7. He got the job done. He did eventually get the KO. The only thing I didn't like obviously is the grabbing. It's uneccessary against an opponent like this. It shouldn't even be tolerated. But he did adapt and he did start throwing the lead right to offset Thompson's jab. Once he did that he had it bagged. Probably could have stopped Thompson in the 8th but he didn't want to fall into something big. Irrelevant anyways. He still got the stoppage.
Average Wlad performace. -could have jabbed more -counter-punching non-existent -looks very uncomfortable moving backwards BTW-Can anyone tell me why Wlad never doubles/triples up on the jab?
I guess a 5, he looked very average tonite, and certainly didnt look like the best Heavyweight in the world.
if wlad were any other hw, it would definitely be a solid performance as thompson had never been stopped and wlad had a solid lead on a guy that is at least big and awkward and has been in with and had some sucess with b/b- level hws. people expect more from wlad, probably rightfully so, so his performance is criticized.
2...(compared to when he's fighting on his best day)...A win is a win. But not impressive. At this point , i'm more interested in povetkin vs Haye than a wlad vs haye fight.
For Wladimir Klitschko that was a good performance. That's as good as he can do. For a great heavyweight that was extremely subpar.