I've been wanting to do this thread at the classic forum. Now that Vitali has retired, we can discuss this at length. Prime for prime, which brother would prevail? Vitali fights primarily going backwards. He would do best going forward here and take advantage of his superior chin. Would he be able to when challenged by his younger brothers offensive artillery? Wladimir has the faster hands, the better technique and the stronger punch. However, he relies on clinches and range for defense, which is problematic here. Would he be able to outmuscle his older brother and find a safe haven when the heat turns up? What say you, Classic?
Vitali would KO Wladimir. In this fight Wlad isn't going to be able to bully, hold or orchestrate the pace of the fight, too the extent that he is used to, as Vitali is slightly bigger and IMO stronger. It could be likely for Wlad to be up on the scorecards as I feel the jab and big straight right may be able to keep Vitali at bay for the first few rounds, but I think Vitali gets him out of there before the 7th and it's quite possible he does it earlier.
i just don't see vitali walking through wlad's punches. vitali, with his defense, would get nailed by that right hand and he would just walk into that ramrod jab. vitali's got a great chin but he takes flush shots from wlad, he'll do the same thing everything does: get ****ing hurt. vitali will have to show caution at that point and i see wlad dominating that fight at a distance with the jab. vitali could rock him and hurt him by just walking him down but that vitali stopped existing with the johnson and sanders (rip) fights this vitali doesn't have the mobility to corner wlad without taking massive damage and getting held imo
with some thought, i think it's still the same result. i just don't see vitali's early aggression being as effective against opponent his own size, with the grip and movement of wlad. after a few scary moments early on, wlad begins to take around by the mid-way of the fight. vitali keeps trying to make it a war but a patient, calm and focused wlad sticks with his gameplan and uses his right hand just enough to get vitali back
No. Vitali takes this one. Every time. Wlad is the better boxer. More talent. Better movement. More skill. Harder punch. Everything. But Vitali has two insurmountable advantages. And we all know what they are. :yep
Wladimir is better in some ways but Vitali is the much more durable man. That advantage should never be minimalized... especially in the HW division. Vitali by KO. He's taller, bigger, stronger, hits at hard and has better defense. He has decent speed, footwork, and stamina as well.
just rewatched round 1 of vitali vs sanders....in his prime, vitali was rocked HARD by the two best punchers he faced. additionally, his strategy of leaning straight back would not serve him terribly well against wlad's right hand
Wladimir did not do too well against the bigger punchers he fought. Besides, I would argue it was Lennox Lewis overall class that allowed him to win the match. Also, because it was stopped on cuts, the win is not as decisive as it would have been with a wide UD or TKO, though a loss it is. Wladimir struggled much moreso with punchers in Sanders and Sam Peter. He also has a track record of limiting the volatility of matches with his jab and grab. I would argue that Vitali, with his 87% stoppage record, would force the issue to a stoppage either way. That two big men who can reach one another (a rare occurence for both) would find one another enough so it comes down to who gets who first. I believe the winner would be Vitali, due to his chin and overall mentality when a match becomes intense.
