Whenever a boxing champion reaches a point at which he totally dominates his division, speculation begins on how he would have fared against the great fighters of the past. Wladimir Klitschko, who holds The Ring magazine heavyweight belt along with those of the WBA, WBO and IBF (his brother Vitali has the WBC title), has been at that point for several years now. And in its December issue, The Ring ran an article by Don Stradley ? ?Klitschko vs. The Legends? ? consisting of mythical matchups between Wladimir and 10 heavyweight champions of the past.
Klitschko?s 10 opponents are: Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson, Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, and Lennox Lewis. Old-timers like Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey and Jim Jeffries were not included, and rightly so. The game was very different back then, making comparisons with the present era problematic.
Stradley had Klitschko defeating Marciano by decision and Patterson by a fifth-round knockout. According to Stradley, Louis, Liston, Foreman, and Lewis would have knocked Klitschko out, while Ali, Frazier, Holmes, and Tyson would have outpointed him.
Whoa. Two wins in 10 bouts? Is there any way Klitschko could have done better than that? Maybe. However, it?s hard to argue against some of Stradley?s conclusions.
For example, even though Louis would have been badly outsized, it?s not hard to see him doing the same thing to Klitschko that he did to Buddy Baer, who was a match for Wladimir in size if not talent.
A Klitschko-Marciano bout would have looked like a gross mismatch, with ?The Rock? more than six inches shorter and more than 50 pounds lighter than the huge Ukrainian. Klitschko could have simply held Marciano at arm?s length with his jab for 12 or 15 rounds.
It?s a mystery why Patterson is even on Stradley?s roster. Floyd?s fragile jaw would not have held up even one round against Klitschko, let alone five.
Liston is problematic. Even though he stood only 6?1?, Sonny?s reach was three inches longer than Klitschko?s. Liston had a ramrod of a jab and a lethal left hook. But he was also a bit of a bully, and Klitschko might have taken him to that hard place where bullies need to either step up or back down.
The young Ali ? the version Stradley uses ? could have beaten any heavyweight who ever lived, including Wladimir Klitschko. The older version might have had the same difficulties with Vlad that he had with Ken Norton.
Frazier would have had the same size disadvantage against Klitschko that Marciano would have faced. In addition, Frazier?s jaw was not as strong as Marciano?s. Stradley has Frazier pressuring Klitschko into a points defeat, reminiscent of Joe?s win over Ali in their first fight (Ali won the two sequels, so the statement above about him still stands). But it?s just as easy to imagine Klitschko pulling a George Foreman on Frazier: pushing him off and knocking him out in the early rounds.
Speaking of Foreman, Stradley believes that both the young and old versions of Big George would have stopped Klitschko. The 1970s edition of Foreman could very well have blasted Klitschko the way Corey Sanders did, dropping the giant several times en route to a two-round kayo defeat. But given that Tommy Morrison beat the 1990s incarnation of George, and the mediocre Axel Schulz almost did, there?s scant reason to believe Klitschko couldn?t beat him, too.
Stradley has Holmes outworking Klitschko to earn a decision. Sounds about right. The fight would probably be something of a rerun of Holmes?s win over Gerry Cooney, who is about the same size as Klitschko.
The prime-time Tyson was able to demolish Klitschko-sized foes like Eddie Richardson, Sammy Scaff and Tyrell Biggs. But he had trouble against the likes of Tony Tucker, Mitchell Green and Bonecrusher Smith, who were just as big. Stradley likens a Tyson-Klitschko bout to Tyson-Smith ? a clinch-filled snorebore. Can?t disagree with that.
Lewis would have stopped Klitschko in 10, according to Stradley. Wladimir?s only chance would have been the inattention factor. Whenever Lewis took a dangerous opponent lightly ? see Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman ? he paid big-time. Lewis would not have taken Klitschko lightly. That bodes serious trouble for Wladimir.
So, it?s possible to eke out a few more wins for Klitschko against the legends. At best, he breaks even. Ten years down the road, however, he may do better in these and other mythical matchups.
By the way, why wasn?t Evander Holyfield on this list instead of Patterson?
***
It can be said without question that Wladimir Klitschko would not have reached the pinnacle at which he now stands had he not come under the wing of trainer Emmanuel Steward in mid-career. After suffering knockout defeats and near-misses, Wladimir was thought to be washed up at an early age. Steward taught Klitschko how to minimize his weaknesses and maximize his strengths, and Wladimir never looked back.
Sadly, Steward passed away last Thursday from diverticulitis, a stomach disorder. He was 68. Although best-known for being the trainer of multiple-division champion Thomas Hearns, Steward guided literally hundreds of boxers, amateur and professional alike, at his famed Kronk Gym in Detroit. Like fellow trainer Angelo Dundee, who died earlier this year, Steward was one of those rare personages in boxing about whom not a single bad word could be spoken.
He will be missed.
