BoxRec

http://sport.bt.com/boxing/in-pictures- ... 4176453277

Wlad looks solid.

Joshua's chin seems to be Lennox level at best. On par with Wlad in my opinion. What Wlad needs is only one solid connection. The outcome would inevitably be much worse than Whyte's connection.

Whatever happens tomorrow this or that; sooner or later, Joshua goes down.

crusader wrote:No, the 41 year old (by comparison, Lennox was 37 in his last fight) who hasnt fought since 2015 is obviously in his prime

Wlad couldve defended his titles until he was 60, and I think there still would've been people ready to pounce with 'See, he lost! It proves he was poo all along!'

Um, where exactly did I say he was in his prime?

I was making the point that there are some people who consider Wlad being 'focused' and 'relaxed' and 'in shape' and 'up for this one' to be important distinctions at this stage. by a lot of people's reckoning, Wlad is capable of winning this, the poll on the British board is close to 50/50!

Never said you did

Um

Wlad will always be in the shadow of his brother. Vitali kind of protected him by taking on the potentially more dangerous opponents during their long unprecedented reigns at the top.

Manny Steward had to shape his style to protect his chin vulnerability. It was this constant fear of being KO'd that needlessly held him back against the quick but light hitting Fury. He just could not make himself take the negligible risk of opening up - and there was no Steward to kick him up the backside. Jonathan Banks is too nice a guy to do that.

He is a phenomenal boxer, his record proves it. He didn't run, most of his fights ended in knockouts and his vulnerability made them watchable. He was like a second rate mid 70's Ali. Still pretty good.

It's difficult for any of us to say how he could have done any better without him risking serious punishment.
The Fury fight has really hurt his rep. He knows it and is gambling on redemption.

Vitali took on zero threatening challengers.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Vitali took on zero threatening challengers.

I'd say Sanders was a pretty good threat, as well as taking on Peter after the 4 years off, even though I expected Vitali to outbox Peter even if he had to use a wheelchair to enter the ring. The ease at which an old Vitali dominated Peter after Sam gave Wlad so many problems shows the gap between their levels.

I've said this in the history thread. K2 are the reason you can't completely rate someone on opponents best imo

Wlad comfortably beat better opponents

But Vitali is better than Wlad. Sure Wlad has technical gifts better than Vitali, but toughness and durability are under rated, and it gives Vitali the edge

I feel Wlad is about to be stopped inside 10.

Cutman Scabbers wrote:

Ossyrules wrote:I think both Klitschko bros have the potential to be possibly appreciated more in the future than what they are now. I think the fury loss hurts Wlads standing personally.

To answer the question, I respect Wlad as a terrific athlete, professional and role model, but on the negative side he's been very dour for the sport due to his personality and fighting style. He has entertained at times, more so in his earlier stage before he was exposed as being fraile under pressure from punchers, and then become so safety conscious it was a real turn off.

A Wlad win isn't a win for boxing sat. Any neutral must surely want the Joshua win. Fury open the door to the heavyweight division but due to his problems, he didn't walk through it. Joshua, a young hungry dangerous knockout machine is the future. Let's have the future now. Us boxing fans deserve something new don't we?

Not necessarily. It depends how he wins... or loses...

I don't see a Wlad win, even if in style as good for boxing. It's good for Wlads legacy, but not boxing as a whole

Blodhemn wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Vitali took on zero threatening challengers.

I'd say Sanders was a pretty good threat, as well as taking on Peter after the 4 years off, even though I expected Vitali to outbox Peter even if he had to use a wheelchair to enter the ring. The ease at which an old Vitali dominated Peter after Sam gave Wlad so many problems shows the gap between their levels.

Reasonable, still absurd to say he faced more threatening challengers than wlad.

Great show wlad. Respect

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:

Blodhemn wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Vitali took on zero threatening challengers.

I'd say Sanders was a pretty good threat, as well as taking on Peter after the 4 years off, even though I expected Vitali to outbox Peter even if he had to use a wheelchair to enter the ring. The ease at which an old Vitali dominated Peter after Sam gave Wlad so many problems shows the gap between their levels.

Reasonable, still absurd to say he faced more threatening challengers than wlad.

He pretty much stopped caring about boxing once Lewis refused to give him a rematch.

Tanzio wrote:I feel Wlad is about to be stopped inside 10.

Hey you bastard. Do you know how much i hated myself when i began to root for Wlad to win this one after getting up from a knockdown and showing heart like that? I thought about you and I don't even like you. That's the worst part. On a serious note, the guy was nails tonight and has my respect. I still hate him as a champion but he was awesome tonight.

Blodhemn wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:

Blodhemn wrote: I'd say Sanders was a pretty good threat, as well as taking on Peter after the 4 years off, even though I expected Vitali to outbox Peter even if he had to use a wheelchair to enter the ring. The ease at which an old Vitali dominated Peter after Sam gave Wlad so many problems shows the gap between their levels.

Reasonable, still absurd to say he faced more threatening challengers than wlad.

He pretty much stopped caring about boxing once Lewis refused to give him a rematch.

ok, he never did much of anything to begin with.

I have always respected Wladimir as man & an ambassador for the sport, but I didn't care much for his title reign & I was glad when Fury beat him & I was hoping Joshua would put paid to him before last night, but during the fight, I actually started to secretly root for him & I was moderately gutted when he got stopped.

He was magnificent in defeat & in a curiously British way, I actually like him more in defeat than I did when he was a long reigning & dominant champion.

I think it wasn't so much of Wlad's "boring style" that caused so much dislike, but rather people were tired of seeing him win and dominate for so long. He has a lot of knock outs and a high KO %. Its actually funny to see the Wlad haters eating a little crow, even with him losing.

I was always a fan of him. I understand the complaints about him, not the most dynamic performer , but he was always in shape, didn't do the run around putting off the next opponent. A lot of fighters said this and that about him, he beat them, was respectful and a worthy role model for how a boxer should conduct themselves (this not being WWE) .
In boxing, you utilise your strengths and do everything you can to improve, build on or take your vulnerabilities out if the equation ; then it's your opponents job to make good on his talk of your vulnerabilities.
The dual headed Vitali-Wlad champion pissed off a lot of people and it's understandable, but he was no ducker.
Class guy and worthy of respect.

Watching Wlad go old school yesterday made me think that his intellect played a role in his boring style for over a decade. He obviously has the heart.

Ossyrules wrote:I struggle to put Wlad top 20 even though he's reigned for so long. If he beats Joshua it's a great win for him though

Nobody's going to find 20 Heavyweights who could have beaten Wladimir at his best... Vitali and Joshua could beat him ... and that's it.

Kalan wrote:

Ossyrules wrote:I struggle to put Wlad top 20 even though he's reigned for so long. If he beats Joshua it's a great win for him though

Nobody's going to find 20 Heavyweights who could have beaten Wladimir at his best... Vitali and Joshua could beat him ... and that's it.

You forgot Sanders and Brewster.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:

Kalan wrote:

Ossyrules wrote:I struggle to put Wlad top 20 even though he's reigned for so long. If he beats Joshua it's a great win for him though

Nobody's going to find 20 Heavyweights who could have beaten Wladimir at his best... Vitali and Joshua could beat him ... and that's it.

You forgot Sanders and Brewster.

caldo2025 wrote:

Tanzio wrote:I feel Wlad is about to be stopped inside 10.

Hey you bastard. Do you know how much i hated myself when i began to root for Wlad to win this one after getting up from a knockdown and showing heart like that? I thought about you and I don't even like you. That's the worst part. On a serious note, the guy was nails tonight and has my respect. I still hate him as a champion but he was awesome tonight.

I was thinking of you too at the end of round 5.

Wlad went down like a wild lion last night, and I thought he might weather the storm at the moment the ref (legitimately) stopped it. Joshua is a mighty man himself gathering himself after being nailed by that right that could ktfo a wild gorilla.

We finally got our heavy weight fight for the ages. Wlad will always hold my respect for what he did before, during, and after that fight. And he was slain by a young lion who also has earned the planet's respect and who will not likely make a mockery of himself like a certain coke troll we all know so well.

Kalan wrote:

Ossyrules wrote:I struggle to put Wlad top 20 even though he's reigned for so long. If he beats Joshua it's a great win for him though

Nobody's going to find 20 Heavyweights who could have beaten Wladimir at his best... Vitali and Joshua could beat him ... and that's it.

For you to type this and believe what you're saying, it's pointless starting a debate with you

Tanzio wrote:

caldo2025 wrote:

Tanzio wrote:I feel Wlad is about to be stopped inside 10.

Hey you bastard. Do you know how much i hated myself when i began to root for Wlad to win this one after getting up from a knockdown and showing heart like that? I thought about you and I don't even like you. That's the worst part. On a serious note, the guy was nails tonight and has my respect. I still hate him as a champion but he was awesome tonight.

I was thinking of you too at the end of round 5.

Wlad went down like a wild lion last night, and I thought he might weather the storm at the moment the ref (legitimately) stopped it. Joshua is a mighty man himself gathering himself after being nailed by that right that could ktfo a wild gorilla.

We finally got our heavy weight fight for the ages. Wlad will always hold my respect for what he did before, during, and after that fight. And he was slain by a young lion who also has earned the planet's respect and who will not likely make a mockery of himself like a certain coke troll we all know so well.

Agree with all unfortunately. I'll even say that i was pissed when the ref stopped the fight when he did. That last exchange on the ropes, none of those punches thrown by AJ was landing with any significance. Wlad was dead though and didn't seem too upset about the stoppage but if he somehow found a way to stop the onslaught long enough to clinch or cover up and move, AJ was dead. Just like he was in the 6th. Wlad is one tough sob. No boxer has done more for their career in a loss perhaps than Wlad did yesterday.

The 1996 Olympic gold medalist is top 3 heavyweight in 2017
Says it all about him
All time great.

21 years a professional 69 fights 29 world title fights

Never ducked anyone and at 41 still seeking the big guys in division