No, according to Steward he was surprised to discover that Wlad did very little to no sparring when he took over as trainer, and this was one of the first major corrections he made to his routine. He said Wlad did do lots of conditioning training prior but that's not the same as actually working in the ring. "The next thing was just to work on executing his punches with the shortest distance and the least amount of movement. Then a third thing we started doing, which he didnt do so much in the beginning, was to spar a lot. Basically, with his program, they did not do a lot of boxing. They did a lot of exercises, like gymnastics stuff and everythingand thats what they (the Klitschkos) said their program largely consisted of. So I said, I believe you need to spar a lot., because before that, the exercise routine they had involved a lot of running, they would throw a ball up against the wall the turn around, catch it, and throw it againit was a lot of conditioning things, and not so much sparring. I said, I want you to spar more and more and more, and you will feel more comfortable after spending more time in the ring because this is your work shop. You almost develop a certain sense of when your back will touch the ropes, and thats why you never saw him with his back on the ropes, if you notice, in all of his fights. Even though hes a power guy and most power men have to go back to the ropes in order to force opponents back in or in order to set them up to the body or somethingyou never, never see him (or Lennox or my fighters) with their backs to the ropes."
I know he said that, but that doesnt mean he didnt box 12 rounds ever before that fight, it just means he increased his sparring in training and a factor I pointed out in a previous post when he made the switch to Steward. I never understood fighters who dont spar a lot in preparation for a fight. Its the best way to get your timing and fight condition dialed in.
:huh I wonder how gymnastics helped with boxing?? Maybe it helped him hit the canvas a little softer?
In 20, 30 years time Mikes name will still be mentioned as one of the all time greats, not Holyfield, there was a thing called the TYSON ERA, and thats what its about, never will you hear of the holyfield era as there was and never will be one.
I think Tyson is often underated on this forum, but your statement about Holyfield is ridiculous. He will never be forgotten, and will always be ranked above Tyson for his accomplishments.
I agree with lefthook and that guy really is a deluded fanboy, however I can't help thinking he might be a troll considering the ludicrous nature of his comments.