When was the last time a heavyweight fighter not name wlad holds way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way too too too too too too too much? Seriously how can wlad fans be happy of this disgraceful performance by wlad? No wonder hbo/showtime don't want anything to do with most of his fight because he's awfully boring.
And if Haye had a 1/10th of the Heart Povetkin had, maybe Wlad would have held him too! Nah, Haye takes the count with a flush hook.
In most of his fights, Wlad does not hold much at all. It depends on the style and agression of the other fighter. But the other fighter does not let Wlad clinch him. Wlad's too big and strong. So why step into him? Don't watch Ali, he clinched more than Wlad did.
Potvetkin bumrushes in throwing an OH R with his head down, and naturally Wlad is gonna extend over him and lean. The Jab and grab is just a tactic to prevent the lunging by Potvetkin. Ugly strategy but Potvetkin was throwing a ton of unpredictable stuff in there, and was getting caught with some of it. The entirety of my party said it was the ugliest we'd seen Wlad since Ibragimov, but they also agreed that Potvetkin may have been the toughest fighter he's fought since Peter 1.:think
Tyson Fury ‏@Tyson_Fury 16m I have just witnessed the shittiest heavyweight championship of the world fight in history!!! A pair of stiff idiots hugging each other!!!
Well WTF is Wlad expected to do when Sasha makes a dive for his waist with his head down and his chin tucked into his chest ? If Sahsa wants to make it an inside fight, he has to fight his way in, not just try to crawl in. He reminded me a bit of David Haye's efforts which almost looked like he was trying to blow Wlad. Even though the margin of defeat was wider, IMO, Povetkin put up a lot better effort than Haye and showed a lot more balls. I think Pov would probaby defeat Haye, if they were to ever meet.
Was he really diving beneath, or was that just attempting to duck under the jab, with Wlad pushing his head down to his chest or balls himself? And why doesn't Wlad bother to uppercut when he leaves himself exposed like that? That's another thing about Wlad's holding I dislike. There are opportunities to counter or somehow capitalize on opponents lunging in that he doesn't take. He fights so safely. I know it works for him, but man is it ever ugly to watch. Haye fought Wlad by hoping to land one big punch while avoiding getting hit himself. It was just a terrible gameplan.
Half of Wlad's 'holding' was caused by Povetkin ducking low and then they collided,normally when Wlad missed a punch. Haters gonna hate though. I thought it was a decent fight and Povetkin didn't stop trying and showed heart in there.
I was starting to like him too. I enjoyed his fights against Wach and Pianeta. But this fight once again highlighted how he simply cannot fight on the inside at all. Just like Ruiz, Wlad has no choice but to hold when his opponent get's in close he does not have the skills to be able to fight at that range.