WLAD RETIRES

[Ilya Muromets]

After all that - I hope that Wlad changes his mind, because a lot of people were looking forward to Joshua-Wlad 2, and if Wlad wins 2 a big playoff #3!

[armageto]

One of my favorite all time guys packs it in. Enjoy your retirement Wlad, you've had a long and prosperous career. Was happy to catch a couple of his fights live and meet him afterwards. Classy guy both in and out of the ring. Knew when it was time to quit, not many guys know how to do that.

[Tony1244]

THE greatest heavyweight ever, except for his brother Vitali who was even better. They totally dominated the heavyweight division at a time when it was far bigger and stronger and international in scope that it had ever been before. No one has dominated a sport like they did since the great Babe Ruth ruled baseball in the 1920's and 30'.

Ali and Louis dominated the HW as well. Louis had the most title defenses (25) I believe.

[G.McClellan]

Great man and a Great Champion. I'm glad he's retired, nothing left to prove and he'd never have lost to Fury and AJ a few years back.

On aside note, all you fucktards who are bashing him, what have you achieved in the ring and given to the sport.

Show some dignity and respect.

I concur.

[KiwiRider]

I was always a fan of Wlad. A great fighter and classy bloke. He left on a high as well. Nice one Wlad!

X2
And thank goodness he got out before he got seriously hurt.
People forget what a great ambassador he has been in the Soviet Union and Germany for boxing and he has given back to the sport and will continue to do so. Boxing wins.
People confuse boring fighter with smart fighter all the time.

[Tony1244]

Great man and a Great Champion. I'm glad he's retired, nothing left to prove and he'd never have lost to Fury and AJ a few years back.

On aside note, all you fucktards who are bashing him, what have you achieved in the ring and given to the sport.

Show some dignity and respect.

I concur.

I agree with about 80% of that. I think AJ would always have given him trouble, maybe TF too, but the rest I agree with. Top 10 ATG HW and a class act in and out of the ring. Really smart guy too.

[Kalan]

Wladimir is retired at 41 after winning 93% of his fights... He had a KO ratio of 77% and was an Olympic Gold Medal winner at Super Heavyweight.

He saved his best for last... A battle that will live in the annals of Fistic History as an epic struggle between 2 of the all-time greatest Heavyweights.

He leaves with his health and mental faculties intact... He's still able to contribute to the world in whatever future careers he puts his mind to.

[Kalan]

THE greatest heavyweight ever, except for his brother Vitali who was even better. They totally dominated the heavyweight division at a time when it was far bigger and stronger and international in scope that it had ever been before. No one has dominated a sport like they did since the great Babe Ruth ruled baseball in the 1920's and 30'.

Ali and Louis dominated the HW as well. Louis had the most title defenses (25) I believe.

Fine.. but those defenses came against guys like Jack Roper, Red Burman, Harry Thomas, Tony Galento, and Tony Musto... Sports writers had a name for the caliber of opponent Louis defended the title against, "The Bum of the Month Club." ... I don't see any of those boys getting close to a title shot today.

[Loki]

Great man and a Great Champion. I'm glad he's retired, nothing left to prove and he'd never have lost to Fury and AJ a few years back.

On aside note, all you fucktards who are bashing him, what have you achieved in the ring and given to the sport.

Show some dignity and respect.

I concur.

I agree with about 80% of that. I think AJ would always have given him trouble, maybe TF too, but the rest I agree with. Top 10 ATG HW and a class act in and out of the ring. Really smart guy too.

Perhaps, but he certainly looked a step slower since becoming a father. If you add his age and the loss of Manny, the 2012 version of Wlad beats what I've seen of AJ and Fury.

[Loki]

Pretty crazy. I actually just got a tattoo of him finished today. Come home and read this lol

Wow. Picture?

[Loki]

THE greatest heavyweight ever, except for his brother Vitali who was even better. They totally dominated the heavyweight division at a time when it was far bigger and stronger and international in scope that it had ever been before. No one has dominated a sport like they did since the great Babe Ruth ruled baseball in the 1920's and 30'.

Big Klitschkos fan but this is a little too far. Pity Vitali didn't rematch Lewis, as I think he had his number. Wlad top 10, no doubt, but Vitali, who I thought was better, didn't have a career defining fight and 4 prime years off. His record top 20, but should've been higher.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Blew his chance in round 5 & 6. He shouldn't be losing to bums like Joshua & Fury. Bad timing I guess, he got old right when the division got hot.

Joshua is hardly a bum. He has flaws, but he also has phenomenal power.

Wlad just couldn't overcome his innate caution, despite having AJ there for the taking, he was too concerned about what might come back. He is what he is.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Wladimir is retired at 41 after winning 93% of his fights... He had a KO ratio of 77% and was an Olympic Gold Medal winner at Super Heavyweight.

He saved his best for last... A battle that will live in the annals of Fistic History as an epic struggle between 2 of the all-time greatest Heavyweights.

He leaves with his health and mental faculties intact... He's still able to contribute to the world in whatever future careers he puts his mind to.

Wow, I actually agree with you.
Oh wait, all time greatest. Joshua certainly hasn't done anything to cement such a lofty status. Wlad arguably has due to his long dominance, but AJ, no way, not yet.

[Covfefe]

Blew his chance in round 5 & 6. He shouldn't be losing to bums like Joshua & Fury. Bad timing I guess, he got old right when the division got hot.

Joshua is hardly a bum. He has flaws, but he also has phenomenal power.

Wlad just couldn't overcome his innate caution, despite having AJ there for the taking, he was too concerned about what might come back. He is what he is.

A bum would have folded when Joshua went down, he was shipping big shots in those rounds too, he may never go onto heavyweight greatness but he certainly isn't a bum, no way a completely second rate fighter makes it through what he did to find the win.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Blew his chance in round 5 & 6. He shouldn't be losing to bums like Joshua & Fury. Bad timing I guess, he got old right when the division got hot.

Joshua is hardly a bum. He has flaws, but he also has phenomenal power.

Wlad just couldn't overcome his innate caution, despite having AJ there for the taking, he was too concerned about what might come back. He is what he is.

A bum would have folded when Joshua went down, he was shipping big shots in those rounds too, he may never go onto heavyweight greatness but he certainly isn't a bum, no way a completely second rate fighter makes it through what he did to find the win.

Exactly. Aj was hurt and exhausted and hung tough until his head cleared. Most fighters would either have been knocked cold or stayed down after that huge shot from wlad.

[Covfefe]

Joshua is hardly a bum. He has flaws, but he also has phenomenal power.

Wlad just couldn't overcome his innate caution, despite having AJ there for the taking, he was too concerned about what might come back. He is what he is.

A bum would have folded when Joshua went down, he was shipping big shots in those rounds too, he may never go onto heavyweight greatness but he certainly isn't a bum, no way a completely second rate fighter makes it through what he did to find the win.

Exactly. Aj was hurt and exhausted and hung tough until his head cleared. Most fighters would either have been knocked cold or stayed down after that huge shot from wlad.

He's clearly proven he belongs at this level. I'm not really sure where the hatred is coming from. Few fighters do what he's done at this stage.

[crusader]

Wlad

ATG and headed to the HOF. Fought everyone, was always ripped, and showed tremendous resolve to turn his career around after serious adversity. Loads of big knockouts and for years was one of the biggest draws in the sport.

If there's one person in the world I could meet, it would be him.

[Badhusker]

Believe it or not, Joshua is probably breathing a sigh of relief....which says a lot about old Wlad.

Definitely don't believe that.

I do. Joshua was basically out on his feet and ready to be finished for at least 2 rounds. It was an error on Wlad's part (and his corner). In the end though, it is for the best because Joshua may finish him earlier if they fight again. If you are 41 or 42, time isn't on your side against a prime guy like Joshua.
If Wilder hits Joshua like that, (big if I know) he will finish him, guaranteed.

[Best Coast]

No surprise here. Time is clearly on AJ's side and Wlad would have had an even tougher time in the rematch than he did in the first one!!

[Best Coast]

Blew his chance in round 5 & 6. He shouldn't be losing to bums like Joshua & Fury. Bad timing I guess, he got old right when the division got hot.

Joshua is hardly a bum. He has flaws, but he also has phenomenal power.

Wlad just couldn't overcome his innate caution, despite having AJ there for the taking, he was too concerned about what might come back. He is what he is.

When AJ dropped Wlad I think he must have flashed back on some of those KO losses to Sanders and Brewer and that would definitely cause him to err on the side of caution!!

[jamesmcdonnell]

Blew his chance in round 5 & 6. He shouldn't be losing to bums like Joshua & Fury. Bad timing I guess, he got old right when the division got hot.

Joshua is hardly a bum. He has flaws, but he also has phenomenal power.

Wlad just couldn't overcome his innate caution, despite having AJ there for the taking, he was too concerned about what might come back. He is what he is.

When AJ dropped Wlad I think he must have flashed back on some of those KO losses to Sanders and Brewer and that would definitely cause him to err on the side of caution!!

It's been hardwired into wlad since those early losses. In almost every case he has waited until an opponent has no fight left in them before going for the finish. The fact that Joshua already had him down meant he just couldn't persuade himself to go for the kill.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

TinyAcres, you have to understand in x2x's world, Joe Louis, Hank Aaron, and Muhammad Ali have never existed. The why of that people are going to have to figure out by themselves.

Anyway, for years Wlad rarely even lost a round, or even got his hair mussed. Unique and amazing phenominon, both brothers so totally dominant. Here you see fools typing their foolish little irrelevant and nonsensical insults. Means nothing.

Calm down there sparky. Both Klitschko brothers were Great fighters and I don't use the term Great loosely. They won dozens of fights convincingly. Wlad top 10 and Vit top 20 all time in the division. That's pretty damn good. You were the one calling people fools and the like.

No way is vitali top 20.

[Kalan]

Only a hater would believe Vitali Klitschko isn't top 20... He's a 3 X Heavyweight Champion and fought until he was 41 with no permanent damage.

He's the ONLY Heavyweight Champion with 2 or more successful title defenses who's NEVER been knocked down.

He is the ONLY retired Heavyweight Champion who's NEVER been behind on points after ANY of his fights.

VItali knocked out 2 Heavyweight Champions who knocked his brother Wladimir Klitschko down 7 times...

He stopped 2 of the 4 Heavyweights who knocked his brother out..

He took 4 years off to rehab his badly injured legs... and coming back at age 37, he went straight for the World Title with no tuneups and won it.

He has the 2nd highest KO ratio of all retired Heavyweight Champions.

[Heartbreak_Kid79]

At 41 and on the back of 2 defeats he has nothing left to prove.
He dominated in a lacklustre era, but that's not his fault.

Top 25 of all time? I think he scrapes in there

[Kalan]

Nothing lackluster about the Klitschko era except in the eyes of Americans who believe they need to be ruling the division or it isn't happening.