1. Had a better chin than Vitali. 2. A more powerful punch. 3. A wider array of punches. 4. Better defence. 5. More stamina. Is it possible that you can answer "none" to all of these questions? If you do, where dies that mean Vitali should be placed head to head? Honestly, as absurd as it may sound to some, I see him being a candidate for belonging in the top 5 head ever, head to head.
No. I see Lewis, Holyfield, Bowe, Tyson, Liston, Louis, Ali, Holmes and Johnson all defeating him off the top. I can see him at the near bottom of the top ten based on his combination of size, skill, intelligence and conditioning. There were much better fighters at heavyweight but he is too tough a match up .
head to head the following guys beat him (in my opinion) ali, louis, holmes, foreman, frazier, liston, baer, tyson, holyfield, bowe, lewis, norton, marciano, dempsey and probably (alltough i haven't seen that much off them) also jeffries, langford and johnson. now i am thinking of it also zora folley and bonavena beat him
Boxing is not all about categories, although i have trouble imagining a short guy like Langford beating him under modern rules. As for Folley and Bonavena...
Zora Folley is one of my favorite contenders, but he'd get blasted out by Vitali. One of the worst matchups you could make for him. Ringo would get killed, probably even worse than Folleybecause he is more durable and less skilled, meaning he'd soak up a beating from the start to finish. Pretty much if you're not a puncher with speed, or a top, top end boxer like Ali/Holmes you don't have much of a chance against Vitali. He's the fastest fighter of all time for his size. Although for your categories, I wouldn't say yes to any of them. Vitali's stamina is very good for a big man but he has tired before, defense wise he is hard to equal though. Vitali is an attrition fighter, never really a one punch KO artist so there's a large handful of guys I'd say hit harder. Vitali has a top notch chin but no one can take it better than McCall. I'd put Tysons over it as well along with probably some others. But yeah, Vitali is a hard puzzle to figure out and tough to beat, I do think though that time has caught up to him and when he faces a puncher with more speed than Arreola he is going down. I'd make Haye the favorite over him, judging by his performance against Arreola.
Vitali would have no problem with Folley or Bonavena, also he would handle most of the contenders in the last 50 years....with a few standing out being able to have some sort of shot....not Norton,Young,Lyle..... as far as Champs....he would be a conundrum for any of them from Johnson to Lewis....Vitali would be a tough fight for any of the former champ...he is not an easy man to fight and has improved since the Lewis fight, even Stewart said as much
Those who beat Vitali:- Lewis - Pretty much proven Holmes - Vitali has a chance as I think Holmes might find it difficult to establish a jab with the size of Vitali, but I'd still favour him. Frazier - Yes he's a lot smaller but with his bobbing and weaving I think it'd actually work in his favour and Vitali does keep his hands low so he'd eat too many left-hooks for me. Tyson - Pretty much as above. Liston - Vitali wouldn't be able to keep the distance with Liston and he doesn't want to get into a war with him. Ali - Too much lateral movement for Vitali to handle IMO. Not an easy night for Ali IMO, but a clear UD all the same. Close fights:- Louis - Personally I find it difficult to say how he'd deal with someone who uses his height so effectively, so I'll refrain from commenting. I'd probably plump for Louis by KO but I'm not as confident as I am with the above picks. Holyfield - Holyfield can move so it wouldn't be easy for Vitali at all. Evander would have to be smart though. Bowe - On his day Bowe was a match for anyone, but it's real tough to tell as Vitali has only really fought one top tier opponent to me (a valiant loss) and Bowe's prime was short lived. Foreman - Close fight as Foreman might well struggle to be the bully here. Vitali has a chin but taking Foreman's bombs is something else!!! M. Spinks - I'd also give Spinks a chance here again because he moves so well (yes I do love Spinks though). Appreciate that not many would agree with me. All the others (including Marciano and Dempsey) I'd have to pick Vitali. There does come a point when a guys size matters.
1. Tyson, Mccall, Ali, Marciano, Foreman, Holyfield, Thomas...etc cant possibly remember all right now but I will if a Bitchko fanatic pisses me off. 2. Tyson, Foreman, Marciano, Baer, Louis, Smith, Lewis, Bruno...etc as above 3. Louis and Tyson just the biggest names and many many more I could start listing most good champions here. Stupid options really. 4. Tyson, Lewis, Patterson, Holmes, Ali and many many more. 5. You'r kidding right? At least half of them.
Staying with active fighters, I think his brother beats him in 2, 3, and 4, and ties him in 5. I would pick Wladimir to beat Vitali, head-to-head. All-time: Look, I like and respect the guy, but most of the linear heavyweight champions would beat him in a head-to-head matchup...in my opinion, of course. Vitali would probably beat some of them, though.
Kirk Johnson is also a lot bigger than Jack Johnson. Nevertheless, I'd disagree. Johnson would be very quick on his feet compared to most of Vitali's opponents, and far better defensively. He was also master at countering the jab an opponents jab, better than any HW ever in that aspect.