By John F. McKenna (McJack) Frequently when we attempt to gauge modern fighters against all time greats of yesteryear we tend to view the old timers as larger than life individuals. And this writer will be the first to admit that I have been somewhat guilty of that myself. This writer grew up reading about the ring exploits of Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis and in more modern times Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

But realistically when taking off the rose colored glasses that we look through to view fighters from the past we have to be logical. Admittedly it is not easy, but it is fun and interesting to compare the old time fighters with today’s breed of super heavyweights.

Jack Johnson reigned as heavyweight champion from 1908 until 1915 and was the first African American heavyweight champion. Johnson at the time had the nickname “The Galveston Giant” but in reality he was 6’1” and weighed in the range of 205 to 210 pounds.

The next great heavyweight champion was Jack Dempsey who was 6’1” and weighed 192 pounds when he KO’d Luis Anger Firpo in the 2nd round in 1923. Dempsey was indeed a great champion and may have been one of the best Pound for Pound fighters of all time. His 3 round demolition of 6’6”, 245 pound Jess Willard is rated by ring historians as the most brutal beating ever inflicted in boxing history. Dempsey made his mark on his trek towards a heavyweight title shot by knocking out 6 straight opponents in one round. Many of his foes towered over him.

Joe Louis at 6’1”, 207 pounds when he KO’d Buddy Baer in 1942 is on every boxing historians list as one of the all time greats. Louis’ accomplishments exceed every other ydnearly 12 years, which is also a record for any division. In addition Louis scored 5 one round KO’s while heavyweight champion. Those records have stood for over 60 years and It is possible that they will never be broken.

Rocky Marciano is the only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated. He scored 43 KO’s in 49 wins. That record has stood for over 55 years. Rocky was 5’10” and weighed in at 185 pounds as champion.

Sonny Liston at 6’1” and 214 pounds had an incredible reach for a fighter his size at 84’.
He exhibited murderous punching power in his two one round KO’s of Floyd Patterson sand in his fights leading up to capturing the heavyweight title.

Let’s take just a minute to rate those old timers against Vitali Klitschko. Vitali at 6’7 ½” and 245 pounds has withstood the test of time. His KO percentage rating is right up near the top. He has received considerable criticism for being boring and not having faced the top competition that former champions did.

But in reality that criticism does not hold weight when you take into consideration that Vitali has dominated every opponent put in front of him since he won his WBC championship belt. To some degree it is all in the eyes of the beholder. Vitali’s fans in Germany and Eastern Europe do not think he is boring and continually flock to stadiums to see his fights.

In addition “Dr. Ironfist” has never been knocked down and has never trailed on a score card at the end0 of a fight. No other heavyweight champion in boxing history can say that. Joe Louis in 1941 was hit with the charge that he was fighting a bunch of bums. Granted Louis made some of them look like bums because he was so much better than any of his challengers. The same thing is true of Klitschko.

When Tomasz Adamek was stopped by Vitali last September he remarked Klitscho’s height was not the reason he lost. He said that Vitali was just that much better than him.
Adamek at 6’2”, 217 pounds looked like a child in the ring with Klitschko. Shannon Briggs who suffered a sever beat down by Vitali in October 2010 also had high praise for Vitali.

It has been a bitter pill for many boxing fans from the U.S.A. to accept the fact the Klitschko’s now rule the heavyweight division. We on the western side of the Atlantic are used to having the heavyweight champion reside on our shores. Vitali looks a little different and his style is a little different but you cannot argue with success and the manner is which he achieves that success.

Athletes in ever sport including boxing have improved over time. It is implausible to think that that is not also true in the heavyweight division.

As good as Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey were it is doubtful if they could have competed on an equal level with Vitali Klitschko. While their were other huge fighters in the past, they did not have the skills of Klitschko. It must also be kept in mind that many of the opponents of the former greats were in the 190 pound range and would not even be considered viable opponents for Vitali today.