Joe Louis vs. Vitali Klitschko

There is another reason his KO percentage is so high.

Because only a verry low proportion of his fights have been against world class opposition.

Frank Bruno had a ridiculously high KO percentage for the same reason.

 

I think Herbie started that fight wildly swinging at VK and when he was caught he didn't want anymore. He began looking for a soft place to fall down and call it a night.

Vitali doesn't have the 1 punch power of Wladimir for instance but he does throw every punch from every angle with authority. Enough to KO well over 90% of his opponents.

 

So people keep telling us, but when we ask for specifics we get verry little back by way of answer.

 

hang on are you saying big frank would not beat dempsey or marciano after all he is much bigger than them :yep

 

In all fairness, I think Frank Bruno had legitimately good punching power though. Now, had he faced more men on the world level, would his KO percentage be as high? Probably not, but I will maintain that he still hit pretty damn hard.

 

Barring freak injuries, not in 100 fights would Max Schmeling ever defeat Vitali. Sorry. Same goes for Tony Galento or Braddock KD'ing Vit. If you don't think so, please give me the analogous fighters from the last 20 years who excelled in the HW division.

I love it how the monsters of today, strength trained, bigger and stronger on average (which they are, sorry) can't dent Vitali's beard but those string beans of yesteryear are supposed to KO him. I passed this **** around the gym this morning and folks were just dumbfounded. Agaim this board astounds me with its love of fairytales and mythbuilding.

It's a different era for heavyweights. Face it. Size does matter. Otherwise, should we abandon all divisions?

You rose-tinted yesteryear myopians give me a great chuckle.

 

I asked you a question the other day...perhaps you missed it.

Since you saw Louis live and obviously every other heavyweight shamp since, I want to ask you:

Which heavyweight, other than Louis, made you think you were watching greatness when you watched them fight?

 

NO ! HE HITS THEM COUNTLESS TIMES, UNTIL THE REFEREE STEPS IN.
Louis hit Braddock so hard with ONE right hand he put his teeth through his mouthpeice and into his lips."I couldnt have got up for a million bucks".
Louis kod Paulino with ONE shot and snapped his bridgework there were several gold teeth on the ring canvas alongside Paulie,like a charm bracelet.
Louis hit 6foot 6 1/2in 250lbs Buddy Baer so hard he turned a full circle before dropping ,as though he was screwing himself into the canvas.
Louis hit 2333/4lbs Galento with one punch that lifted him off both his feet
How many times did Vitali hit Arreola? What happened when he did ?
He fought a CLUB FIGHTER in a foregone conclusion [I named the round ,check it out].And we are supposed to beleive he beats an ATG like Louis?
I am gratified you do not consider me knowledgeable ,I take that as a ringing endorsement :good

 

Oh Bruno hit harder than either Louis or Vitally but that dosn't mean that he was some all time great.

 

Louis was a landmark fighter, a great innovation over those who preceded him and legacy wise off the charts. The combination punching, the balance of his attack, the power... he is beautiful to watch on film.

However, beauty doesn't always win. Sometimes this sport rewards ugly but effective. The heavyweights are the only division that has expanded its range of weights over the years by not having a closed upper-end. Obviously, with the likes of Valuev, fighters get less effective over 300lbs. However, there are a few oddities in the 250's who have the natural athleticism and the decades of training who flourish. They have an unfair advantage over guys at 205. Sorry. And their effective style looks nothing like what we are told to expect from effective fighters. They don't need their hands high as most fighters can't bridge the distance with their footwork and reach to get to their chins. They can be untouchable merely by leaning back, ala Ali. It's called controlling distance when you OWN distance. Don't worry, they don't make many Klitschko's so you won't have much to worry about in another 5 years.

 

I agree with most of this[to my surprise],the Klits keep control of their "comfort zone", it will need a guy willing to take some to get in and able to give it out.
Awkwardly effective ,but not ATG's.

 

This strategy works verry well untill you are up against an oponent of the calibre of...say Jack Sharkey...then the cracks start to apear in the system.

 

To me there would be little to no difference between a Louis weighing 200 or 210. What could he do at 210 that he couldn't do at 200?

The man was a finely-tuned fighting machine. No superfluous flesh on him anywhere.
You could take that exact same Louis, and if he had the general apathy to hard training that many contemorary heavyweights do, he'd come into the ring at 220-230, sporting a spare tyre around his middle.

But many people would be fine with that, since he would be a 'modern' heavyweight with these supposed new-age abilites that magically are bestowed on anyone in the modern era.
He'd be able to hit harder, take a punch better, be stronger inside...all because now he's 230 with a spare tyre, instead of 200-205 chiselled pounds. You know the drill...
So many people fall for this vacuous issue of sheer weight.

Very few fighters have benefitted from bulking up. Moorer, Mercer, Morrison, Tyson, Tua, Bruno, Ruddock...I could name another 20 heavyweights who added 10-20 pounds to their frame and got no added benefit from it at all. It was just extra baggage they didn't need.

I'm not saying necessarily that if you took a Louis today and added some muscular weight to his frame it wouldn't help. However, the weight should be added only if it benefitted him in some way; if he could enhance his athleticism while retaining his other skills.
If he was no better at 220 than he was at 200, then why bother?

Sorry to bang on about this weight topic, but it bothers me that a number can have such an impact on how a fighter is percieved.

 

Muhammad Ali.