shavers could enjoy some limited success. So would a focused, healthy Cooney. Norton would lack the chin to survive against today's biggest hitters. Golota has some tools, but he would fold against the top dogs. Not all these guys were champions, just thinking about those who would be interesting to watch today.

 

[Hypetrainhipsta]

Deontay Wilder only weighs 212 lbs. He's tall and rangy for sure, but he is not a true super heavyweight as far as his weight goes.

I think anybody above 200 pounds will always have a chance. Just look at UFC HW division. Most 205 lbers would probably dominate the heavyweights. Most modern heavyweights could stand to lose 20-30 pounds like Wilder has, and compete at lower weights, from 215 to 230 pounds. Even Fury, despite his good performance, was carrying probably 15-20 extra pounds.

Joshua is about the only guy who legitimately has the frame to carry 250 pounds.

The fighters who used to weigh below 200 lbs and compete at heavyweight, they'd probably be light heavies or cruiserweights nowadays. Rocky Marciano, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, guys like that would probably be discouraged from fighting at heavyweight, nowadays.

Joshua just has a ton of Bulk on him and is probably too heavy, someone like Wlad had a bigger frame them him, but he has just a ton of muscles on him and I dont want to open that can of worms....

 

[Stormtrooper85]

Jack Dempsey would be heavyweight champion, obviously.
KOs for days

 

[doubleg]

After the Wilder Fury fight, I got to thinking to myself how big these guys are in the division today. Wilder at 6'7, and Fury towering at 6'9.

A guy I know says Ali would have smoked all these guys. I said I don't know, the boxers today are really big. They may have gave Ali's style some problems.

Let's consider the current era to date back to 2000. Consider guys like Klitschko, Valuev, Fury, Joshua, Wilder, etc.

What former HW champions do you think would have still done well in today's era of giants? Which ones do you think would have struggled?

Uhh Coomey. I don't think tyson mike tyson. Evander will struggle.

 

[XThe GreatestX]

Marciano would have got demolished in the modern eras, IMO.

i dont think he would be a hw.

 

[Aegon Spengler]

Buster Douglas would strip mine Furys' soul

 

[IGotAHugePeckah]

Stepping outside of the OP, is Marciano big enough to have fought Tyson convincingly, and won?

IMO Tyson murders him, but to be fair to Rocky it's just two different eras. People wonder how he would do against the greatest HWs that came after him and I'm just like... I wonder how he'd do against a prime Roy Jones, Andre Ward, Sergei Kovalev, etc, because those are the guys he would have been fighting if he came around in the last 30 years (all 3 of whom would have height and reach on him).

But it's all relative because most of the guys Rocky fought would be today's LHW or SMWs. You go through his record and the vast majority of his opponents were under 200lbs. They wouldn't even be cruiserweights because most CWs are cutting to 200 from 210-230 and even beyond. Meanwhile prime Tyson was anywhere from 215-225 of chiseled muscle and was fighting guys that size or bigger.

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

Uhh Coomey. I don't think tyson mike tyson. Evander will struggle.

Why do you think Evander will struggle?