BoxRec

Wladimir Klitschko (between 2007-2012) vs. Tyson Fury

It would end the same. And, anyway, if Klitschko was declined by the moment of the Fury bout, he wasn't declined much. He had not a lot of life-taking fights, his methodical style and the lack of the opposition, which would have been equal to his level, made his career safe.

Prime Wladimir Klitschko by decision after jabbing and landing right hands from long range without engaging Fury on the inside.

TGK wins another decision

To do well against Fury, Klitschko would actually be better off to be his more offensive minded Pre-Championship reign self.

Say the 2002 version of himself.

He became almost a different fighter from about 2005 onward.

In 2002 he would've had the confidence I believe to be a lot more aggressive, now granted this may wind up getting him KO'd, but it'd give him a better shot than if he were trying to be patient and pick his spots.

That is total nonsense that Klistchko didn't reach his prime until 2007. He was in his prime several years before that. Most of his best performances were before than.

The biggest Klit fan has chimed in

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑25 Jun 2020, 16:31 The biggest Klit fan has chimed in

Lots of amateur experience, 31 years old, 50 fights. Then he reached his prime. Makes total sense.

I mean dude got his first win in 2007 as a 30 year old heavyweight, and was champ until 39 or 40, hardly far fetched, not like he was 37 or something and he clearly had a career path where he succesfully competed at the highest level later than most do

He certainly did change his style, man did he used to be fun to watch, dude would just unload with serious offensive artillery. That Wlad was cooler even if more prone to gassing

It's almost like the heavyweight division has sucked for a really long time.....

Ya, if only we could get back the hw glory days of light heavy weights hugging 17 year olds and middleweights to death, and of glorious parrys of the boxing gawds, hey, maybe that's what Wlad modeled his eventual style after , the oldy lovers should love him, just kick back and find a way to watch in black and white

Klitschko was clearly not the best heavyweight in his mid-20s. Past his prime he was the best for a long time.
Why? It's obvious. The division was weak when he was the best heavyweight. It's not exactly rocket science here.

Post Lewis in the early/mid 2000s it really wasn't much better than it would be, Chris Byrd was like a top 3 hw, Ruiz was too but couldnt even beat Chagaev. Tyson was shot. Jameel McCline was firmly top 10. Liakhovich was a champ, Meehan shouldve been too. Joe Mesi was getting hype lol. Monte Barrett was upsetting supposed hot prospects. Maskaev (who got ktfo by the bad Correy Sanders lol) KTFO Rahman again, then got KTFO by Peter. Hell even Danny Williams crept into some top 10s and had some spotlight.

Wlad lost multiple times due to gassing from unloading lots of power shots and clearly changed his style in a way that prevented that and made him harder to get to. You cut back on your punches, you don't tire as fast, simple concept. Plus I mean I know how much you oldtimers love hug and parry Watch his fights, it's like watching a totally different guy, he used to be an offensive seek and destroyer with both hands. Styles and strategy can be changed and mitigate weaknesses, we aren't talking of a guy being physically a different fighter

I'm sure Ross Purrity would be a unified champ or something in later eras too lol, there just wasn't competition around later at Ross's level !! Same for Davarryl Williamson! Wlad just never fought anything near that level again

Klitschko faced his best opposition during his ultimate reign. Those were his true prime years. Alpy will never be objective on this subject FFS.

It's a mystery he isn't more positive about Wlad considering his love of hugging, parrying, and pawing.....and fighting smaller opponents lol

He did that later in his career to cover up his glaring weaknesses; his chin and his stamina. He could clinch, fight at a slow pace and beat the pathetic competition he was fighting. He would not have gotton away with that against quality competition; guys with some power, who threw a lot of punches, and forced him to fight at a faster pace.

If you actually watch video of him, you will see that he was a much more aggressive fighter earlier in his career. If he managed to avoid getting nailed, he could look fairly impressive then. The first fight with Byrd was the best opponent he ever beat and probably his best fight.
He managed to avoid most of the the best heavyweights during his 20s yet still got embarrassed three different times. Sanders while limited, could at least punch. Brewster for a short time was a good fighter.

Lol, duh that's why he started fighting like that, it's already been mentioned how his style changed, and changing your style in a way that mitigates your weaknesses is an improvement. There you have the explanation of how Wlad could improve even at 30 my boi

Sanders was no better than several guys Wlad beat, Brewster got a gift vs Meehan, beaten up by Liakhovich, was losing for 10 vs Krasniqi, lost to Shufford who Klit pounded.. He was really no better than many guys Wlad beat. Wlad jabbed him silly in the rematch too, the approach he should've taken the first time. But i'll give you that Purrity woulda be undisputed king today lol

Hugs and parrys and smaller opponents, come on Alp, I thought you liked that

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑26 Jun 2020, 18:56 Lol, duh that's why he started fighting like that, it's already been mentioned how his style changed, and changing your style in a way that mitigates your weaknesses is an improvement. There you have the explanation of how Wlad could improve even at 30 my boi

Sanders was no better than several guys Wlad beat, Brewster got a gift vs Meehan, beaten up by Liakhovich, was losing for 10 vs Krasniqi, lost to Shufford who Klit pounded.. He was really no better than many guys Wlad beat. Wlad jabbed him silly in the rematch too, the approach he should've taken the first time. But i'll give you that Purrity woulda be undisputed king today lol

Hugs and parrys and smaller opponents, come on Alp, I thought you liked that

I mean, he both did and didn't improve.

It kept him from gassing, yes, but it also led to him extending fights that there was no real reason to extend due to being overly cautious.

The 2002 version of Wlad would've knocked out David Haye for instance. The 2002 version of Wlad would've stopped Mormeck in 1 round instead of 4.

So were there times when the more careful, energy conserving approach worked out for him, and saved him in a fight? Sure.

But there were also times, when it saw him turn in a dull and forgettable performance when he didn't have to.

And there are some guys, even very skilled guys that he would've been better off being the more aggressive version of himself against. Tyson Fury is one of those guys.

He loses to Fury either way, it helped him avoid another Purrity or Brewster though

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑27 Jun 2020, 02:11 He loses to Fury either way, it helped him avoid another Purrity or Brewster though

I think he could've potentially beaten Fury if he had actually fought him. We'll never know though.

Wlad being aggressive against Fury is a suicide tactics. Fury would dodge, grab, maul inside, make it dirty, he would fight back and KO Wlad.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑27 Jun 2020, 02:02

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑26 Jun 2020, 18:56 Lol, duh that's why he started fighting like that, it's already been mentioned how his style changed, and changing your style in a way that mitigates your weaknesses is an improvement. There you have the explanation of how Wlad could improve even at 30 my boi

Sanders was no better than several guys Wlad beat, Brewster got a gift vs Meehan, beaten up by Liakhovich, was losing for 10 vs Krasniqi, lost to Shufford who Klit pounded.. He was really no better than many guys Wlad beat. Wlad jabbed him silly in the rematch too, the approach he should've taken the first time. But i'll give you that Purrity woulda be undisputed king today lol

Hugs and parrys and smaller opponents, come on Alp, I thought you liked that

I mean, he both did and didn't improve.

It kept him from gassing, yes, but it also led to him extending fights that there was no real reason to extend due to being overly cautious.

The 2002 version of Wlad would've knocked out David Haye for instance. The 2002 version of Wlad would've stopped Mormeck in 1 round instead of 4.

So were there times when the more careful, energy conserving approach worked out for him, and saved him in a fight? Sure.

But there were also times, when it saw him turn in a dull and forgettable performance when he didn't have to.

And there are some guys, even very skilled guys that he would've been better off being the more aggressive version of himself against. Tyson Fury is one of those guys.

He didn't improve. He fought like that because it minimized the his limitations. When he got older, he had no choice but to fight at a slow pace. Look at George Foreman. When he made his comeback he fought at a slower pace. Why? He simply could not fight at the pace that he did in his 20s.

The young Klitschko was an unpredictable fighter. He took chances. Once in a while he did not. If you put the young Klitschko in against a quaility opponent, he would have a punchers chances against almost anyone. He would win sometimes, and get embarrassed sometimes. The older one is not going to beat a quality opponent. He would probably last longer, but he is not going to actually win.

DrDuke wrote: ↑27 Jun 2020, 03:30 Wlad being aggressive against Fury is a suicide tactics. Fury would dodge, grab, maul inside, make it dirty, he would fight back and KO Wlad.

That would still make for a more dignified loss than just standing there staring at a motherf*cker for 12 rounds while he takes your Championship.

Lol, he minimized limitations, I agree alp, and that was a pretty clear route to improvement when it was those limitations (Eg stamina) that caused him to lose fights that he was way ahead in and could've won easily. You'd think a great boxing mind could pick up on one of the most basic things in boxing: fight in a way to play to your strengths and minimize your weaknesses

He was never all that great but defo he adjusted his style in a way that helped him prevent the type of blips he had earlier in his career. But nah, there just weren't any Ross Purrity level dudes around later, and Sergey Liakhovich, Kali Meehan, and Charles Shufford musta actually been better than Wlad