Wladimir Klitschko career obituary

[sucracristo]

who managed his size and height well against a long list of below average opposition

this is the problem with comparing eras. there wasn't a cruiserweight division until the 80's
and if these guys keep getting bigger with the ability to move and bomb, then there is going
to be a call for a superheavy division like 230lbs and up. it's almost like normal heavies
aren't expected to be able to handle the elites anymore. i wouldn't be surprised if some
guy the size of shaq came along in the next 10 years who could move like the young ali.

[Bard of Boxrec]

Fury was very hard to hit

On multiple occasions he put his hands variously down, behind his back, on the ropes, and clearly didn't have the reflexes to be successful at this. However, Wlad threw nothing. So much so, Fury felt very comfortable doing it over and over. I'd say Fury was more 'there to be hit'.

[sucracristo]

He barely threw his right at all.

you need to watch the fight again because it threw it many times, and came close with a few.
again, if fury isn't open for it, then it's stupid to constantly throw it. if i feel like it, i'll go back and
post the times in the specific rounds when he threw it and missed, but you can't throw right hand
leads all night.

[zorndeslammes]

Wladimir Klitschko was a boxer in the sport boxing. However, great boxers often fight; that is to say they meet great resistance and are forced to take immense risk to win. Klitschko's entire style after repeated KO losses was risk aversion. The issue is that when someone finally did what he does better, he was helpless. He had no gameplan whatsoever and couldn't make any adjustments. People keep discussing about how in the rematch he'll have to fight with anger and a willingness to trade when he's spent the last 10 years saying openly in interviews he isn't wanting either.

He managed to not have to fight before Saturday because the next best heavyweight of his era was his brother and they never had to fight one another.

[squiggy]

For 10 years we've had to listen to idolatrous Klitschko obsessives worship this man.

The obsessives are the Klitschkos haters. Acknowledging dominance never should've gotten anyone labelled a nuthugger, particularly when there was little else to talk about on the heavyweight scene for a decade.

[Bard of Boxrec]

again, if fury isn't open for it, then it's stupid to constantly throw it.

On multiple occasions Fury put his hands variously down, behind his back, on the ropes, and clearly didn't have the reflexes to be successful at this. However, Wlad threw nothing. So much so, Fury felt very comfortable doing it over and over. I'd say Fury was definitely 'open for it'.

[Tuan_Jim]

For 10 years we've had to listen to idolatrous Klitschko obsessives worship this man.

The obsessives are the Klitschkos haters. Acknowledging dominance never should've gotten anyone labelled a nuthugger, particularly when there was little else to talk about on the heavyweight scene for a decade.

I don't generally bother to engage with people who express themselves with terms like "haters" and "nuthhuggers" because they are obviously operating on limited capacity, but how did Wladimir Klitschko dominate? Within this 9 year stretch there was a full 4 year period where his bigger, tougher brother was actively defending the WBC title. How can you dominate the division when there's someone else defending a legitimate belt, who most people concede is the less graceful but much better fighter?

Wladimir can't simply absorb his brother's accomplishments and be called the dominant champion. To credit him with ten years of total supremacy is demonstrably untrue. The fact that it all began with Wlad selecting an easy rematch with the waning Chris Byrd rather than the other fight that was offered him, a risky rematch with Lamon Brewster who at that time was still knocking guys heads off speaks volumes.

[sucracristo]

On multiple occasions Fury put his hands variously down, behind his back, on the ropes, and clearly didn't have the reflexes to be successful at this. However, Wlad threw nothing. So much so, Fury felt very comfortable doing it over and over. I'd say Fury was definitely 'open for it'.

fury's hands are down most of the fight, anyways. he fights with his hands down. he puts his hands
behind his back as he was moving and out of range. you say he did it on the ropes as if wlad was
on top of himon the ropes, but he never did it within range of wlad. wlad threw the right hand when
he thought he was in range of landing it. he threw it many times in the fight and almost landed it
a couple of times, especially later in the fight. fury leaned back and turned away and side stepped
wlad's attacks all night, and then countered well when he had the range back. when a guy is out of
range, you can't just throw a right hand lead. you will get your lights put out, especially against
a super heavy. say all you want about fury's power. he has more than enough to ko wlad if he catches
wlad diving in.

[sucracristo]

Wladimir Klitschko was a wrestler in the sport boxing.

fixed

[davie]

again, if fury isn't open for it, then it's stupid to constantly throw it.

On multiple occasions Fury put his hands variously down, behind his back, on the ropes, and clearly didn't have the reflexes to be successful at this. However, Wlad threw nothing. So much so, Fury felt very comfortable doing it over and over. I'd say Fury was definitely 'open for it'.

But holding your gloves in front of your face isn't the only way to stop yourself being hit.
Evasion, reflexes, footwork, upper body movement, head movement, faints, all tactics Tyson employed to throw Wlad and make him miss.
Wlad never thought he could land so he never let his hands go.

I don't think Wlad will like this idea but he has to let more punches go, be prepared to miss and maybe even be countered.
Gung ho? No but certainly more adventurous that last time. You can't win a fight not throwing punches and in a rematch Fury is going to very slightly alter his game plan. But he'll do all the things that worked last time out

[Bard of Boxrec]

On multiple occasions Fury put his hands variously down, behind his back, on the ropes, and clearly didn't have the reflexes to be successful at this. However, Wlad threw nothing. So much so, Fury felt very comfortable doing it over and over. I'd say Fury was definitely 'open for it'.

fury's hands are down most of the fight, anyways. he fights with his hands down. he puts his hands
behind his back as he was moving and out of range. you say he did it on the ropes as if wlad was
on top of himon the ropes, but he never did it within range of wlad. wlad threw the right hand when
he thought he was in range of landing it. he threw it many times in the fight and almost landed it
a couple of times, especially later in the fight. fury leaned back and turned away and side stepped
wlad's attacks all night, and then countered well when he had the range back. when a guy is out of
range, you can't just throw a right hand lead. you will get your lights put out, especially against
a super heavy. say all you want about fury's power. he has more than enough to ko wlad if he catches
wlad diving in.

Fury did his clowning in range multiple times. I could point out exactly where. Wlad had many chances to throw shots at Fury during these moments. He didn't. Fury is not a defensive master. That has been, and will be proven in coming fights.

[davie]

On multiple occasions Fury put his hands variously down, behind his back, on the ropes, and clearly didn't have the reflexes to be successful at this. However, Wlad threw nothing. So much so, Fury felt very comfortable doing it over and over. I'd say Fury was definitely 'open for it'.

fury's hands are down most of the fight, anyways. he fights with his hands down. he puts his hands
behind his back as he was moving and out of range. you say he did it on the ropes as if wlad was
on top of himon the ropes, but he never did it within range of wlad. wlad threw the right hand when
he thought he was in range of landing it. he threw it many times in the fight and almost landed it
a couple of times, especially later in the fight. fury leaned back and turned away and side stepped
wlad's attacks all night, and then countered well when he had the range back. when a guy is out of
range, you can't just throw a right hand lead. you will get your lights put out, especially against
a super heavy. say all you want about fury's power. he has more than enough to ko wlad if he catches
wlad diving in.

Fury did his clowning in range multiple times. I could point out exactly where. Wlad had many chances to throw shots at Fury during these moments. He didn't. Fury is not a defensive master. That has been, and will be proven in coming fights.

There was one particular moment where Wlad let his right hand go, it was bang on target, then he stopped about 3 inches short of Fury’s jaw.
There was no excuse for that. That's taking caution to a new level

[rampage]

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.

Exactly this. It's completely laughable that Klitschko haters are using this loss as reason that Wlad has always sucked. The man is a few months shy of 40 years old and has been a dominant champion for nearly a decade, making 18 successful title defenses. But of course, if there is one group of people that there is absolutely no reasoning with, it's Klitschko haters. They simply cannot see reason.

I would be one of the people who says that Wlad has shown clear signs of decline well before Saturday. His defense got quite leaky, and he wasn't pulling the trigger as much, even on the jab, as he used to (not that he was that active in his prime, but he has been even less so recently, and he hasn't been committing as much to the punches he does throw). He looked God-awful vs. Povetkin of course, and he looked extremely vulnerable vs. Pulev. Yes, he scored an impressive 5th round KO, but in between the knockdowns he was getting hit much more than he normally does. He also looked quite vulnerable against Jennings.

Fact of the matter is, as a 39 year old, he has faded enough to let someone with a good game plan, self belief, and some size to back it up beat him. No shame in it, it's what has happened to nearly every great champion in history.

[Bard of Boxrec]

Wladimir Klitschko was a boxer in the sport boxing. However, great boxers often fight; that is to say they meet great resistance and are forced to take immense risk to win. Klitschko's entire style after repeated KO losses was risk aversion. The issue is that when someone finally did what he does better, he was helpless. He had no gameplan whatsoever and couldn't make any adjustments. People keep discussing about how in the rematch he'll have to fight with anger and a willingness to trade when he's spent the last 10 years saying openly in interviews he isn't wanting either.

He managed to not have to fight before Saturday because the next best heavyweight of his era was his brother and they never had to fight one another.

[jamesmcdonnell]

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.

I believe both cuts were cause by a clash of heads. One most certainly was.

There was little holding, Tony Weeks broke them up very promptly.

Let's not get carried away. Fury landed an average of around 7 punches a round.

A drubbing it was not.

[Tuan_Jim]

He managed to not have to fight before Saturday because the next best heavyweight of his era was his brother and they never had to fight one another.

And yet so many fans say that he was a dominant champion. Amazing how a man can dominate while a better man is operating in the same division, defending his own title belt.

[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.

I believe both cuts were cause by a clash of heads. One most certainly was.

There was little holding, Tony Weeks broke them up very promptly.

Let's not get carried away. Fury landed an average of around 7 punches a round.

A drubbing it was not.

If you think there was little holding we must have been watching different fights, James. WK persistently initiated holds. He didn't seem to have any other ideas. That Weeks would break them up promptly is irrelevant.

[jamesmcdonnell]

He managed to not have to fight before Saturday because the next best heavyweight of his era was his brother and they never had to fight one another.

And yet so many fans say that he was a dominant champion. Amazing how a man can dominate while a better man is operating in the same division, defending his own title belt.

So you expected two brothers two get in the ring and belt seven shades of shite out of one another ? Pretty dumb.

[jamesmcdonnell]

[/quote]

There was way less holding than other Wlad fights, due to weeks.

Sadly there was also way less punching than other Wlad fights.

[dempseyfire]

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.

Did the same thing vs Ibragimov and Haye; he barely threw the right vs guys he worried about counter-punches from.

[crusader]

Exactly this. It's completely laughable that Klitschko haters are using this loss as reason that Wlad has always sucked. The man is a few months shy of 40 years old and has been a dominant champion for nearly a decade, making 18 successful title defenses. But of course, if there is one group of people that there is absolutely no reasoning with, it's Klitschko haters. They simply cannot see reason.

I would be one of the people who says that Wlad has shown clear signs of decline well before Saturday. His defense got quite leaky, and he wasn't pulling the trigger as much, even on the jab, as he used to (not that he was that active in his prime, but he has been even less so recently, and he hasn't been committing as much to the punches he does throw). He looked God-awful vs. Povetkin of course, and he looked extremely vulnerable vs. Pulev. Yes, he scored an impressive 5th round KO, but in between the knockdowns he was getting hit much more than he normally does. He also looked quite vulnerable against Jennings.

Fact of the matter is, as a 39 year old, he has faded enough to let someone with a good game plan, self belief, and some size to back it up beat him. No shame in it, it's what has happened to nearly every great champion in history.

Great post

Laughable that some people think a loss at nearly 40 suggests that he was never any good. Incidentally, I wonder how good Fury will be when he's the same age...going by most cases, not nearly as good as he is now.

[Tuan_Jim]

He managed to not have to fight before Saturday because the next best heavyweight of his era was his brother and they never had to fight one another.

And yet so many fans say that he was a dominant champion. Amazing how a man can dominate while a better man is operating in the same division, defending his own title belt.

So you expected two brothers two get in the ring and belt seven shades of shite out of one another ? Pretty dumb.

Made no inference whatever. I just pointed out the absurdity of the notion he dominated when a better fighter was active in his own division.

[Tuan_Jim]

Did the same thing vs Ibragimov and Haye; he barely threw the right vs guys he worried about counter-punches from.

Exactly right, Dempsey. Why his terror at letting his right hand go versus counter punchers is ignored I will never know. It's a habit that runs right through his prime years, the only difference is that this time in Fury he met a fighter more ambitious than Ibragimov and Haye. Doesn't fit the portrait of the master boxer so many wish to paint I expect.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Did the same thing vs Ibragimov and Haye; he barely threw the right vs guys he worried about counter-punches from.

Exactly right, Dempsey. Why his terror at letting his right hand go versus counter punchers is ignored I will never know. It's a habit that runs right through his prime years, the only difference is that this time in Fury he met a fighter more ambitious than Ibragimov and Haye. Doesn't fit the portrait of the master boxer so many wish to paint I expect.

I think to be fair to Haye and Ibragimov, Fury's reach allowed them to do something neither of them were able to, land enough shots to steal the fight, whilst also keeping Wlad negative by staying away from his jab.

Wlad was able to just pump out the jab often enough against Ibragimov and Haye to pile up easy points without taking any risks.

Fury's height and reach definitely came into play, he used those assets very cleverly.

[Tuan_Jim]

Yep, would be mad of me to deny Fury's colossal size came in handy, though ibragimov and Haye were excessively pedestrian by the lofty standards of 'heavyweight champions'. But on the other hand perhaps if they had attacked more vigorously they would have been wrestled to defeat like Povetkin was. Whatever, I'm just relieved the world title belts are no longer held hostage.