Vitali, 38, stands in front of u with both hands down, makes u miss & punishes (GIFs)

I don't mean to be arrogant, disrespectful or name Vitali this century's version of The Greatest , but hell... when was the last time a natural heavyweight stood in front of an unbeaten KO artist, inside the danger zone with both hands down, using reflexes, footwork and upper body movement to make you miss then punish with power shots? When was the last time a natural HW stayed close and used quick lateral movement and well timed shots to tattoo the oppoents with punches from all angles? Using all kinds of ring smarts as great defense and having a great sense both for offense and counter-offense?

It's not fair to compare the current opposition to the Golden Age, so let's not do that. But you gotta recognize Juan Carlos Gomez (best CW post-Holyfield, one of the most skilled HWs in the past decade) and Cris Arreola (who's not your Danny Williams or Fat Peter, Cris is actually well conditioned to go 12 at a high pace, has decent handspeed (yes he does), good balance, okay defense, a hard punching pressure style and some good skills not being credited for). Yet Vitali Klitschko, at 38, mocked as 'robotic' by many, did those above mentioned, highly impressive things to a top contender 10 years younger, landing 300 punches of 800 thrown, putting on a masterclass for the decade. I consider Vitali overall better than his brother Wladimir, who's technically more sound and physically more gifted, but that's about it. The way Vitali uses his height (not just reach) is supremely good, and his punch estimation, punch variety, ring smarts, tactics and adaptation might be... well, ranked pretty high in the HW panteon, but I'm not here to judge that, just to show some GIFs that Vitali is more than a big strong robotic dude most people still think he is.


Vitali has a very good jab (Wlad's better), but instead of just popping it into your head, he often uses the left to cut your offense short, keep you at bay or just setting a trap to land an unexpected punch.

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I consider Arreola's and Gomez' balance good, you don't see them fall into their punches like David Haye. Yet Vitali often put them off balance then landed good punches, a tactic Bernard Hopkins uses so well.

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Vitali also has impressive handspeed especially for a 38 year-old, and that is true to his combination punching too.

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He sets the distance right, finds the gaps, picks his shots very well, and as Manny Steward said, he just has that sense of seeing punches coming before they're being thrown. Larry Merchant also said half-jokingly, Vitali's often does rope-a-dope without a rope.

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Jab, jab, lean in, jab-flush right to the body, defending both Arreola's attempted left and right with his own left, and as he leans back, BANG a right on Cris' chin, and moving off the ropes. All that inside 5 seconds.

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Okay, so after a few technicals, he's a flush-punching gif

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Superb conditioning, busy punching, power, footwork, upper body movement, ring generalship, punch variety, ring smarts, intimidating tactics, traps, adaptation and very effective (counter-)punching - Vitali Klitschko is so much more than just a tall strong guy in a boring division.