The book on Ruslan Chagaev

I think Chagaev is gonna' knock Wlad out! No stylistic reasons, just got a feeling.

 

Which decades does Chagaev make top 5? 70s? no, 90s? no, 60s? no, 50s? no...actually I don't think there's any and he's probably not in 00s either for that matter

 

I've always considered Chagaev and Ibragimov to be very similar, not only in terms of style, but in physical makeup as well. It's almost as though they had been put through the same basic early training with the same trainer, who schooled them in learning the best possible style to accomodate their body types, i.e., thick, ordinary physiques, short arms, similar heights..to gain the maximum results from within their limitations and skills set using a smart, defensive minded style that could cope with a more physically gifted opponent. In the case of Ibragimov, he was able to deal with the limited challenges of fighters like the huge, musclebound strongman Briggs, who in addition had the stamina issue that further hindered his style, and the old, creaky Holyfeild, who Sultan was able to outspeed and outmanoever. When it came to fighting the physically and gift-wise superior Wlad Klitschko, his limitations got in the way, all except for being clever and resilient enough to at least avoid being ko'ed.
I feel the same scenario will play out in the W.K. vs. Chagaev fight..with Wlad dominating his man with a fast, hard and accurate jab, and Chagaev realizing that this isnt a Valuev he's fighting. Expect, unfortunately, a terminally boring and tedious 12 round decision to go Wlad's way, with no knockdowns or many fireworks along the way.

 

I personally think that Chagaev has already seen his best days. He has only had two fights in two years and has looked rather average in both.

 

Rahman was never very good to begin with ,he is 36 now, but done?
He fought Wlad for the title in Wlad's last defence less than 6 months ago!
Which rather proves my point.
Chris Arreolla " qualifying "for a title shot by beating the huge but timorous Mcline, who carried nearly as much surplus flesh on him as Arreolla show just shallow is the talent pool.imo.
Sam Peter is a clubbing overweight brawler with no stamina ,or technique.
How many bites of the cherry should Ruiz receive?
Likewise Maskaev who was never much when he was in his prime,and is now how old?
Wlad could probably still be champ in 2010 , with whats around, his legacy will suffer because there aren't oponents of a high calibre to test him, which is a shame really.
Where are the class American Heavyweights?
Playing Football?

 

He has a chance to be top 5 in all of them.

I am so sick of the rose tinted bull**** about yesteryear. The 1970's was a decade of unathletic, under-sized, over the hill slobs, by in large. I don't think Ken Norton would make the top-5 today. The 60's had some decent heavies, the 50's was ruled by two cruiserweights.... Ugh... Wherefore has critical analysis gone? Replaced by nostalgic, adolescent hero-worshipping.

 

Come on mate, Mendoza is trying to build a platform upon which to catapult Klit to top 10 ATG and better.

 

I'm glad I am not alone in that perception.

 

It's not exactly rocket science, is it my friend

 

Its rather like building up Jim Corbett and Bob Fitz,"both were near their prime" etc,it makes their conqueror,[who shall be nameless ] look that much better.

 

Exactly

 

so he only beat the skeleton not the full body of the fighter surely these wins cant count

 

Something tells me you're either joking or trying to start an argument... Chagaev is no more than a cruiserweight himself except he carries 20 lbs of extra weight which makes him less mobile than he could be.

As I said, the man has looked very average in the past two years. Matt Skelton and Carl Davis Drummond are hardly top 10 material, yet Chagaev struggled against them.

Back when he beat Ruiz and Valuev, he used to be among my favorite heavyweights, mostly for outboxing the circus act Valuev. He has some moves although he does tend to fade.

No world beater though, Wladimir should beat him handily but Chagaev can make it awkward.

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