Wladimir Klitschko career obituary

[Tuan_Jim]

For 10 years we've had to listen to idolatrous Klitschko obsessives worship this man. Fencing Chris Byrd, Ruslan Chagaev, Tony Thompson and the gang elevated Wladimir to all-time great status. No one could ever point to one single great defining win but still, he was the best ever. No one could master his elaborate jab, grab, jab, grab, jab, grab, grab grab grab grab grab frugal right hand style.

Now we've come to the end of this entertainment-free decade of passive, feminine-style boxing (200+ holds initiated versus Povetkin, one of his 'major' victories), and watched him so dismally surrender his titles, can we finally accept this man cannot fight? Can we accept he is hugely limited and one-dimensional? Fury with a rare (for this era) combination of fearlessness, fitness, aggression and a work rate romped to a decision. Had Wladimir made a serious attempt to mix it up at the end he would have been KOd (again).

He is certainly a puncher. But the man can't take a punch, mentally unravels in a fight and, unsurprisingly, can be easily outboxed by someone who refuses to be transfixed by his jab. Delighted by Tyson Fury confirming what a lot of smart boxing fans have said for years.

[Chepppaaa]

watch all the klitschko lovers hiding and saying nothing hahahaha

so many had borinchko as #1 on the planet, where are these people now, half of the board was talking that nonsense hahahah

[armageto]

HW champ for over a decade. Like him or not, that's a pretty good accomplishment. I don't think many people had him #1 overall on the P4P list, but he easily deserved to be on a top 10 P4P list. People scream about him being boring, but what the Hell did Fury just do?!? That was just as boring of a game plan as Wlad's usual plan.

Age caught up with Wlad. It reminded me of Mosley/Mayweather, where Sugar just couldn't pull the trigger anymore. Wlad didn't look good since Manny passed away, and looked pretty bad against Jennings before last night. I rather him just pack it in, but looks like we'll get a rematch with Fury. Hopefully both guys come to fight more in part II.

[zorndeslammes]

People are gonna take whatever they want from the decision. In the end, if you have a position you feel strongly about, you should be able to provide a reasoned defense and point at evidence supporting it. The evidence for Wlad having really been a P4P talent and not just a guy who managed his size and height well against a long list of below average opposition after getting knocked out not once but thrice is pretty sparse. It is also largely statistically based rather than involving actual analysis of combatants. He's been a great champion willing to fight most anyone and unified the belts post Lewis. Those are all good things. There's a lot of bad too.

[Ricky_]

He is certainly a puncher. But the man can't take a punch

Wladimir Klitchko would be a challenge for any heavyweight in history and his reign as champion puts him among the greats.

I agree with the above however, unlike his brother, Wladimir simply isn't a fighter. He doesn't have the heart of a fighter. He's an extremely intelligent & impeccable athlete who's made great success in boxing using his intellect, dedication to a strategy and supreme physical tools, but ultimately you're either a fighter or you aren't.

His performance last night reminded me of the Cowardly Lion from Oz... absolutely terrified to throw his straight right, a punch which he knew could knock Fury clean out, because he was so terrified of getting countered.

[Freedom2013]

HW champ for over a decade. Like him or not, that's a pretty good accomplishment. I don't think many people had him #1 overall on the P4P list, but he easily deserved to be on a top 10 P4P list. People scream about him being boring, but what the Hell did Fury just do?!? That was just as boring of a game plan as Wlad's usual plan.

Age caught up with Wlad. It reminded me of Mosley/Mayweather, where Sugar just couldn't pull the trigger anymore. Wlad didn't look good since Manny passed away, and looked pretty bad against Jennings before last night. I rather him just pack it in, but looks like we'll get a rematch with Fury. Hopefully both guys come to fight more in part II.

My thoughts exactly.

[Tuan_Jim]

It is also largely statistically based rather than involving actual analysis of combatants.

The Klitschko brothers are always defended by way of statistics. Their admirers for whatever reason won't analyse the fights or fighters. It's always some autistic reciting of 'X amounts of KOs with an X percentage for X amount of years and X feet tall and X weight and X reach' blah blah blah. Without analysis Vitali Klitschko's numbers give the impression of the puncher of the century - a man who couldn't even knock down Corrie Sanders or Shannon Briggs!

[Tuan_Jim]

Wladimir Klitchko would be a challenge for any heavyweight in history and his reign as champion puts him among the greats.

The greats aren't recognised as great because they were passive like Tony Thompson and Ruslan Chagaev, or timid like David Haye. They hit harder and faster than Tyson Fury and bring a lot more aggression and nous.

Wladimir is a tough fight for any fringe heavyweight, journeyman type contender in history. Fighters similar to Thompson, Wach, Barrett etc. But great heavyweight champions? He would be forced to think, adapt, improvise, fight. In short he would be denied the chance to fence. And thus he is KOd.

[stevedoc]

HW champ for over a decade. Like him or not, that's a pretty good accomplishment. I don't think many people had him #1 overall on the P4P list, but he easily deserved to be on a top 10 P4P list. People scream about him being boring, but what the Hell did Fury just do?!? That was just as boring of a game plan as Wlad's usual plan.

Age caught up with Wlad. It reminded me of Mosley/Mayweather, where Sugar just couldn't pull the trigger anymore. Wlad didn't look good since Manny passed away, and looked pretty bad against Jennings before last night. I rather him just pack it in, but looks like we'll get a rematch with Fury. Hopefully both guys come to fight more in part II.

[SNG]

HW champ for over a decade. Like him or not, that's a pretty good accomplishment. I don't think many people had him #1 overall on the P4P list, but he easily deserved to be on a top 10 P4P list. People scream about him being boring, but what the Hell did Fury just do?!? That was just as boring of a game plan as Wlad's usual plan.

Age caught up with Wlad. It reminded me of Mosley/Mayweather, where Sugar just couldn't pull the trigger anymore. Wlad didn't look good since Manny passed away, and looked pretty bad against Jennings before last night. I rather him just pack it in, but looks like we'll get a rematch with Fury. Hopefully both guys come to fight more in part II.

X2.

You don't do what he did by chance, and I say that as a fight fan who hated his HW reign.

[crusader]

x3

Shame on Wlad for losing at nearly 40 for the first time in over a decade

I'm sure that some people have been waiting years for this...I don't doubt that they'd respond the same way if he hadn't dropped another fight until he was 50.

[Ricky_]

Wladimir Klitchko would be a challenge for any heavyweight in history and his reign as champion puts him among the greats.

The greats aren't recognised as great because they were passive like Tony Thompson and Ruslan Chagaev, or timid like David Haye. They hit harder and faster than Tyson Fury and bring a lot more aggression and nous.

Wladimir is a tough fight for any fringe heavyweight, journeyman type contender in history. Fighters similar to Thompson, Wach, Barrett etc. But great heavyweight champions? He would be forced to think, adapt, improvise, fight. In short he would be denied the chance to fence. And thus he is KOd.

Wlad was particularly poor last night and most critics would agree well beyond his prime, which was probably around 2010-12. A Prime Wlad is easy work for nobody, I could imagine Joe Frazier or Mike Tyson making extremely easy work if they got on the inside, but getting there is the hard part, they would be contesting massive physical disadvantages. He wasn't defeated last night by someone who achieved the task of getting beyond his jab/grab, he lost a decision in a non-fight, a guy who won entirely on his ability to utilise a longer reach and run away.

[greg]

...long and successful career..10 years dominating HW division is a great accomplishment in any epoch...those are the facts, the rest are personal opinions everyone is entitled to, I guess...

[Tuan_Jim]

He lost a decision in a non-fight, a guy who won entirely on his ability to utilise a longer reach and run away.

That would be deliciously ironic if it were true. Look at Wladimir's face today. That's a man who has been given a good drubbing, not a fencing. Fury was going for the KO in the last couple of rounds and, inevitably, Klitschko was holding and spoiling. If it was a non-fight, it was because Klitschko was doing everything possible to diffuse the violence.

[ikorolev]

Wlad couldn't adjust and wasn't willing to take any risks until it was too late. Definitely didn't look like a champion yesterday.

Let's see if he can look better in the rematch.

[Bard of Boxrec]

x3

Shame on Wlad for losing at nearly 40 for the first time in over a decade

I'm sure that some people have been waiting years for this...I don't doubt that they'd respond the same way if he hadn't dropped another fight until he was 50.

The problem is some people were saying wlad looked better than ever in the pulev fight. Now he seems to be shot to suit some people's arguments. You can't have it both ways. Wlad looked like the same old wlad that swatted at ibragimov for 12 rounds to me.

[dempseyfire]

Wladimir Klitchko would be a challenge for any heavyweight in history and his reign as champion puts him among the greats.

The greats aren't recognised as great because they were passive like Tony Thompson and Ruslan Chagaev, or timid like David Haye. They hit harder and faster than Tyson Fury and bring a lot more aggression and nous.

Wladimir is a tough fight for any fringe heavyweight, journeyman type contender in history. Fighters similar to Thompson, Wach, Barrett etc. But great heavyweight champions? He would be forced to think, adapt, improvise, fight. In short he would be denied the chance to fence. And thus he is KOd.

Wlad was particularly poor last night and most critics would agree well beyond his prime, which was probably around 2010-12. A Prime Wlad is easy work for nobody, I could imagine Joe Frazier or Mike Tyson making extremely easy work if they got on the inside, but getting there is the hard part, they would be contesting massive physical disadvantages. He wasn't defeated last night by someone who achieved the task of getting beyond his jab/grab, he lost a decision in a non-fight, a guy who won entirely on his ability to utilise a longer reach and run away.

If Wlad was so intimidated by Povetkin's pressure that he literally leapt into clinches without even throwing a punch first every 15 seconds; I imagine he's going to get DQ'd for holding vs either Frazier or Tyson.

[crusader]

x3

Shame on Wlad for losing at nearly 40 for the first time in over a decade

I'm sure that some people have been waiting years for this...I don't doubt that they'd respond the same way if he hadn't dropped another fight until he was 50.

The problem is some people were saying wlad looked better than ever in the pulev fight. Now he seems to be shot to suit some people's arguments. You can't have it both ways. Wlad looked like the same old wlad that swatted at ibragimov for 12 rounds to me.

Well someone can quickly decline when they're going on 40 (I wonder how good Fury will be at the same age), and I think many people noted that Wlad looked on the slide against Jennings, though still probably good enough to beat Fury.

I've also seen decline talk going back to the Povetkin fight, and while some were impressed with his performance against Pulev I think all the KD's caused people to overlook how mediocre he looked between them. He's at an age where most fighters are finished and he's had nearly 70 pro bouts after 140 as an amateur, so it wouldn't exactly be earth-shattering stuff that his better days passed.

I'm not sure what he'll do next, but if he retires without another fight he's still an Olympic champion, a first-ballot hall of famer, one of the most accomplished HW champs in boxing history, and someone who took on his top contenders until the end. He came back from adversity to have a very good career that most fighters can only dream of.

[Bard of Boxrec]

What do you mean by accomplished? I take that to mean skills. I would struggle to think of a heavyweight with worse skills who is regularly in ATG conversations. Did you perhaps just mean 'effective'.

In terms of him being shot it's obviously subjective so we can agree to disagree. But I'll ask this: what do you think a 2007 wlad does against fury? I personally think it would be a similar fight.

[crusader]

By accomplished I was referring to his achievements as champion--competing in nearly 30 title bouts and making 18 consecutive succesful defenses in a championship reign that lasted for around a decade. Of course his opposition wasn't as good as certain top heavyweights from other decades, but I still find his prolonged dominance impressive and I think what he's done in the ring is being unfairly minimized by some; he's had a very good career that most fighters can only dream of, and losing for the first time in over a decade--as someone who is about to turn 40--doesn't change that..

I think prime Wlad was probably the 2012 or so version with Manny Steward, but even back in 2007 I think he looked sharper than he has over his last three fights. I would pick that Wlad to win, as I think that he probably would've been able to adjust better to Fury and pull the trigger more often and more quickly when he needed to, though Fury would still have the style, ability, and dimensions to cause problems.

[BroughtonRulesRefuge]

- Clear front runner for Dumberest Post of the Year.

Anyone with any boxing IQ could see the young Fury, who gets even more flack from the usual suspects, presented some unique problems for a 40 year old heavy, who with his brother completely neutered a couple of generations of American and Brit heavies and their Playdough fans.



Yeah, we all remember not that long ago when this result was reserved by the usuals for Colossus David Price or The Fainting Wilder, right up there with their James Arrest Me Again Kirkland and David Pinky Toe Haye predictions.

Shame that, but the good news is Wlad set some records that are not likely to ever be equaled, not the least being the most title fights and tied for the most title wins if he comes back to beat Fury in the rematch. Didn't hear any Larry Mr. Inferiority Complex Holmes bellyaching about the results by the Kbros either, pure class the way they handled the loss. I scored a very close, very boring fight with a lot of rabbit punching by Fury that he got away with thanks to Weeks.

Now, let's see that long list of 40 yr old heavies that could beat Wlad last night. This should be some choice comedy.

[Tony1244]

For 10 years we've had to listen to idolatrous Klitschko obsessives worship this man. Fencing Chris Byrd, Ruslan Chagaev, Tony Thompson and the gang elevated Wladimir to all-time great status. No one could ever point to one single great defining win but still, he was the best ever. No one could master his elaborate jab, grab, jab, grab, jab, grab, grab grab grab grab grab frugal right hand style.

Now we've come to the end of this entertainment-free decade of passive, feminine-style boxing (200+ holds initiated versus Povetkin, one of his 'major' victories), and watched him so dismally surrender his titles, can we finally accept this man cannot fight? Can we accept he is hugely limited and one-dimensional? Fury with a rare (for this era) combination of fearlessness, fitness, aggression and a work rate romped to a decision. Had Wladimir made a serious attempt to mix it up at the end he would have been KOd (again).

He is certainly a puncher. But the man can't take a punch, mentally unravels in a fight and, unsurprisingly, can be easily outboxed by someone who refuses to be transfixed by his jab. Delighted by Tyson Fury confirming what a lot of smart boxing fans have said for years.

Some of the above is subjective opinion. We all have a right to taste. But I put in bold what was the BS. Cannot fight? When you virtually every round for years against the best in your division I think you can fight. He didn't surrender the title. Fury was very hard to hit, perhaps in part due to Wlad's age. Keep in mind, last night he was 39 pushing 40. A great jab, very hard right, great stamina and discipline is more than one dimension on my count. True, he never worked to the body much. I'm not a big Wlad fan. I'd root for Wilder against him. Was rooting for Wlad. But you go a bit overboard, dude.

Would Wlad have been "KO'd again" had he thrown caution to the wind?" Pure conjecture.

[man]

i was sure wlad would believe in his own
hype and stay for too long and finally face
a too young, too strong lion. but hell i was
at least as sure that this was not tyson fury
of all people.

[sucracristo]

absolutely terrified to throw his straight right, a punch which he knew could knock Fury clean out, because he was so terrified of getting countered.

wlad dove in trying to land it many times in the fight and almost did, but fury leaned back, turned away,
and sidestepped them all. you can't throw that punch every time you close the distance or you
WILL get knocked out. fury might not be the hardest hitting heavy but he has more than enough
pop to drop a guy diving in with desperate right leads.

[Ricky_]

absolutely terrified to throw his straight right, a punch which he knew could knock Fury clean out, because he was so terrified of getting countered.

wlad dove in trying to land it many times in the fight and almost did, but fury leaned back, turned away,
and sidestepped them all. you can't throw that punch every time you close the distance or you
WILL get knocked out. fury might not be the hardest hitting heavy but he has more than enough
pop to drop a guy diving in with desperate right leads.

He barely threw his right at all.... to the point i started thinking he had a broken hand.

Infact there was an instance were Fury bounced off the ropes and Wlad started tk throw a short right.... and pulled out of it.