...make him the fighter he is today? What I mean is that his record is sort of like a classic 70's heavyweight, a few bad loses, but a determination to keep going and improve his game and most importantly learn from his mistakes. While I am not saying he is a ATG heavyweight yet, I feel that his defeats and subsequent reign as champ show quite an old school sense of intelligence and heart. His iron grasp on the title (the fact he could hold it for another 5 years at this rate) and his career longevity I don't think would have been possible if he had not had to come through adversity. Or is it just a case of having Emanuel Steward remold his style and the poor qualify of HW contenders these days?
His losses combined with Emmanuel Steward made him lose his beautiful left hook and focus on the jab and grab. A bit of a waste of talent despite his success with the style
It is just interesting that some highly rated fighters lose motivation and prestige by a devastating lost such as Don Curry and Michael Nunn while others return stronger. These days with less fights in a career and an emphasise on unbeaten records for TV less fighters have the chance to lose and learn which was such an important part of the what made the classic fighters the champions they were.
After his crushing loss to Sanders and his complete collaspe v.s. Brewster in their first bout many, including Vitali, thought Wlad was through ... he was exceptionally gifted however he lacked a good chin, forget a championship caliber one ... so in a highly intelligent manner he set out to rebuild himself, maximizing a highly effective style that minimized risk .. he has proven to he highly effective since that time although I believe he has done so against less than stellar competition ... he deserves a ton of respect for what he has accomplished but I personally do not rate him in my top ten ....
I am somewhat of the school of mind that there is no such thing as a weak era. Even in the weakest eras there will be somebody who can give you some kind of problems, unless you are a truly exceptional fighter.
I agree with this. that's why as far as accomplishments go, people like Wlad and Sullivan are second only to Louis. resume wise Wlad can be knocked but his accomplishment of ruling the last 7 years is a true measure of greatness.
I don't see him losing the left hook as a problem, he is one of the few fighters that can keep their extreme KO ratio even in the latest rounds. Like frank Bruno, he loses his composure after getting hit, he doesn't know what to do (not a big chin problem, he always got up). The style he has now is destroying everyone he faces. Losing your hook is only a problem when it affects you negatively. Wlad is doing a perfect job.
:deal I have admiration for the Man for sure. He continued to bounce back from losses and get better. He never gave up despite his own Brother's call for him to retire. He became his own Man and built himself back up to become the dominant Champion he is today. He is Great inside and outside the Ring.
Not many fighters can come back from 1 loss. (George foreman needed a decade) Not many fighters can come back from 2 shameful losses (Lennox Lewis showed he will finish unfinished business) Having three shameful losses and being declared shot, and becoming the most dominating force in the HW division today, that is a true feat.
I disagree ... I think Vitali, Bowe, Lewis, Tyson, Holyfield, Holmes, Witherspoon, Ali, Frazier all definitely defeat Wlad and that is just since the 1970's ... on a given night a Greg Page , a Gerrie Coetzee, a Michael Spinks , a Buster Douglas or a Tony Tucker might have done the same .. I do not think Wlad is close to unbeatable ... he has feasted on larger, slow, limited guys ... in the 1990's he likely never would have won a title ...
hes still trash except he's fighter lower levels of competition now hilarious how his older brother "avenged" his defeats
He is beatable. All are. But he has made himself harder to defeat. Someone that has been defeated and has learned to get better from it...is admirable.
Speaking as a guy whose shared the ring with alot of those great names you've tossed out, and Wlad Klitschko? He'd be fine any era, any fight. Gifted as hell, incredibly smart, stupid strong, hits like a sniper rifle.