I actually think Sultan was way more dangerous than this itauma hype job and would most likely expose that chin of his waiting to be cracked. But who do you think takes this one? Both have fast hands and both hit hard but Sultan has a proven granite chin taking right hands flush from Briggs and Wladimir. I got Sultan by stoppage in round 6. Both would get hit in this one but Sultan stays upright. This content is protected
The 2005 version of Sultan might very well have won. By 2007-2008 he was having hand problems and has to box rather than punch.
Agreed! I always thought Sultan at his best was extremely underrated. FAST southpaw and tough as nails. Sure he wasn’t the offensive force Wladimir or Vitali were but he was very good! Almost got the better of Savon in that Olympic final. I don’t like what that dummy Jeff Mayweather did with him. I think a coach like Freddie Roach or even Teddy Atlas could’ve brought out his offensive talent way better. Developed more crisp and precise combos with that hand speed of his. I don’t think Ibragimov found his true peak at the pro level but he had a good run. Unfortunately for him… The Klitschko era was in full effect They were too much for a lot of guys
Very early days in Itauma’s career yet but as of now I definitely have Ibragimov taking him out in mid-late rounds. Time will tell if that opinion changes.
Itauma hasn't even got close to world level yet, so you'd have to go with Sultan here. Until Itauma actually beats someone of note, we really can't say how he'd have fared against the top 10 guys of other eras. Sultan was world-level in a poor era, and he was a much better amateur than pro. I don't really buy into the idea that he would be competitive at the higher end of any HW era. His only venture into the elite class saw him get completely outclassed by Wlad. Solid, tough, durable guy with decent fundamentals, but nothing that really makes him stand out.
Gotta go with Ibragimov atm, Itauma is unproven, he’s fought guys who are old or shot to pieces. He stopped Wach early when not many had, but Wach had also aged a lot since the days when he was durable. Whyte has been in tonnes of wars and we know he had wars in the gym all of the time, so that had to take its toll. I’m also picking him to stop Franklin mid rounds and when he does, I still don’t think that proves much.
Who has Ibragimov beaten besides ancient Holyfield and past prime Briggs? He drew with Austin and lost convincingly to Wlad, Itauma stops him...
I liked Sultan Ibragimov. He did well for a small heavyweight. He might have beaten Klitschko had they been the same size, he had excellent boxing skills. Jeff Mayweather made him less aggressive, he might have KOed Briggs and done better against Klitschko with a better trainer.
