Vlad looks knackered......

knockout · Post by **knockout** » 13 Apr 2004, 05:43

i have never seen someone look so exhausted :

Kilburn · Post by **Kilburn** » 13 Apr 2004, 05:52

Still can't believe he lost to such an average fighter.

If Klit did basically punch himself out (which seems to be the general opinion) then all that 40-odd fights worth of experience has done nothing for him.

J · Post by J » 13 Apr 2004, 05:58

GUT FEEL IS SOMETHING AINT RIGHT.
i havent seen the fight but seems extraordinary to me a fighter challenging for the World H/weight title should punch himself out in 4 rounds and then get ko'd in the 5th.
All seems a bit dody read some consiracy theories about ex steroid use and diabetes not sure but somink sure seems strange that a man who shoiuld be in his physical prime should capitulate so badly. But IU'll reserve jkusdgement til Ive seen it.
PS. Thanks for that sky / bbc jeez you would have thought some coverage somewhere might be applicable and I dont mean friggin pay per view either.

knockout · Post by **knockout** » 13 Apr 2004, 06:03

it does seem odd that he would punch himself out, he has paced himself well in previous fights.....
more to this than meets the eye I think...

either Wlad completely under estimated Brewster or was physically not 100% for some othe reason

Kilburn · Post by **Kilburn** » 13 Apr 2004, 06:06

I wasn't interested in the fight at all beforehand so can hardly complain about Sky & BBC afterwards just because it resulted in an upset.

Wouldn't have minded catching Spinks v Judah though, always good to see Zab get beat.

knockout · Post by **knockout** » 13 Apr 2004, 06:16

Kilburn wrote:I wasn't interested in the fight at all beforehand so can hardly complain about Sky & BBC afterwards just because it resulted in an upset.

Wouldn't have minded catching Spinks v Judah though, always good to see Zab get beat.

i hear Zab nearly stopped Spinks in the dying seconds..... that would have been a bitter pill for us all to swallow.... thankfully Spinks battled through and retained

Kilburn · Post by **Kilburn** » 13 Apr 2004, 06:20

Yeah close one. Bloody close.

knockout artist · Post by **knockout artist** » 13 Apr 2004, 06:34

Wlad looks extremely muscle bound.

None of these huge guys (apart from LL) are any good.

I wouldnt be surprised if Sanders Ko's his brother too.

steve689 · Post by **steve689** » 13 Apr 2004, 09:01

My good friend Tantum from the current scene informs me that all was not right, Wlad i believe was sick going into the fight and got hit on the back of the head after the bell and never recovered, or something along those lines anyway. Hopefully he will come over and explain in more detail.

Eric the Viking · Post by **Eric the Viking** » 13 Apr 2004, 11:55

knockout artist wrote:Wlad looks extremely muscle bound.

None of these huge guys (apart from LL) are any good.

I wouldnt be surprised if Sanders Ko's his brother too.

No, he's obviously very well-built, but nowhere near as hulking as a bodybuilder type or even a Mike Tyson type. In other words, his physique does look more like athletic boxing muscle rather than bulky, slow-you-down weightlifting muscle. If he'd recently gained an inordinate amount of weight or shown signs of excessive fatigue in training I'd be inclined to agree with you, but he's about the same as he's been for years. Sure, he punched himself out once before, but not in 4-odd rounds in a fight he was dominating.

The only non-weird explanation I can think of for his sudden exhaustion (assuming he was in shape, which by all accounts he was) is this: Vlad looks OK (not spectacular by all acounts, but still pretty good) in training, but come fight time, the fact that this is his first real opponent since the shock loss to Sanders is weighing on him. As a result he gets extremely nervous, which causes him to expend much more energy than even his high punch output can explain. Even though he's pasting Brewster six ways to Sunday, Brewster is just not going away and even landing the occasional decent shot. Worry sets in, along with that sinking "oh, no" feeling we've all felt when things look like they're circling the crapper. (Not that they were for Vlad even early in the 5th, but we're talking about a guy who'd never conquered real adversity in the ring before, and whose confidence is shot). Around the 5th round Vlad hits the proverbial "wall" the distance runners talk about when the glycogen stores in their liver are exhausted. At that point your body has to switch to burning fat, which is a much slower process, leaves you feeling like you've got nothing during the switch, and even after it gets into gear (the famous "second wind"), doesn't allow for the same level of energy expenditure as before. Unlike a seasoned pro who has been through this and weathered the storm before (hopefully with defense rather than chin - either will do, but Vlad definitely lacks the latter, and probably lacks the former, to boot), Vlad doesn't know what to do. Brewster sees his opening and pounces, and Vlad just collapses mentally and physically. In that picture he literally looks shell-shocked.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 13 Apr 2004, 12:03

I think anxiety is the best explanation, given his recent history I think he may have panicked when he got his man hurt, and all the adrenalin robbed him of energy.

Anyone know if the fight is being shown on BBC at any point?

REAL_DEAL · Post by **REAL_DEAL** » 13 Apr 2004, 12:09

jamesmcdonnell wrote:I think anxiety is the best explanation, given his recent history I think he may have panicked when he got his man hurt, and all the adrenalin robbed him of energy.

Anyone know if the fight is being shown on BBC at any point?

maybe the klitschko - sanders sky card anyone will do

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 13 Apr 2004, 14:12

Wlad's main problem seems to be a glass jaw. And having no idea what to do when he's hurt: he doesn't hold on, he just drops his hands and lean back.
Watched the fight on German ZDF and he didn't look too bad for the first few rounds. Much better than his last "fight", where he looked like his confidence was shot to pieces.

He was hurt in the 3rd by a left hook, before the "exhaustion" set in, and looked ok in the 5th until Brewster cracked him with two left hooks.
The way he fell apart was alarming. He may have had some sort of fitness problem for all I know - but you'd think Miracle Manny would've noticed something in the run up...more like no punch resistance and little heart for a real battle.