Vitali Klitschko vs Chris Byrd: my thoughts after rewatching this fight

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Big Ukrainian, Nov 27, 2021.



  1. Big Ukrainian

    Big Ukrainian Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Just rewatched tyhe fight between Vitali Klitschko and Chris Byrd. here is my round-by-round coverage and my take on this fight:

    Round 1 - Vilali's round clearly. Vitali was far more active but he missed so badly with most of his power punches that getting injured from his own misses was just a matter of time. Vitali leads 10-9

    Round 2 - The same. Clear Klitschko's round because of his activity and Byrd's inactivity, but Vitali missed a lot again. Vitali leads 20-18

    Round 3 - Byrd's round. Close, but clear IMO. Chris started doing a lot more in this round. Vitali leads 29-28

    Round 4 - Dominant round for Vitali. His best round in the fight at the offensive end. But... his right hand had zero effect on Byrd unlike his brothers' punches that hurt Chris badly later that year. Vitali leads 39-37 after 4 rounds on my card

    Round 5 - Big round for Byrd. IMO, his best round of the fight. Vitali still leads 48-47 on my card after 5 rounds

    Round 6 - Good round for Vitali. He leads 58-56 after this round

    Round 7 - Very close round for Vitali. He was getting tired but still did enough to take that round on my card/ Vitali leads 68-65 after 7 rounds on my card

    Round 8 - Clear round for Byrd. Vitali is looking more a more tired as the fight goes on. Vitali still leads 77-75 on my card

    Round 9 - Better round for Vitali as he had more success at the offensive end comparing to the 8th, but still Chris was clearly more effective fighter, outlanding him 24-17 (by CompuBox) in that round. Vitali leads by 1 point (86-85) after 9 rounds, and his corner stops the fight due to injury

    Afterthoughts:

    1) It was very close fight, not even close to dominant performance from Vitali as some people pretend it to be. In fact, it was MUCH closer than Vitali's fight against Lewis IMO

    2) Nobody before or since that fight ever come close to being so competetive with Vitali on punch-by-punch basis. Vitali outlanded Byrd 132-124 only (for example, he outlanded Lennox Lewis 152 to 102) according to CompuBox

    3) Was injury a factor? Yeah, definitely. But the fight would be tough for Vitali even if he hadn't injured his left shoulder, I'm pretty sure about that

    4) Judges' card were ridiculous, and IMO Klitschko's trainer and Vitali himself thought he was leading by a small margin on the cards, otherwise they wouldn't retire in the corner after 9th round

    5) Vitali couldn't even slightly hurt or rock Byrd with his best punches he thrown by his healthy right hand. Now compare that to the damage Bryd got when he got hit by Wlad. No wonder why Byrd later said Wlad hits 3 times harder than Vitali

    6) That loss made Vitali a better boxer. He has improved his stamina. He looked tired against Byrd from round 7, but since that fight he hasn't had any problems with stamina, even later in his career, when he was 40-years-old

    7) This win is ridiculously underrated win for Byrd. People act like he just got lucky. Huh? He made Vitali miss badly and injury his shoulder with one of those misses, how it''s any more luckier than Lewis cutting Vitali's face?
     
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2021
  2. CleneloAnavarez

    CleneloAnavarez Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Byrd said that because Wladimir probably does hit thrice as hard.
    Making people miss is within Byrd's power but injuries are caused by many factors out of Byrd's control.
    He made Ibeabuchi miss a lot too, why couldn't Byrd make his shoulder malfunction?
    Your card is a poor one. Byrd won 2 rounds.
     
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2021
  3. Balder

    Balder Well-Known Member banned Full Member

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    Vitali was tattooing Byrd the whole fight and showing good defense. I had him going away as the winner. The injury was affecting him the majority of the fight and getting worse as the rounds went on. VK still landed the power shots and seemed to have Byrd stunned a few times.

    I never saw VK in any danger at any time.

    Byrd is tough, slick and awkward . But VK was not having any real trouble. I doubt Byrd would have lasted past 10 rounds if VK had both arms.

    I tend to believe this Byrd Victory is wildly over-rated.
     
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2021
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  4. Big Ukrainian

    Big Ukrainian Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    No, Vitali never stunned him even slightly at any point of the fight
     
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  5. George Crowcroft

    George Crowcroft Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    I completely agree that this was a nip and tuck, highly competitive fight. Not nearly the domination it's often seen to be. I could even see Byrd up at the time of the stoppage.
     
  6. George Crowcroft

    George Crowcroft Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Byrd - Vitali
    9 : 10
    9 : 10*
    10 : 9 (27/29)
    9 : 10
    9 : 10*
    10 : 9 (55/58)
    9 : 10*
    10 : 9
    10 : 9 (74/76)
    Byrd RTD9

    No idea why people think Vitali was dominating. This was extremely close, and I wouldn't argue with anyone who had Byrd up. Vitali massively struggled with Byrd's head-movement and southpaw-ness IMO, and there's been a repeated pattern of Vitali being considerably worse when he's being pressured by an elusive target.
     
  7. dinovelvet

    dinovelvet Antifanboi Full Member

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    Vitali was in the image of a rock em sock em robot. His jabs and right hands were all bent out of shape. He looked very crude from the angles Byrd presented him with.

    Wlad had the speed and power to batter Byrd from the outside. Vitali didn't have the speed or the crisp straight jab / right hand down the middle to trouble Byrd with.

    Byrd had the very predictable Vitali sussed out after 3 or 4 rounds. He would have won again with full camp and proper gameplan. To me it was clear Vitali took most of the rounds only because Byrd was adapting his gameplan during fight.
     
  8. Man_Machine

    Man_Machine Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    My recollection is that, by the end of round-9, I had Byrd needing at least one KD and all three remaining rounds, or a stoppage, in order to get the win against VK.

    I don't think Byrd or VK looked particularly good together. Despite the disappointing finish, I was relieved when it was over.
     
  9. THE BLADE 2

    THE BLADE 2 Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I completely agree with your score. I have been saying all along that this was a competitive fight
     
  10. SHADAPBLAD

    SHADAPBLAD Viscous Knockouts Full Member

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    agree with all except the injury thing. a blown left shouder will affect the right shoulder if youre throwing a punch. unfortunately. i mean, a blown left shoulder will affect everything, everytime you move too quickly itll hurt
     
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  11. Gazelle Punch

    Gazelle Punch Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Yeah def closer then I remembered. Maybe watching the one way Byrd Wlad fight throws off the memory a little. He made Vitali miss a lot.
     
  12. red corner

    red corner Active Member banned Full Member

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    Harold Lederman, HBO's unofficial judge, had Klitschko ahead 88-83 at the time of the stoppage. Klitschko landed 132 of 502 total punches (26%) and 115 of 326 power shots (35%). Byrd connected on 124 of 284 total punches (44%) and 82 of 163 power shots (50%). I had it 87-84