Vitali Klitschko vs “The Golden era”? Contenders?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Journeyman92, Jun 16, 2025.


How Does Vitali do?

  1. He beats them all if he is in shape

    21 vote(s)
    65.6%
  2. Lose to one guy

    3 vote(s)
    9.4%
  3. Loses to a couple

    6 vote(s)
    18.8%
  4. Losses to most

    2 vote(s)
    6.3%
  5. Loses to all of those 70s hero’s

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. Journeyman92

    Journeyman92 Mauling Mormon’s banned Full Member

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    Yep that’s by design, if it included those guys then these would be really long discussions we’ve had 1000x we’ve only had this 100x - this thread is more to bash the contenders of the “greatest era” then the champions.
     
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  2. Journeyman92

    Journeyman92 Mauling Mormon’s banned Full Member

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    I don’t know if he’s overrated for people thinking he’d beat pip squeaks like Norton, Quarry and Shavers… all this thread suggests is he’d be clearly in the top HWs of the “strongest” era - where? Not the point of the thread - yet.
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2025
  3. OddR

    OddR Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Sure. Just saying less people would agree with the idea of Vitali sweeping if you included those 4.
     
  4. themaster458

    themaster458 Boxing Addict Full Member

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    That's the point lol
     
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  5. OddR

    OddR Well-Known Member Full Member

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    I got what he was saying.
     
  6. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist

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    How it was is that Vitali was crowned Ring champion for beating Sanders.

    How it was is that Don King didn’t even want Ruiz and Byrd to unify against each other.
     
  7. Dynamicpuncher

    Dynamicpuncher Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Byrd was higher ranked than Sanders.

    Byrd would be the best opponent Vitali has ever beaten.

    Nothing what you said changes that and i've been saying that since we started this conversation and yet we're still going round in circles.

    To agree to disagree so we can finally end this debate yes Don King was an issue for the fight not happening. But i don't agree with your view that Byrd wouldn't be Vitali's best win.
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2025
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  8. ideafix12

    ideafix12 Well-Known Member Full Member

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    One of the best comments i have ever read, amazing lol
     
  9. Maginot

    Maginot Member banned Full Member

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    Did you see him struggling with anyone?

    What fights was he not dominating every round? How many rounds did he lose in his over 40 fight career ? He made a lot of defenses and fought top 10 guys throughout his reign. He is underrated.
     
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  10. MaccaveliMacc

    MaccaveliMacc Boxing Addict Full Member

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    I've seen him losing 2 out of 4 his biggest fights.

    He wasn't dominating the Byrd fight if we're at that. He didn't lose much rounds, because he was usually fighting second and third tier heavyweights. His record against Top 10 competition is 6-2. His best wins are Corrie Sanders and Samuel Peter. Not a good look for a H2H beast.
     
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  11. OddR

    OddR Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Vitali is just seen as a H2H threat based on his skills size and chin . Most people would probably rate him as a sort of 15-30 all time heavyweight who could have done a lot more which I don't think makes him overrated compared to other boxers. And a large number of people think his era was one of the worst era's ever on top of that.
     
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  12. ideafix12

    ideafix12 Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Just as you say, you're right, and the entire forum here is wrong and overrating Vitali.
    He only won 6 fights against top-10 ranked fighters and lost 2, one against Byrd, who was winning comfortably, but seeing that Byrd was coming at him, he faked an injury to escape without being knocked out. Vitali did a good job, otherwise his career surely wouldn't have continued. On the other hand, he lost to a fat, old Lewis, who had just beaten Tyson and Rahman by pure luck and was clearly in decline. Despite taking the fight with 12 days left and being ahead of Lennox on all the scorecards, losing by a cut was a terrible performance by Vitali. Also, if he hadn't been saved by the referee or doctor, he would have been knocked out soon. In his two defeats Vitali was humiliated by his rivals, probably not making it into the current top 10, being at the level of Helenius, Yoka or Joyce.
     
  13. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist

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    That’s probably a little better than whatever Foreman’s top ten record is, and I’m not sure if you’re putting Solis and Kevin Johnson in there, both of whom crept into the top ten. Vitali also has a better old guy record than Foreman and Corrie would light up Norton if not an aging Frazier.
     
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  14. MaccaveliMacc

    MaccaveliMacc Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Frazier and Norton are way better scalps than Sanders and Peter. But yeah, Foreman doesn't have that much of Top 10 wins either.
     
  15. Maginot

    Maginot Member banned Full Member

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    But, he was winning those fights. Both fights he was ahead on the cards. Is it possible he only lost rounds to ( Lewis/Byrd) in part because of the injuries. In truth, Byrd probably got a few rounds late because VK was one armed.

    Again, we are talking H2H ranks, that would mean VK starts out healthy. Without the freak cut or a torn rotor cuff, he always dominated. He was crushing Lennox and Byrd before the injuries. I think we should take that into account. That to me is a huge plus in his column.
     
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