Exactly there is no basis for it.He dominated lesser opponents which is not saying he would do well against ATGs.
He actually lost to his 2 best opponents as well. Regardless of circumstances there are still 2 Ls on his record
Holyfield has the skill and the stats, but Vitali wasnt the type who'd be willing to stand their and duke it out unless he had no choice. Vitali would do what he could to maintain his height/reach advantage and bully with his long arms and sway from shots strategy. Holyfield's best bet is to use what he did against foreman/valuev and force Vitali to be the aggressor. Lateral movement, and unleash a barrage of punches as vitali steps in, then get out the way and start over. Counter his pawing jab and go to the body. Eventually even Vitali would run out of steam and begin trailing on the cards. Trading with vitali or allowing him to dictate the pace/range would only end in failure. Id favor vitali slightly 6/10 not because of just size but because holyfield would need to keep a cool head and fight with a perfect gameplan and even then it would be a close decision.
Vitali was a better defensive fighter than Bowe and smarter, Vitali took control with the jab and hard right hands- Evander would press the fight and try and get inside which I beleive he would do on occasion but I like Vitali in a close UD
How does Vitali win? He has no hooks or uppercuts. He has no inside game. He has no speed or stopping power. He fights with his hands down and had no upper body movement. He's predictable since he only throws 1-2s over and over. Those straight arm punches likely won't land on Holyfield who is coming in at angles on the balls of his feet , while also looking for the counter opportunity. Holy counters not singles , but in 3s and 4s , so thats going to win rounds clear. Taking clean counters may also rub the skin off his brow , like in the Lennox fight , so it could lead to a cuts stoppage also . Vitali simply hasn't the dimensions to deal with Vander in the wheelhouse. You need to be able to fight him off in close and his jab won't be enough to keep him at bay since Holy got around a much better jab when he beat up Foreman.
Evander imo. To win Vitali would have to be able to keep Holyfield off of him and keep the fight on the outside.
He beat everyone that he was fighting. Yes, he was beating Lennox Lewis as well. He was never behind on the cards against anyone, was unbeaten except via Injury. It is hard to say who would be favored against him in a H2H match-up. Perhaps Ali, but would he be better than 50/50?
This content is protected Someone did an interview with them both on this topic, Evander thinks he would win of course. Vitali was all respect for Evander. 2 ATG's and 2 of my personal favorites showing great class.
