White_Savage
Mentor
The troll did make one good point...George Foreman is about the only HW from his era who could compete with the modern crop. Foreman destroyed the guy who broke Ali (Frasier won twice IMO) and was only defeated by Ali because his low I.Q. allowed Ali to destroy him mentally. Which is not to say George would be champ today, Vlad has beaten big Blacks who punch just as hard and probably have more speed and skill, but a prime Foreman could at least compete.
Let's put aside myth or romance. The modern HW is bigger and stronger and more scientifically trained than ever before. Very few of the old timers could stand up to them. Jim Jeffries had the physical tools to go far probably, Jack "Giant Killer" Dempsey could maybe make it into contendership. But most HW champs of the past would have to fight as cruisers or LHWs these days.
It is bogus that the HW division is smeared as "weak" partly because these athletic behemoths aren't always moving like lightweights. FOR THEIR SIZE, many of them, Wlad in particular, display amazing speed, agility, and stamina. The reason we have weight classes is because speed and stamina DOESN'T overcome size, beyond a certain point. Dempsey, Louis, and Ali were all very fast, but all of them would get hammered down by Wlad Klitscko's power and reach. And never forget that when Blacks came to dominate the HW division in the 60s, they tended to be bigger and taller than their White counterparts. People who dominated by being 210-220 pounders mostly fighting guys who weighed 185-195 have nothing to complain about if 230+ lbs Russians suddenly take the division from them.
Let's put aside myth or romance. The modern HW is bigger and stronger and more scientifically trained than ever before. Very few of the old timers could stand up to them. Jim Jeffries had the physical tools to go far probably, Jack "Giant Killer" Dempsey could maybe make it into contendership. But most HW champs of the past would have to fight as cruisers or LHWs these days.
It is bogus that the HW division is smeared as "weak" partly because these athletic behemoths aren't always moving like lightweights. FOR THEIR SIZE, many of them, Wlad in particular, display amazing speed, agility, and stamina. The reason we have weight classes is because speed and stamina DOESN'T overcome size, beyond a certain point. Dempsey, Louis, and Ali were all very fast, but all of them would get hammered down by Wlad Klitscko's power and reach. And never forget that when Blacks came to dominate the HW division in the 60s, they tended to be bigger and taller than their White counterparts. People who dominated by being 210-220 pounders mostly fighting guys who weighed 185-195 have nothing to complain about if 230+ lbs Russians suddenly take the division from them.