I agree. I think they are just getting defensive and not being objective. People simply expect more from someone of high caliber such as Klitschko. No one is saying Wladimir is worse than the rest of the guys in the division out there right now. What people are upset about, in regards to Klitschkos performance tonight, is that Wladimir has the potential to do better. So when performances are being discussed, yes he did dominate according to punch stats, and in the sense that he didn't alllow his opponent, Ibragimov, to hit him as much. Absolutely. However, did he hit and hurt Ibragimov as much as he could have? what is better? What scores higher in boxing according to judges-Jabs or power shots? Why do rounds which involve a knock down get scored as 10-8? Obviously knock downs, power shots, etc, get scored with higher value, which unfortunately, we didn't get any of that, dispite the opportunities being there for Klitschko.
There's always exceptions and I guess genetic personality also plays a role. I just think there's a strong correlation between fighters who have come from broken backgrounds, who possess desire and aggression and the entertainment value they provide. I am not hating on the Klitschko's, I don't personally care for Vitali's style but he was much more aggressive and hard nosed than Wlad. I also don't want to discuss boxing ability. I have seen Barrera, Marquez and others tactically pick opponents apart with much greater variety and provide much greater entertainment value.
Wlad does'nt just have the potential to be bettter, he is better. He is certainly eons above the quality fighter that Sultan is, which is what makes Wlad's performance tonight so dissapointing. Does anybody know how much Wlad got paid tonight? Big money fights go PPV. Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but I dont think Wlad has ever headlined a PPV event. .....to show the sad state of the Heavyweight division. I dont see a Heavyweight matchup out there worthy of PPV. .....A Wlad-Peter rematch with the right marketing has the potential for a PPV event, but Wlad turning in performances like he did tonight, certainly dont help matters!
Yep I agree. I meant to say to be better than what he showed us last night. He had opportunities and didn't capitalize. If Peter defeats Oleg Maskaev, I think a Peter / Klikschko rematch would make sense, and I would think Peter still has a puncher's chance, and a better shot than their last outing.
A fighter is only as good as his last fight, as far as critics are concerned, so the disappointment in Wlad's showing makes sense. He did win though, and he won very convincingly. I'll give Wlad the benefit of the doubt, being that he does KO most of his opponents. This time he fought a slick southpaw that didn't want to engage, it's whatever. He won and proved that he is still the best HW in the world.
No he didn't, the first right hand he thew was in round five. And no he didn't need to, which is against him; he had a stationary target in front of him who'd clearly given up after a couple of rounds and didn't go for the finish. Why? If he had more confidence in himself he could've obliterated the guy. Listen and you can believe this or not, I actually like the guy, I think that outside the ring he's a great figurehead for the sport and inside it he's got a lot of talent but you cannot in all seriousness argue that that was a good performance. Yes he's the first guy to beat him and yes he never looked like losing but he barely got into first gear let alone second. Ibrigamov was there for the taking, all Wlad had to do was stand his ground and let the punches go. Lennox Lewis or Vitali (I cite them because of their being the 'other' good modern big men) would have blasted him (iggy) out of there after it became apparent that he had no inroads into the fight. Wlad didn't.
Vlad has plenty of confidence, he has been fighting since he was a kid. 1996 Gold Medal winner, superheavyweight division. Vlad is the best.
Difference is, Tua hit like a twelve ton truck. Ibragimov has average power, and is not half as dangerous as Tua was.