Lewis used similar tactics but against brutal punchers. Against lesser fighters Lewis would upen up and discharge power. Wladimir uses the jab and clinch against less the powerful heavyweights that his perfomances are getting so stale they're nauseating.
Lewis was a more complete fighter. He used the clinch, but not as his main weapon. Lewis had other defensive maneuvers aside form holding. He also fought much higher quality opponents.
I remember Lennox being called "boring" all the time back in his day. I never understood that as he also had moments where he came out on a mission to destroy. I'm a big Wlad fan and I have no clue as to why he's not taking fighters out in way more dramatic fashion as he def has the ability to do so. The fight with Pov was the oddest fight I've ever seen him in. It's almost like he doesn't want to get the early KO which makes no sense.
yes lennox did a bit of what you said............ but not on the level that wlad did= wlad fought like a little *****:yikes
Are you seriously saying that Vitali and Wlad are in any way similar, other than being tall and sharing the same last name? Have you ever watched any Vitali fights? Give it a try. And count the number of clinches he initiates. And good luck with that. Even when an opportunity arises for a clinch, Vitali typically punches his way out. Ok, he's not the prettiest boxer ever in his style, but he IS a boxer, and more importantly a FIGHTER, unlike his brother. And he's a tough MF. Vitali is a legitimate badass, as was Lewis. Two guys you would NOT want to meet in a dark alley if they were mad at you. Wlad is a gunshy pretender. I honestly think the beating that Saunders put on him scarred him for life. He's so petrified of being hit now, that rather than actually BOXING, and risk going out on his shield, he's happy to simply take advantage of his size to grapple his way to some of the ugliest "victories" in HW boxing history. In doing so, he has become a disgrace. Prime Lewis would most probably beat a prime Vitali in my view. Obviously, the cut ended their fight, though Vitali was roughing Lewis up quite a bit prior to the fight being ended, and nobody really knows what would have happened if the cut hadn't been present. But a LL of about 3 years before then would, I'm pretty sure, have been able to eliminate any doubts about who was the better fighter. It would be a monumental clash, but my guess is that Lewis would have gotten Vitali out of there.....though Vitali would go out on his shield without ANY doubt. Prime Lewis vs prime Wlad would have ended in 2 rounds or less.
Lewis was holding when he fought a shot Tyson. Watch Lewis/Tua fight! Lewis held, clinches, etc. Vlad knocked Povetkin down with a hook-off-the jab in the second round. Later in the fight he knocked Povetkin down 3 times and was fighting him on the inside. He could have knocked Povetkin out anytime he wanted. If the referee had warned Vlad a few times, then he would have knocked Povetkin out! Watch Vlad Vs. Wach, me beat the crap out of Wach who tested positive for steroids after the fight. Vitali caught Wach with a tampered gloves before the fight. Sour graps by some American biased boxing fans and their fake boxing writers. Vlad knocked out 6 foot 6 inch Austin in the second round with five rapid left hooks. Wach was 6 foot 8 inches tall, 250lbs.
Lewis indeed did similar tactics. The number he did it in his whole career though, Wlad managed to do it in one fight. Congrats Mr. Klinchko !
Lewis was hugging Tyson in round 1 like crazy. Watch the fight. Lewis wasn't in trouble. The hugging was the strategy designed by Steward for him.
Yes he held a lot in the the first half of this fight, but not as much as Wlad did against Povetkin, but for me it was still excessive. But the big difference between this fight and Wlad/Povetkin was the referee Eddie Cotton. He twice warned Lewis for clinching in the 2nd round and so Lewis started punching and pushing his way out of the clinches to keep the action going and not simply trying to prevent a fight from breaking out. Then in the 4th Cotton deducted a point from Lewis for pushing Tyson down and warned him again in the 5th for holding. The commentators actually accused the referee of bias against Lewis. Lewis in the second half of the fight clinches a lot less and it was Tyson who was clinching more due to fatigue. This just highlights how a fair referee can effect a fight. Pabon was just as much to to blame for the farce of a fight we saw between Wlad and Povetkin. Though it must be mentioned Wlad's team specifically chose Pabon knowing he would allow him to clinch excessively.