Why Wladimir can easily fight beyond 2016

[cold187]

2015 look to be one of his toughest years

1. Jennings - the best american heavyweight
2. Wilder/Stiverne
3. Fury

these could all be done 2015 but i only expect 2.

after these beating these guys the talent drops again in 2016

1. glazkov/Cunningham ibf eliminator is a GIMME
2., if chagaev remains wba champ he will become mandatory (once beaten already)
3. Browne is a possible voluntary - if still undefeated
4. Povetkin rematch is most likely (he will be 36-37) in 2016

[davie]

Said it for some time, he beat the best in the division in Haye, Povetkin and Pulev.
Other than rematches, which he'd win again, there are no greater challenges out there.

there are a few interesting questions to answer, "what if Wilder lands the right hand" "how will he deal with Fury's size"
but ultimately he'll answer these questions by simply being levels above these guys and continue unbeaten for years to come or until he suddenly gets old.

[SNG]

I really enjoyed his last fight, he put some real venom in his shots. It was great to see him go out to take somebody out, he was exciting. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come, I'd love to see him take some of the other top contenders out in similar fashion.

[victor-romeo]

I really enjoyed his last fight, he put some real venom in his shots. It was great to see him go out to take somebody out, he was exciting. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come, I'd love to see him take some of the other top contenders out in similar fashion.

Victory over Pulev definetly one of Wlad's better wins in his career..

[davie]

I’ve always found the Klitschko brothers an intriguing phenomenon… I truly wonder if their global status would have been elevated greatly had they been born in the USA.

If you look at the heavyweight title reign of Larry Holmes, I honestly believe that Wladimir could have overcome the same set of title challengers (as per their ability at the time they faced ‘The Easton Assassin’):
• Carl Williams
• David Bey
• James Smith
• Scott Frank
• Tim Witherspoon
• Lucien Rodriguez
• Randall Cobb
• Gerry Cooney
• Renaldo Snipes
• Leon Spinks
• Trevor Berbick
• Muhammad Ali
• Scott LeDoux
• Leroy Jones
• Lorenzo Zanon
• Earnie Shavers
• Mike Weaver
• Ossie Ocasio
• Alfredo Evangelista
• Ken Norton

The same could have been said for Mike Tyson’s title reign:
• Bruce Seldon
• Frank Bruno
• Carl Williams
• Michael Spinks
• Tony Tubbs
• Larry Holmes
• Tyrell Biggs
• Tony Tucker
• Pinklon Thomas
• James Smith
• Trevor Berbick

I also believe that the very same thing can be said for Lennox Lewis’ title reign:
• Mike Tyson
• Hasim Rahman
• David Tua
• Frans Botha
• Michael Grant
• Evander Holyfield
• Zeljko Mavrovic
• Shannon Briggs
• Andrew Golota
• Henry Akinwande
• Oliver McCall
• Lionel Butler
• Phil Jackson
• Frank Bruno
• Tony Tucker

Whilst Larry Holmes defeated the likes of Muhammad Ali & Ken Norton, both men were past their respective primes.

Mike Tyson also defeated Larry Holmes when he was considered as a veteran.

Similarly, Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson, who were both much smaller men than he was and were also past their primes.

Therefore, when you look at the heavyweight title reigns of all-time greats like Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis… it’s actually quite difficult to argue that Wladimir Klitschko could not have defeated the overwhelming majority of those men. However, Wladimir isn’t American and tends to fight in Germany, which perhaps explains the reason why his title reign is often derided or at least devalued. :??

I totally agree with you, Wlad could have beaten those fighters at the time Holmes/Tyson/Lewis fought them
But he didn't & the unfortunate fact is that Wlad's Resume doesn't stack up against many of those names. The best names Wlad has faced are not as strong as the Best on the records listed above and the weakest names Wlad (and Vitali) have defended against are at times frankly embarrasing.
Not a great deal more Wlad could have done about that, he has now faced the best there is to face.
An decent argument could be made for Wlad beating each of those men (although I suspect prime Lewis would have been favourite) but the strength of resume will always go against him

[victor-romeo]

I’ve always found the Klitschko brothers an intriguing phenomenon… I truly wonder if their global status would have been elevated greatly had they been born in the USA.

If you look at the heavyweight title reign of Larry Holmes, I honestly believe that Wladimir could have overcome the same set of title challengers (as per their ability at the time they faced ‘The Easton Assassin’):
• Carl Williams
• David Bey
• James Smith
• Scott Frank
• Tim Witherspoon
• Lucien Rodriguez
• Randall Cobb
• Gerry Cooney
• Renaldo Snipes
• Leon Spinks
• Trevor Berbick
• Muhammad Ali
• Scott LeDoux
• Leroy Jones
• Lorenzo Zanon
• Earnie Shavers
• Mike Weaver
• Ossie Ocasio
• Alfredo Evangelista
• Ken Norton

The same could have been said for Mike Tyson’s title reign:
• Bruce Seldon
• Frank Bruno
• Carl Williams
• Michael Spinks
• Tony Tubbs
• Larry Holmes
• Tyrell Biggs
• Tony Tucker
• Pinklon Thomas
• James Smith
• Trevor Berbick

I also believe that the very same thing can be said for Lennox Lewis’ title reign:
• Mike Tyson
• Hasim Rahman
• David Tua
• Frans Botha
• Michael Grant
• Evander Holyfield
• Zeljko Mavrovic
• Shannon Briggs
• Andrew Golota
• Henry Akinwande
• Oliver McCall
• Lionel Butler
• Phil Jackson
• Frank Bruno
• Tony Tucker

Whilst Larry Holmes defeated the likes of Muhammad Ali & Ken Norton, both men were past their respective primes.

Mike Tyson also defeated Larry Holmes when he was considered as a veteran.

Similarly, Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson, who were both much smaller men than he was and were also past their primes.

Therefore, when you look at the heavyweight title reigns of all-time greats like Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis… it’s actually quite difficult to argue that Wladimir Klitschko could not have defeated the overwhelming majority of those men. However, Wladimir isn’t American and tends to fight in Germany, which perhaps explains the reason why his title reign is often derided or at least devalued. :??

Wlad is a hall of famer on a great run here. I have been a fan of his for his whole career and still am. But His style of fighting is frequently boring due to an often terrible clinching style. Throw in Wlad being KO'd by Sanders, and Lamon Brewster and you have some things that make him not rate as high as Holyfield, Tyson, or Holmes(although Holmes was a pretty boring fighter).
Also although Wlads title run in duration is astounding, I think if you match fighters at their peak I think Vitali is the better fighter.

[cold187]

People argue Holyfield Tyson defeats to mcbride James Toney john Ruiz etc were not in their peak
When wlad lost he want in his peak either

And credit to wlad for still being in shape at 39

Tyson peaked in his 20s in his thirties was fighting likes of golota savarese julius Francis Botha etc

A 20s Tyson Bears wlad . A 30s wlad beats Tyson

[HomicideHenry]

Let's get real here... there's nobody around, and won't be for a long time... he could be champion for another five or even ten years.

[ReggieDiggs]

I think the 2016 contenders will be better than listed. I think Anthony Joshua will definitely be among the guys under consideration at that point if not sometime in late 2015 unless he completely craps out which is always a possibility this early on. There are always guys on the way up though so I think it'll be a lil tougher. And the older Wlad gets the more likely he's in for a surprise on one random night vs a random contender. I mean I don't think many were predicting his previous losses so I kinda expect his 4th loss to come the same way.

Having said that Wlad can easily fight til 2026 & beyond. I mean Mickey Rourke just had a fight at 60 something.

[cold187]

i still believe joshua will hang fire with eddie hearn until wladimir retires. he is young and despite stepping up in quality, they will start fighting for british and euro titles soon.

i see wladimir fight 2 more years only ie 2015 and 2016 and retiring end of 2016, thought im sure can box 2018.

[Jpreisser]

If I was Wladimir, I would be fighting three or four times a year to try and break Louis' record.

[JeanClaude Van Damme]

He comes the Euro butthurt again.

No one cares that Wlad isn't American. He grapples his opponents more than Royce Gracie and fights overseas exclusively to get favors from refs and judges.

Wlad has done nothing to expand his fanbase. Nothing. It's his fault. Cut the butthurt.

[cold187]

mayweather is the most boring fighter on earth.
im suprised wlad is trying to get usa fanbase, a country where boxing is the 20th most popular sport....after swimming

[tiny_acres]

He comes the Euro butthurt again.

No one cares that Wlad isn't American. He grapples his opponents more than Royce Gracie and fights overseas exclusively to get favors from refs and judges.

Wlad has done nothing to expand his fanbase. Nothing. It's his fault. Cut the butthurt.

Yeah I agree the majority could care less where a fighter comes from.
Wlad's biggest problem to me is he is boring.I expect excitement in the heavyweight division.
It has always been the glamour division.Right now it is the division to put you to sleep.
Very few fun fighters are at heavy now a days.

[pound per pound]

He comes the Euro butthurt again.

No one cares that Wlad isn't American. He grapples his opponents more than Royce Gracie and fights overseas exclusively to get favors from refs and judges.

Wlad has done nothing to expand his fanbase. Nothing. It's his fault. Cut the butthurt.

I respectfully disagree. Wlad's smashing knockout over Pulev has opened up HBO's wallet. HBO is the gold standard for American boxing. Now the fans over 50 who aren't familiar with finding boxing on the web can see him.

I think Wlad can fight on for a while.

[rm1]

Let's get real here... there's nobody around, and won't be for a long time... he could be champion for another five or even ten years.

I thought you were a fury fan ? and what about Joshua.

[JeanClaude Van Damme]

He comes the Euro butthurt again.

No one cares that Wlad isn't American. He grapples his opponents more than Royce Gracie and fights overseas exclusively to get favors from refs and judges.

Wlad has done nothing to expand his fanbase. Nothing. It's his fault. Cut the butthurt.

I respectfully disagree. Wlad's smashing knockout over Pulev has opened up HBO's wallet. HBO is the gold standard for American boxing. Now the fans over 50 who aren't familiar with finding boxing on the web can see him.

I think Wlad can fight on for a while.

And they're going clam up as soon as he starts playing huggy bear again.

[twopiece]

I really enjoyed his last fight, he put some real venom in his shots. It was great to see him go out to take somebody out, he was exciting. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come, I'd love to see him take some of the other top contenders out in similar fashion.

I think he's going to KO Jennings in vintage fashion. It's clear he's after Unification, which I'm thankful for, but I'd also love to see him fight Fury this year too.

[cold187]

i think he will. he will fight fury after jennings.

The mandatory for wilder/stiverne is in fact likely to be POVETKIN (assuming he beats perez).

if povetkin wins, then WLad will face povetkin in a rematch , for again ridiculous large sum of money and a WBC belt

[p4p1]

I’ve always found the Klitschko brothers an intriguing phenomenon… I truly wonder if their global status would have been elevated greatly had they been born in the USA.

If you look at the heavyweight title reign of Larry Holmes, I honestly believe that Wladimir could have overcome the same set of title challengers (as per their ability at the time they faced ‘The Easton Assassin’):
• Carl Williams
• David Bey
• James Smith
• Scott Frank
• Tim Witherspoon
• Lucien Rodriguez
• Randall Cobb
• Gerry Cooney
• Renaldo Snipes
• Leon Spinks
• Trevor Berbick
• Muhammad Ali
• Scott LeDoux
• Leroy Jones
• Lorenzo Zanon
• Earnie Shavers
• Mike Weaver
• Ossie Ocasio
• Alfredo Evangelista
• Ken Norton

The same could have been said for Mike Tyson’s title reign:
• Bruce Seldon
• Frank Bruno
• Carl Williams
• Michael Spinks
• Tony Tubbs
• Larry Holmes
• Tyrell Biggs
• Tony Tucker
• Pinklon Thomas
• James Smith
• Trevor Berbick

I also believe that the very same thing can be said for Lennox Lewis’ title reign:
• Mike Tyson
• Hasim Rahman
• David Tua
• Frans Botha
• Michael Grant
• Evander Holyfield
• Zeljko Mavrovic
• Shannon Briggs
• Andrew Golota
• Henry Akinwande
• Oliver McCall
• Lionel Butler
• Phil Jackson
• Frank Bruno
• Tony Tucker

Whilst Larry Holmes defeated the likes of Muhammad Ali & Ken Norton, both men were past their respective primes.

Mike Tyson also defeated Larry Holmes when he was considered as a veteran.

Similarly, Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson, who were both much smaller men than he was and were also past their primes.

Therefore, when you look at the heavyweight title reigns of all-time greats like Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis… it’s actually quite difficult to argue that Wladimir Klitschko could not have defeated the overwhelming majority of those men. However, Wladimir isn’t American and tends to fight in Germany, which perhaps explains the reason why his title reign is often derided or at least devalued. :??

Wlad is a hall of famer on a great run here. I have been a fan of his for his whole career and still am. But His style of fighting is frequently boring due to an often terrible clinching style. Throw in Wlad being KO'd by Sanders, and Lamon Brewster and you have some things that make him not rate as high as Holyfield, Tyson, or Holmes(although Holmes was a pretty boring fighter).
Also although Wlads title run in duration is astounding, I think if you match fighters at their peak I think Vitali is the better fighter.

I think Wlad is starting to ecplise Tyson as an ATG, Yes Tyson was young and exciting but his 'prime' only last 4 years in which time he beat no great fighters at their best, was then knocked out by Buster (Who looked fornicating amazing that night and I think if that Buster showed up for every fight he would have been a real force in the 90s.). Then cherry picked a couple of titles, lost to Holyfield and never really did much else.

[JeanClaude Van Damme]

Bruce Seldon is better than anyone Wlad has ever beaten.

That's saying something.

[montrealsuper]

Pulev would beat most of the guys Lewis and Holyfield beat. So would Tony Thompson. Wlad's era is underrated. It's been slandered for years by the media and people like Kellerman and Atlas and Rafael.

Wlad is unbeatable right now and he seems to be still improving too. Pulev win was a helluva performance. Pulev is severely underrated. That left hook KO of Pulev was one of the best left hook KOs in HWT history.

[montrealsuper]

Bruce Seldon is better than anyone Wlad has ever beaten.

That's saying something.

Bruce Seldon couldn't beat Wach, Byrd, Brock, Thomspon, Pulev, Chambers or even Leapai. Maybe he'd beat Mormeck. Maybe. FOH with that nonsense.

[dempseyfire]

Pulev would beat most of the guys Lewis and Holyfield beat. So would Tony Thompson. Wlad's era is underrated. It's been slandered for years by the media and people like Kellerman and Atlas and Rafael.

Wlad is unbeatable right now and he seems to be still improving too. Pulev win was a helluva performance. Pulev is severely underrated. That left hook KO of Pulev was one of the best left hook KOs in HWT history.

LOL Pulev who struggled vs the china-chinned, slow Travis Walker? I'd favor a peak Seldon over Pulev's standing straight up with his chin in the air . . .Seldon didn't have the greatest chin but he was fast and had power.