Not too sure about this. I think him surviving Peter had as much to do with Peter's lack of finishing ability and punching ability in general as anything Wlad did. Wlad looked terrified and the only thing he did differently was hang on so much that he should of been penalized. Had you replaced Peter with Sanders I suspect that Wlad would of went down again. Since the Peter fight no one has landed serious leather on him, which is a plus for his overall legacy but doesn't resolve any of my questions about him which deal with how he'd deal with a puncher like Williams. I expect we'll see an answer to my question fairly soon though with all of the young talent coming up.
Not really. If you watch the Sanders fight, you'll see that when Wlad was hurt, all he did was throw the right hand, and of course got countered just the same way again. Played right into the South African's hands, or fists. Had he done that against Peter, who knows what would've happened? You're saying it asif getting on your bike and holding on is a bad thing to do when hurt. Watch what Ali did when he got tagged.
Vlad walking into that fight overconfident and cold....He did not take Sanders serious most felt Sanders would be a quick win....I think Vlad knew after a while why Sanders was very avoided ( a southpaw with fast hands and power....I knew Sanders was a danger, however erratic in his training....Vlad under Stewart is a different fighter.. He is a more cautious fighter at this point in time but has quite an arsenal....Sanders given the chance could upset many fighters of the past on a good night. He was not a fighter to sleep on....The present version of Vlad is a lot wiser because of his past mistakes
Who's the best fighter Wladimir ever KO'd? 36 year old Chris Byrd? Ernie Terrell wasn't too bad and he was only stopped two times, once at the very end of his career and once at the hands of Cleveland Williams.
Williams game for 3 rds and then gets beaten to a pulp for a mid-rds stoppage by Wladdy Klit.......... MR.BILL:bbb
Mercer, Schulz, Botha, Byrd, Brewster, Peter, Ibragimov, Chagaev, Rahman... all claimants to a HW belt in their career, all defeated- and all but two KO'd- by Wlad.
I have no criticism about Wladimir's overall career, it is very impressive, more impressive than Williams's. But you asked who was the best fighter Williams ever beat and I gave you an answer. It's not like Wladimir has scored any great scalps of his own. Terrell is up there with the best Wladimir ever beat.
I don't think so, but to each their own. It seemed a rite of passage in the late 50's, 60's to KO Williams, yet many still make him out to be this incredibly dangerous fighter. Maybe to tin cans on the Southern circuit, but not so much to world class fighters. Terrell barely raises a pulse in my boxing heart. The guy was big... and that's about it.
Yawn. Terell was alot more than that. Not only did he have one of the best jabs of the era, he was extremley adapt at clinching, he had solid fundamentals for a man his size, and knew how to use his long arms/reach/height. Very ackward difficult fighter to fight. When he was on, he was damm near unstoppable with that jab. Terrell beat alot of good fighters. In fact Terrell's resume is up their with Wlad's.
The only man who beat Cleveland Williams decisively from 1954 to 1966 was Sonny Liston, and not exactly with ease. Ernie Terrell only won a disputed split decision in their rematch. Terrell had a better resume than anyone Wladimir beat aside from maybe Chris Byrd. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K70RUqCBtj4[/ame]
Oh come on. For how many years has he ranked as the #1 contender? He had a good period in 63-66, but outside of that, rather mediocre, and completely folded against Ali. Wlad has three bad losses, but outside of that, he's rarely dropped a round in any of his fights and has been considered the best guy in the division for four years now, and was the #1 contender for another four years before that, with a two year low rated period during Sanders and Brewster I. He also has about twice Terrel's KO%.
All that really illustrates is how many rather ordinary fighters can claim title belts in the modern era. Hardly a fair point to compare against an era where being champion of the world meant something. Rahman wasn't even a genuine contender when he fought Wladimir Klitschko. Just a fat old name along for a payday.