Prime-4-Prime, Vitali Klitschko vs Muhammed Ali

H2H, Vitali is a handful for anyone throughout history.

Ali came out on top in the Greatest era in Heavyweight history, beating 2-3 ATG's along the way.

That is the problem the Klitschko brothers have, neither have that on their resume, or even close. Could they step up? They are great physical specimens, but could they step up? Ali would certainly be the favourite, and I don't see how anyone can argue otherwise.

 

Because I felt it was pertinant to mention that the only fighter who even had a remote semblence to Ali, still managed to escape defeat, despite being about 5 levels below him in ability, even if it was due to a fluke injury.. At any rate, I already added the words " under unusual circumstances ", so no need to go bat **** over it.

Just like he beat a 38 year old Lennox Lewis, who was off for 12 months, fighting at a career high weight and in the last bout of his career, right?

So what? Ali would be by far the fastest, most skilled, and most durable opponent Vitali ever fought. Those things count to, and quite often even more so than size.

The man can crack, but he's not the collosal bomber that people make him out to be. Vitali dispatches his opponents by landing numerous blows over many rounds, and usually against opponents who are way outmatched, because they are either deconditioned, past prime, or subpar in one way or another.. A lot of his wins have come by late stoppage or corner retirement.. Let's not pretend that he has the claim to being a knockout artist.

In what way?

Doesn't this fall under the same category of "biggest" fighter he ever fought, or are we going to try milk the size thing for all its worth and then some?

You are aware of the fact that the arm length of the two men is an identical 80", correct? Or are you assuming that height equals reach?

Dismantle?

 

Do yourself a favour and log out.

Idiot.

 

You are ****ing delucional there saying Ali would beat Vitali, we are talking of Vitali not of Wladimir, you ****ing bum.

Vit took clean shoots from Lewis and didn't even go down, Ali wasn't that big of a great chin. Today's athlete is not the same as in the 70', now people know more about food/training and health care over all. I'm sure that Vitali wouldn't be an easy opponent for Ali and also Ali been losing to fighters he shall win against.

I got the right to think my way and you ain't the one who can say I can't. you don't own this forum for yourself. You are just delusional of the old HW times. I bet you are one of the Haye's fans whoa re even more delusional of HW scene of this times.

Vitali = Ironchin =Vitali
Wladimir = Glasschin = Wladimir

^ for your info, bum.

 

Is there anybody on this forum who watched a boxing match that happened before 1996? atsch

 

This is ridiculous.

Vitali is much faster than people think and he is one of the best, and most accurate, counterpunchers I can recall in the heavyweight division. The reason why guys like Peter and Briggs end up basically quitting against Vitali (stop throwing punches) is because they get tired of getting hit with rapid-fire bombs when they throw.

Secondly, bad footwork? Really? Like the bad footwork against a guy like Hyde? Or Byrd, another smallish heavyweight whom Vitali was beating into dust until his rotator cuff tore?

I have no idea where people come up with this stuff. It's ludicrous.

Look, if you hate Vitali and want to wear a T-shirt around the world that says "Lewis TKO 6," go for it.

But trying to say that Vitali is, of all things, slow is just sad.

*

Vitali presents big, big problems for Ali (6'3", 220 lbs) in a head-to-head. Height and weight issues, for starters. Think of the problems that Ali had with Foreman, who was around 6'4" and 220 lbs. Vitali is about 6'7.5" and 245 lbs.

To help put this into perspective, the size mismatch, Foreman was about the size of Herbie Hide (6'2", 220 lbs). So was Ali. We all know how that worked out, when Hide fought Vitali.

Secondly, Vitali has an incredible workrate. I don't know the average punchstat data for Ali, but I know some of it for Vitali. He can easily manage 70 punches per round, which is a shocking number for any heavyweight and certainly for one as large as Vitali. And he doesn't get tired, he's not going to fall into the "Rope-A-Dope" pitfall. He has never fought that way. He, instead, just slowly batters you down over the fight and then often stops guys late. He's not going to go "all-in" earlier in the fight unless he knows he has you. That means that Ali basically loses that card to play.

Is Ali faster than Vitali? Of course he is. But that's not enough. In order to score and win rounds, Ali would have to wade into the danger zone. And if a guy that much larger than you lays a glove on you you can be in trouble. Ali had an excellent chin but it wasn't exactly granite. And he never fought anyone close to the stature of Vitali.

There are smaller fighters who are basically like tanks, pretty impervious to damage. Ray Mercer was like that. McCall was like that (though he was around 235 so not really so "small"). Ali wasn't built this way; he didn't have that kind of resilience, even though he was incredibly tough mentally.

Third, even if Ali tried to stay at distance and outpoint Vitali (stay away from Vitali's power), that is far from a certain strategy. As Chris Byrd found out. Vitali dominated Byrd until his shoulder injury.

The truth of the matter is that there aren't any good historical head-to-head matchups for Vitali. That doesn't mean that Ali couldn't have beaten him, or that no one else could, either. But Vitali's physical attributes, superior conditioning, mental toughness and will to win make him difficult for anyone. No one has ever beaten him "cleanly." That's not an accident. He's never been off his feet, has almost never trailed on the scorecards and has only been buzzed well once that I recall, by Sanders -- a 6'4" inch athletic prodigy who had one of the best and fastest left hooks the sport has ever seen. And still, Vitali was quickly out of trouble and Sanders was destroyed methodically.

I remember clearly how Vitali was labeled a "quitter" after Byrd. Lewis was going to punk him, like Vitali was Grant or Ruddock. Then Vitali was supposedly scared of Rahman. Then Vitali was going to get old against Arreola. And Peter. It just goes on and on.

Vitali Klitschko is one of the best fighters to have ever fought as a professional in the heavyweight division. Call him fragile, that's fair. He used to be that. But there's really no way around his accomplishments or standing, no matter how hard one tries or how much one tries to disparage the available competition. He is the closest thing the boxing world has ever had to a Destroyer in the heavyweight ranks. Basically, nobody can really hurt him and he can -- and does -- hurt everybody else. And he likes to crush people in the ring.

Enjoy him while he's still here. He won't be around much longer. And, sadly, there's a good chance he'll never have the opportunity to add Haye to his pelts on the wall. That would be a fitting ending, but one which the Brit wisely doesn't seem to fancy.

 

He battered Lewis. Owned him. I watched the fight again the other day and I could not believe how worn down Lewis was in that fight. He couldn't handle the pace. Lennox was reduced to trying to land pot-shots in the later rounds and while the uppercuts looked nice, they weren't slowing down Vitali at all. And that was while Vitali had a blown-up eye.

Lewis won the fight the only way he could have. And he left the sport, going back on his word for a rematch and canceling his own plans for more fights after the Vitali bout.

Lewis won the "cut lottery" in that fight, and Vitali drove him out of the sport. This kind of win is sometimes known as a Pyrrhic victory, or a victory that comes at too high a cost for the winner. The interview with Merchant after the bout pretty much told the tale.

 

In all honesty, Lewis was basically on his last legs anyway. He was 38 years old, fighting less actively as of late, and starting to show up to fights at career high weights. Even if he hadn't fought Klitschko, I really don't think he had more than maybe another fight or two left in him. His last fight with Vitali probably had great influence on his decision to leave the game, but I think its a tad oversimplifed to credit Vitali Klitschko as "retiring" Lennox Lewis.

 

Ali by stoppage?

 

At the age of 38, Vitali Klitschko -- after like 2 years off -- beat the hell out a Sam Peter that many thought would knock Vitali out. Just to give some comparison here of how old Lewis was when he fought Vitali.

Lewis wanted more fights after Vitali. That's known. If you plan to continue in a sport and you meet someone who derails that plan, then that person drove you out of the sport. Even if you only planned to be around just a touch longer.

At the time VK and LL fought, Vitali was regarded as both a "quitter" and the weaker of the two brothers. The person whom Lewis had personally steered against Wladimir, Corrie Sanders, had just crushed the supposedly "better" brother. Lewis almost certainly looked at this fight as a chance to finish off the brothers -- whom he resented for taking some of his spotlight -- in the sport and do so with relative ease. As I said, something like Grant or Ruddock.

That lasted around 2 rounds. Lennox tried to jump on Vitali and ended up getting his ass beat for his efforts. He just wasn't ready for what happened to him.

I give Lennox credit. He hung in, and won the only way he could have. He had nothing in the fight, and that was as much about Vitali as it was about Lennox. Lewis just could not cope with the skill, size and the pace. After his boxing "near-death" experience, Lewis wisely left the sport. He is the only man to this day who has faced either or both of the brothers and not come out with a loss.

It was a wise move, for Lewis to leave the sport after the Vitali fight, but one made out of necessity, not choice.

The only match anyone wanted to see Lennox in after that fight was Vitali II. Lennox knew it, and he walked away.

 

Ali wins wide decision or late TKO.

 

Vitali had the shot at the title. He was a mandatory for Lewis. Lewis decided not to defend it.

 

Hahahaha excellent, did these arseholes sprout out of Vitali's cut against Lennox? :rasta