Larry Holmes Versus Vitali Klitschko

I'm not saying he fought like Holmes the other poster made a point about the size, so bringing up the Byrd fight was a good example of a much smaller fighter having success vs Vitali and actually ending up with a W.

Yes but you brought up the Williams fight as a barometer on how Vitali vs Holmes would go, Holmes was atleast 3 years past his prime at age 35 and had been consistently fighting ranked contenders for 7 years fighting 20 opponents during that period.

Obviously that's not a very good indication of how a prime Holmes would match up with Vitali, plus as i said Williams had a very good jab and smooth boxing skills they're not really comparable at all style wise.

Yes Williams had suspect chin and was a sucker for the left hook, but still he did somethings better than Vitali that gave a fading Holmes trouble like the very good jab he had which was the biggest issue and Vitali's jab is only ok at best.

Yes but not winning against elite opposition though Vitali's resume is very weak, and most of the myth about his H2H status is how well he beat B and C class Heavyweights there's not a single A class opponent Vitali ever beat.

And whilst i do think Vitali would be handful for alot of Heavyweights due to his size and durability, in the end though as i said it's more speculation rather than actual evidence as his resume is very weak.

 

Vitali has the physical ability, heart, and game plan to hang with just about anyone. Actually winning is a different story. For all the talk of the number of rounds won, his dominance, etc, Vitali's career has one gigantic asterisk. A big fish in a small pond who failed on both occasions that he had an opportunity fight other big fish. The third big fish of his era (Wladmir) would understandably refuse to fight his brother. This left us with a lot more questions than answers in regards to his overall ability, especially because Vitali was arguably winning both the fight he lost before the stoppages.

Now with Holmes he was consistently good, but didn't have very many convincing elite elite wins. He dominated a above average era in terms of talent, but missed quite a few names such as Thomas, Page, etc. He kind of if made up for this by being an overachiever as an old man facing Holyfield, Mercer, etc. Holmes obviously had the more impressive career than Vitali, but he also struggled more.

My stats

Power: Vitali
Hand speed: Holmes
Chin: Even
Stamina: Vitali
Footwork: Holmes
Technique: Holmes
Ring IQ: Holmes
Combinations: Vitali
Defense: Holmes

5-1-3 advantage Holmes. I would predict a very tough nail biter of a fight, but Holmes manages to pull off a close decision after fighting for his life and getting rocked multiple times.

 

I agree with most of your post but I would say stamina is debatable, yes Vitali did have a fairly high workrate. But Holmes showed his stamina in 15 round fights and dug deep to win fights aka Norton fight, Vitali has never won a fight where hes had to go into reserve tank and dig deep.

 

And probably the most important thing… SMARTER. Vitali is smarter. And he is also every bit as mean as Holmes was.

 

Think id favor Larry

 

Vitali did not have a higher ring iq than Larry. I wouldn’t even consider the notion of Larry having a better boxing iq than Ali outlandish

 

No he was not smarter than Holmes.

Vitali fought pretty much the same way his whole career and never showed much imagination or thinking outside the box.

 

Vitali only really got into trouble in two bouts and no matter what the situation or excuse he pulled neither out of the fire. Holmes can play frontrunner and he can overcome adversity. Vitali doesn't have the versatility and ring IQ of Holmes and it's not even debatable no matter who you favor in this match.

 

The only time I can remember Klitschko overcoming a setback in a fight was against Corrie Sanders - a boxer notorious for fading after good starts.

 

Vitali was boxing's personification of 'Rinse & Repeat'.

Very predictable.

 

This would be an interesting fight because Vitali was a far better fighter than any of Holmes opponents, except possibly Tyson.

Could Holmes avoid the right hand and utilize the Jab? Possibly but let's not forget Holmes had trouble with right hands and Vitali had a solid right hand and Late power.

Cooney was a left hook only guy who never fought beyond 8 rds. when he fought Holmes.

Witherspoon, Williams who possibly beat Holmes were not in Vitalis class nor did they maintain the conditioning that VK did.

Vitali had good stamina and was a good finisher and VK certainty hit harder than Renaldo Snipes. Shavers was a notorious hard puncher who gassed. Holmes had his talents for sure but avoided Page, Dokes, Tate, Coetzee, Thomas, Weaver rematch and never rematched 15 fight Witherspoon or 16 fight Williams. He fought a 10 fight Marvis and a 10-win Spinks.

He was beaten by a light heavyweight Spinks in Spinks 1st fight as a Heavy and KO'd by Tyson in a battering, yes, he was old, but it was the right hand that beat him in those fights.

Holmes had heart getting off the floor and had one of the best jabs I have seen and good legs, but IMO Vitali would have a great chance to stop him late in the fight 10-15 and I would place a strong bet on VK depending on the odds.

 

I agree, he won metronomically.

 

Pretend that Vitali didn't fail to land a single hurtful blow on a weeks notice Byrd and you can imagine him stopping larry Holmes.

Pretend that Vitali couldnt even hurt nor drop nor stop kingpin johnson because of a fly swatter jab and some dollar store shoulder roll and you can imagine him stopping larry Holmes.

Pretend that Vitali didn't miss 700 punches on kingpin johnson

Pretend that Vitalis best win - sam peter- wouldn't be schooled by the geriatric Holmes who beat prime Ray mercer - the better version of sam peter from the 90s

Pretend that Vitali couldnt dodge the 1-2 from old over weight lethargic lewis and ended up with his face torn off and you can easily imagine him dodging the 1- 2 from arguably the best man who ever threw that 2 piece combo.

If you imagine it, it will come true

 

Actually Vitali used to mix up his shots a lot. Threw in those awkward hooks/uppercuts with both hands sometimes. And he seemed always a couple steps ahead of his opponents.

 

Another thing about Vitali that many don’t realize is his physical strength. Wladimir admitted a couple of times that Vitali was actually physically stronger than him. Which is saying a lot! So in turn, Vitali… while not the explosive puncher Wlad was, had those HEAVY forceful shots that took their toll on guys eventually and zapped them of their energy and functions. Many people don’t really rate Vitali’s power but I think it’s a bit underrated. Ask Herbie Hide. Lol