Great points...Although George Foreman pulled it off after 10 years off...That's not bad company, although Foreman's resume is light years better pre-layoff and arguably better post-layoff..
however, Vitali is the only heavyweight to win back the title in his return bout after a four year layoff. and this is a rare case when a boxers event win could be bigger than any of his actual wins.
You think Sanders was there for the payday? I dont know man, Sanders took a beating that fight and could have layed down at any time, he was getting a beating and showed some true grit and was trying to throw bombs back until the last round, and the ref had to save him finally. He was there to win... not 'just' for the payday. Now, could he have been in better shape? Of course.... that doesnt mean he was there just for the payday though. Just Imo
I thought and still do think Arreola would have beat wlad that night...It's one of the reasons I'm not a big fan of wlad...Vitali seems to take out the fighters that would match up favorably against him...
You hit the nail on the head when you said he could have been in better shape...It means he trained like he was there just for the payday...
Being able to be in better shape doesnt = showing up for a payday though. Does Arreola just show up for payday against Vitali? No... but he could have been in better shape too. Sanders came to fight and to win.... he never had a good build and that fight was no exception.
Solis, Arreola, Gomez, Peter, Sanders, Donald, Hide were all top class wins with about another 10 good wins after that. Not many in the sport will have a better record than that, the fact that he dominates his opponents with such ease only adds to the greatness of the man. Tbh you couldn't say more than 20 other HW's had a better record than that.
Sanders was a good win indeed. Sanders never "looked" like a boxer, but he was downright SCARY when he started throwing those bombs. I was impressed by his hand speed for such a big guy too. He wobbled Vitali with some good shots, but overall a good performance by Mr. Klit.
Sanders was in the worst shape I had ever seen him in...Fighters on that level will always 'try to win' when they're getting punched, but, they also know they have to train to beat the top guys...If Sanders didn't train his ass off, he was there for the payday...
If Sanders was there for the payday he would have quit after round 3 and went to the golf course but he gave all he had left. Sanders was Vitalis last real challenge
Yes, you could. Ali, Louis, Frazier, Holmes, Norton, Liston, Patterson, Johnson, Dempsey, Tunney, Holyfield, Bowe, Tyson, Wlad, Fitzsimmons, Sullivan, Jeffries, Walcott, Schmeling, Marciano, Lewis, Langford, Wills, Corbett... That's when you start struggling but I would have a huge issue with Vitali being ranked inside the top 20 of all-time. He just clearly isn't. He's got by in a pathetically poor era byt allowing his brother to fight the "best", whilst he fights poor opponents. He's not a technically gifted boxer, just awkward, strong and tough. Very limited fighter with an even more limited record.