By Chris Beale: Its an interesting question – just how good are the brothers? Yes, in the current generation of fighters they are in a league of their own but what about fighters of the past? How do they compare?

Muhammad Ali:

He was fast, strong, had a decent chin and was the best of the golden age of Heavyweight boxing. The Klitschkos have none of the attributes that lead to him losing (not including his later matches, anything after Frazier-Ali III is a second rate Ali). A prime Ali only got beat by Joe Frazier and Ken Norton. Frazier was the only fighter who really pushed Ali. He had the perfect style to beat him and even then it was close. Ultimately this war over three gut wrenching battles would leave both fighters as lesser fighters.

Prime Ali would have no problem with either Klitschkos, they are too slow, too robotic. They would not be able to hit him and he had the perfect skill set to beat them. I could see them lasting all 12 rounds (or 15 in Ali’s day) but they would lose heavily on point.

Joe Frazier

A brawler. Klitschkos tend to pick poor Frazier clones as their opponents but with Frazier heart and will, they would struggle. Frazier just kept coming he got knocked down so many times against George Foreman and he just kept going and in the final Ali Battle he was forced to quit by his trainer (moments before Ali was going to, by Ali’s own admission) Vitali would fair better but I feel Wladmir with his weaker chin would go down within 10 rounds. The only hope for the brothers would be if they constantly hugged Frazier, but I have a feeling Frazier would have made them pay for that.

George Foreman:

Foreman in his prime was a beast. He lost to Ali largely because Ali used the surroundings to his advantage and made Joe Frazier look below average in their first fight. Foreman changed from an incredible hulk like monster into a master tactician and became the oldest Heavyweight champion ever when he knocked out Michael Moorer. A prime Foreman would have been a challenge for any boxer at any time. He could dent boxing bags with his hooks (true story). Both Klitschko brothers could deal with the Foreman that beat Michael Moorer, but the Foreman that got beat by Ali, I see Foreman knocking either of them out. Prime Vitali vs. prime Foreman would be a fight. I think we would all want to see two giant punchers with great chins. Wladmir would be cannon fodder.

Mike Tyson

Tyson in his prime was a beast. He was so skilled it was scary. Tyson had both speed and power in overdrive. He could land combinations with extreme amounts of power and with unimaginable speed. Fact is he had the perfect skills to destroy either Klitschko. A post 1997 Tyson would be an easier addition to their CVs and would not last long against Vitali. Wladmir would struggle with a post 1997 Tyson but would just about do enough to win I feel.

Evander Holyfield

Evander was incredible overrated, the only person of note that he beat was Tyson, and that was because he used his head as a battering ram, he lost to Bowe twice, lost to Lewis twice(it may say a draw in the first fight but that was highway robbery) and lost to a Teddy Atlas Controlled Moorer.

Evander does not have the power or speed to beat the brothers. Vitali would destroy him. Wladmir would struggle and the result of that would largely depend on which Evander arrived for the fight.

Lennox Lewis:

This wont win me very fans but I have Lewis beating Wladmir and Vitali. An out of shape, past his prime Lewis beat Vitali who was entering his prime. Lewis was expecting to fight a lesser victim who pulled out and Vitali came in instead. Lewis was not prepared for Vitali and in the early rounds it showed but Lewis came back to win the latter rounds of the short fight and caused one of the worst cuts ever seen in a boxing ring.

So many people seem to forget that Lewis didn’t train for Vitali, and think because he performed badly in the early rounds that Vitali is the better fighter. The fact is Lewis went in unprepared for a Fight against a lesser opponent and instead got a match with someone who was a genuine threat. He still managed to win though…

Wladmir doesn’t have Vitali’s IRON CHIN. If any one of Lewis’s punches against Vitali landed on Wladmir, it would be a short night.

Others:

I haven’t mentioned greats like Rocky Marciano. This is because it would be impossible to judge Marciano era boxing with the modern stuff. The knowledge we have now does not even compare to them.

Others I haven’t mention include Riddick Bowe largely because he only performed at a world level against Evander and after and before that was largely nothing special.

Larry Holmes I didn’t mention because he didn’t beat any truly great boxers during their prime and got beat by Michael Spinks and Tyson.

Overall:

Vitali I would rate in the top ten heavyweights of all time. Wladmir I wouldn’t even rate in the top 20. In the 80s, he wouldn’t have got a world title. Even the 90s would have seen him struggle.