Better 2 Top Wins: Vitali Klitschko or Ike Ibeabuchi

The fact is that you're interrupting an exchange I had with another poster who wildly misquoted the odds.

 

Vit wasn't coming back after 4 years. He never left boxing. He already announced his comeback against McCline which he pulled out of , and then attempted to fight Oleg Maskaev. In the eyes of the boxing world he never went away

Ask Gemini -

Based on the information available, Vitali Klitschko was considered the favorite to win against Samuel Peter. Here's a breakdown:

Pre-fight expectations:
Reports indicate that Klitschko was the favored boxer leading into the match.
Specifically it was noted that "Klitschko was the 1 to 4 on favorite to win."

 

Instead of flapping your gums and fantasizing while providing nothing at all feel free to provide some proof. You've already been caught out in here.

 

Chat GPT says +140.

 

https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/sam-peter-vitali-klitschko-set-for-october-11th.64111/

A thread from the time. Captures fans feelings here nicely, not sure about odds though

 

Nobody said Vitali was a 1000-1 underdog. I said a 37-year-old retired champ, out of the ring for four years, with no tune ups, loses his comeback fight to a 28-year-old champ every thousand tries.

Can you name ONE SINGLE TIME, other than Vitali-Peter, where a retired champ, in his late 30s, out four years, with no tune up, returned to the ring and in his first fight back beat a reigning champ who was in his 20s?

EVER?

Honestly. EVER? In any weight class? Before or since?

Hell, George Foreman had 29 "tune up" fights before he beat Moorer by late KO.

Just because millions of Germans wagered with their hearts for Vitali to win, doesn't make the win less great. Vitali accomplished what most old, retired champs never attempt, let alone accomplish.

Sam Peter had just turned 28 years old, he'd just demolished Maskaev, he was the WBC champion and he was in his prime. And an aged Vitali dominated him.

 

So much sensationalism and hyperbole, as well as pedanticism. Should we nominate shoe size, star sign and body type as well to make it more dramatic?

The time was never better for older fighters to perform at an advanced age. We've seen heaps of it since then. Fighters are performing better for longer periods.

Tho he hadn't fought for 4 years he only retired November 2005, less than two weeks before he was to fight Rahman. Obviously he was fully fit and trained to fight at that point.

Smart people knew, hence Vitali being favorite.

George Foreman was out for 10 years. George Foreman was what, 300 pounds at one point? Do you think Vitali ever got far out of shape?

Are you trying to say Vitali was only favorite because Germany wagered him into favoritism????? Loads of experts were picking Vitali. I saw an extended poll where he got at least half the votes. Smart people knew. Vitali was the favorite. Was it still an excellent win? Yeah i guess. Peter will hardly go down as anything overly special tho.

Stopping Maskaev was hardly a rare triumph, 5 people had already done it. Maskaev was on the down, he'd been troubled by injuries and hadn't fought in a while. Peter had all the advantages, youth, strength, power, speed. Peter was a big favorite.

Plenty of people in here picked Vitali over Peter. McGrain did, hell even Mendoza got it right.

 

So, you can't name any other single time it happened, before or since, in any division, in the history of the sport, but it was no big deal?

Got it.

 

That's exactly what I'm saying. If half the "experts" were picking him, then the other half weren't.

Half doesn't make you a big favorite.

People actually betting on you to pull off the big comeback make you the betting favorite.

Millions of Germans watched the Klitschkos every time they fought.

That's where their fan base was. HBO quit showing Klitschko fights in the US because no one here was tuning in. Most of Vitali's title fights in his last reign were picked up by ESPN at the last minute (or not shown at all in the US) because the viewers weren't there. But, in Germany, they were loved.

 

Vitali was the favorite. At least half of the people i saw picking, were picking him.

That makes a complete and utter mockery of the whole 1 in a thousand times. There's also the telling factor that Vitali.........flogged the actual crap out of him.

Plenty of people actually called that.

 

You're not coming off near as smart as you think you are

 

Excellent job pretending that Vitali's retirement wasn't due to chronic injuries. I'm sure eating cheeseburgers is a greater disadvantage.

 

How were those "chronic injuries" when he whooped the living christ out of poor Sammy?

Troll on young warrior.

 

I get the feeling like it’s upsetting to you that Vitali was a more dominant boxer than Foreman or Ibeabuchi. Classic deduction due to domination logic.