Chagaev - does he have a chance?

[Robyork]

I think if Chagev can stand up to Klitschkos power he will win.
Despite being a lot shorter I believe he will still be able to outbox Klitschko in a similar way to Valuev.
He is a good counter puncher and i think if he fights the way barrera did against naz he can grab a close decision.

[SteveO]

By the way, good to see SteveO here - one of the 'founding father posters' of the Boxrec forum as I see it

Thank you for the kind words.
I think some posters tend to forget that Wlad has knocked out Monte Barrett, Ray Mercer, Chris Byrd, Calvin Brock, Ray Austin, Lamon Brewster, Tony Thompson, Hasim Rahman, DaVarryl Williamson, Jameel McCline, Frans Botha and Derek Jefferson. He also outpointed Sam Peter and Sultan Ibragimov amongst others. He probably will not fight his brother and the ABC politics over the years have so far prevented him from fighting other 'champions'. It is hard to see what else he could do or what better opposition is/was available.
Chagaev on the other hand has disputed points victories over John Ruiz and Nikolai Valuev.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Yes, but how many people have ever won a clear cut decision over Ruiz? Valuev is also not an easy man to look good against.

Wlad is favourite, but let's also not forget he has been flattened by Lamon Brewster and Corrie Sanders, neither of whom were exactly world beaters.

[hitman09]

I give him a lot more of a chance than I gave Haye.

[TerribleTerry]

Glad to see so many predicting a Chag win. I would love to see Wlad exposed again. Unlike AB I actually enjoy Ruslan's style. He isnt explosive or overly urgent in his work but he is very well schooled. Cmon White Tyson - do the biz!

[stujones]

I say Chagaev has a chance. I don't know if he has had the best preperation for this - given the rust and all.

I would give him a better chance against Vitali, who whilst has a better chin than Wlad is alot more limited in his punch selection. However, he's got good handspeed and has an excellent boxing brain.

I think Wlad it will be too quick and expect a points win, but I think its a very intriguing contest.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

I think he has little to no chance. Slow hands, average power, average workrate, he's just solid and little else. Lets not forget an ancient Holyfield and Ruiz both deserved wins over Valuev too, he struggled with Skeleton and the journeyman he faced too.

[Asterix]

[Wales]

Wladamir is looking more like Viatli every pic I see.

[forcefraser]

I just hope Chagaev goes after him. If he stands off him he will be jabbed to pieces.

He was a great Amateur, but he has not really impressed as a pro. I think he lacks the power at top level. Rogan did what he couldn`t by stopping Skelton.

[Bard of Boxrec]

I've picked the upset here, but only on the basis that Chagaev wants it.

Really though, how much fire has he shown? We could easily see a typical Eastern Euro heavy borefest here. It seems so many of them have the mentality of 'doing their job' rather than wanting to be the best. Will Chagaev really have a go? Who can have 100% confidence that he will go one step beyond Ibragimov's infuriating 'effort'?

Are there even any press comments from Chagaev? In the above pic he just looks bored.

[Dioufy]

Changing my opinion. I think Wlad stops him after winning most of the rounds. Wlad TKO11.

[Adamj1987]

chagaev has a good chance as up till now he was training for an even bigger and heavier guy than wlad (though cant whiack as hard) whilst wlad had been training for an orthodox fighter so i think it will be a close early fight with wlad taking over

[Bard of Boxrec]

Has Chagaev ever been down/hurt to anyone's knowledge?

[GlobalBox]

Has Chagaev ever been down/hurt to anyone's knowledge?

He was hurt during the third round of the fight against Drummond, he sucked it up well enough to be honest but was clearly more than buzzed in my view.

[SteveO]

Yes, but how many people have ever won a clear cut decision over Ruiz? Valuev is also not an easy man to look good against.

Agreed, I'm just saying that Chagaev's record is nowhere near as impressive as Wlad's.

[knockout]

I said it when Haye pulled out and I will agree with those who have said it on this thread, this is a "better" fight than Haye v Wlad. Might not be as exciting but its two champs, two ex Number one amateurs...

I don't think Chagaev will be intimidated by Wlad... i wonder if they have sparred before in their Universum days...

Chagaev beat Savon as already mentioned (although I havent seen the fights, some say they were a little politically driven decisions) so he can obviously deal with tall fighters... Savons reach was huge... longer than Wlads I would guess, he also decisioned Valuev too but he is very immobile so probably not a great comparison.

If they have sparred before and Wlad has the slightest bit of doubt in his mind then I think he will lose....

[jamesmcdonnell]

Chagaev came in at 225 - that's a good sign. Wlad looks much smaller than I've seen him before and very ripped at 240, so only 15 lb weight difference.