At 39 Years Of Age & 250 Lbs., Vitali Averaged 60 Punches Per Round Vs Briggs.

Final punchstat numbers for Vitali Klitschko against Shannon Briggs (numbers from the ESPN3.com broadcast):

302 landed/727 thrown

727/12 rounds = 60 punches per round.

That is ridiculous, particularly for a 39-year-old guy who weighs 250 lbs. Insane.

I know there are many Klitschko haters out there, but just take a step back and realize how special these two are. You aren't going to see fighters like this very often, so I would appreciate them while they're around.

Just to help put this into perspective, think about what a future-Hall-Of-Famer, 38-year-old Lennox Lewis looked like against Vitali. He looked overweight, slow and outmatched. Now think again about how Vitali looked against Briggs.

After the fight with Vitali, Lennox retired. After Vitali's fight against Briggs, who knows how long Vitali might continue to fight. Who's going to stop him?

 

Isn't that crazy? The conditioning of Vitali and Wladimir is unreal. And not just the short-term conditioning, either, but the long-term nutrition and never-out-of-shape way they take care of themselves. You have to admire their dedication and training knowledge.

I think all the time off from injuries earlier in his career is helping Vitali at this point. He has less "wear" on his body, even with the time he spent in kickboxing.

I wish Haye would fight him, but I don't think that will ever happen. So, he can just keep fighting guys who will take the opportunity, as well as mandatories, until he decides to hang them up.

 

I'd like to watch that footage sometime.

It is incredible to think he's been in the fight game so long. I really respect his (and Wlad's) dedication to their fitness and the sport. Like them or hate them, you have to respect that they will always come in shape and they never shortchange themselves or the fans with how they prepare. :happy

 

Get Haye, or anyone, who will sign a contract and actually give Vitali a challenge. I would love to see it but either they aren't out there or they won't put pen to paper.

I remember when people laughably said Vitali was ducking Rahman. Used to be a guy on the front page here at ESB who wrote that. Was ridiculous.

Vitali will fight anyone. Line them up, send them in. I'm not saying Briggs is some awesome fighter but he was very resolved last night to last the whole fight and he's a huge guy with a big punch. Still, he couldn't do anything with VK.

 

This is just my own personal opinion here, not an assertion of fact. But, I would be stunned if VK and WK weren't exposed to some kind of PED's coming up in the Soviet system. But PED's themselves are not enough.

How do you think Briggs looks like he does (in my opinion)? PED's can't make you a great fighter like it might be able to make you a great runner; it doesn't necessarily translate. You have to have a lot more than just PED's to be able to do the things that Wlad and Vitali do. You can't get that in a bottle or pill.

There are a lot of guys in boxing and MMA, in my opinion, taking stuff. Many aren't very good fighters.