I love Vitali, and who knows what would've happened had he been able to continue in the fight, but he lost that matchup. That cut was dangerous in its location and the ref made the right call in stopping that match. As far as that version of Vitali vs Joshua? I'd favor Vitali as he's a much more seasoned fighter at that juncture, has power in both hands and one of the best chins I've seen from a HW in the last 25+ years. Joshua might be faster and more athletic, but I could see Vitali continue to keep coming forward on him and beat him by pressuring him all fight.
Pure rubbish nobody was claiming Vitali would be the next champion those were the days when everyone called him quitali He should have fought his mando Byrd end of discussion
Didn't mean Vitali I meant Michael Grant. He was favored to KO Lennox but Lennox exposed & KO'd him. Byrd wouldn't have stood a chance against Lennox
Lummox should have been disqualified against grant as he kept holding and uppercutting which is illegal He dropped the belt and ducked Byrd if he was as confident of a knockout victory as you are he would have took the fight
Lummox Lewis was a fraud his whole career was hollow Tyson, Holmes and wlad were all much better champions then lummox who got knocked out with 1 punch from a cherry pick TWICE
Everyone has an opinion none is any better than the other. But remember Where was Wlad when Lennox TKO 6 Vitali ?? He was in hiding. He didn't jump in & challenge Lennox to avenge his brother Like Vitali did him when he got decimated with 2 KO's he never wanted rematches with either
Wlad isn't eternal champion Vitali is And why would Vitali need wlad to fight lummox when Vitali had already beaten him
Vitali at age 29/30 would hand Joshua his ass. I'd be more confident of Vitali beating him than Lewis given his iron chin.
Lewis retired as lineal champ without giving what pretty much the whole boxing world wanted to see... a rematch with Vitali. And maybe the heads of the WBC took this into account! Heck even his trainer Emanuel Steward thought it was unfinished business! But Lewis felt some things in there that night against Vitali that he didn't want any part of again. As for comparing Holmes title defenses to Vitali's... 90% of Holmes opponents were the epitomy of 'cab drivers'. Vitali defended against many guys who were towards the top of the rankings. How many Lucien Rodriguez's, Ossie Ocasio's or Alfredo Evangelista's do you see in Vitali's defenses? H2H and at his best Vitali was a nightmare match up for ANYBODY in HW History. Maybe those are some reasons The WBC decided to give him an award.
Todd bro what are you doing ? Vitali took the lineal title from lewis by defeating him He just didn't get the decision or the WBC belt but it's clear the WBC felt he should have won
I was a big fan of Vitali and he gave Lewis a hell of a fight for sure. Vitali had his chances early and let him off the hook. Still Vitali never even got knocked down his entire boxing career unheard of. I was so pissed when Vitali got cut because I knew he could not fight much longer with that cut. The ref let it go longer than he should have. But had the fight not been stopped Lewis probably would have won it. That cut changed that fight and I wish Lewis would have gave him the rematch but Lewis really had nothing left to prove. Lewis is one of the best boxers to ever enter the sport.Yes Vitali blew him out early in the fight but that does not mean he would have won it. Yeah a 31 year old Vitali would crush todays Joshua. But a 41 year old Wlad is going to get crushed by Joshua. Wlad just does not have the chin his brother has and Joshua is a heavy hitter for sure. Wlad should retire because he has looked like **** in his last few fights. I would give Wlad a punchers chance but if he was scared to throw punches against Fury he will not throw against Joshua. This will be a blow out for Joshua inside 5 rounds. Joshua is in his prime and he is the best active heavyweight. The only 2 guys I would give a shot at beating Joshua right now is Ortiz and Fury if he gets back on track. Fury has great skills but he is a mental case like Golota was.
Aaww it turns into another Lewis Vitali argument. Lewis retired lineal champion. Vitali retired Lewis. The truth lies in the middle