Looking Back At Sergei Liakhovich

Wow! Don't know how I have missed this one! A total doozy, rounds 5 and 6 were insane!

Kenny Weldon showing what a true corner man should be like in there, not that Sergei listened much

 

When I think of the best heavyweight fights of the 00s, Lamon Brewster is in a few of them.

 

He was alright, but prone to switching off at times. Reminded me a tiny bit of Golota in how he fought. I think he'd possibly have cracked top ten at some point, but he'd have dropped the ball sooner or later.

 

Yet another great talent who didn't really want to fight and abandoned his ethic when he found a little success.

The great ones know that as a fighter, your job is to go to the gym. Fighting is just the test.

 

Lyakhovich looked pretty good in the Ahunanya, Guinn and especially Brewster fights.

Not so good and made stupid mistakes against Shannon Briggs.

After that fight Lyakhovich looked awful vs Valuev (he had injured shoulder and was fat and undertrained in that fight, but still he should've done better).

His prime was short, he was inactive (as most King fighters at that time) and lacked motivation in most of his fights. But Lyakhovich was well schooled boxer who had tools and knew how to box and could make exciting fights.

 

No one counts Siarhei Liakhovich in Deontay Wilder's resume (excuses Siarhei Liakhovich was old, on the back of his career, he was not in prime...)
It was as if the fight had not happened; as if Deontay Wilder didn't spectacularly knock out Siarhei Liakhovich in the first round.
IMHO, Wilder's victory over Siarhei Liakhovich is more valuable than over Bermane Stiverne.

 

The poster boy for inconsistency. At his absolute best he was a very complete HW and one that should have been champ (not just "WBO titlist" in a paltry seven month reign). At his worst, sheesh.

 

I remember a brief window after he defeated Brewster, where some people on this forum, thought that he might be the best heavyweight in the world.

To clarify the background, Brewster had been riding high going into their fight, and some on this forum had been saying that he was the best in the world.

Remember that Brewster had been coming off a four fight streak, that included demolitions of Wlad and Golota.

After defeating Brewster, he put out a challenge to Wlad, who had recently regained the WBO title.

"I am the White Wolf, and I want my meat."

When he fought an ancient Briggs, few people gave Briggs much of a chance, but then the unexpected happened.

If you don't know the controversy surround how that fight ended, you might want to take a look.

In the end he was a flash in the pan, but perhaps one that is worth a closer look.

 

Wilder might still ice him with a single blow, but a fit and motivated Liakhovich could do the job (barring a Briggsesque brainfart or stamina collapse).

Fury might be a tough ask. Liakhovich won't want to stay on the outside with the light-footed tall Fury and get picked apart by his jab and movement. But, if he manages to get inside (which is his bread & butter; Liakhovich was an exceptional inside fighter for a HW and worked well to the body), Fury can just impose his size, maul & hug as he's wont to do.

Usyk would take a competitive but clear decision.

Prime for prime Liakhovich vs. Joshua is mouth-watering. Anything could happen.

 

A good fighter definitely talented, held the WBO belt, but has suffered some brutal knockouts, I hope he'll be ok later in life. Plus had a very short reach for a guy that's 6'4.

 

Yeah, no one cares about him. Or he doesn't listen to those who care about him.

I remember watching the Briggs fight, watching him win while deteriorating by the round, knowing that he was going to get KO'd. The guy just wasn't very robust, not made for more than one or two great performances. The Helenius or Jennings KO's should have been IT for him but then he got tremored by Deontay. And still someone let him carry on.

I hope this dude is doing alright.