Vitali Klitschko's wasted talent

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by McGrain, Jan 11, 2020.



  1. steve1990

    steve1990 Active Member Full Member

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    He was beating Byrd with one arm also he destroyed Peter who beat down Toney.
     
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  2. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    Haye backed out of a Vitali fight because in event of Haye winning K2 wanted a rematch clause that gave them the right to dictate not only the site but the next 2 opponents.No prizes for guessing who they would be!
    Haye passed on the Vitali fight because ,should he win K2 wanted options on his first two defences,no prizes for guessing whom they would have been against! As an alphabet Champ Vitali fought more unranked ,undeserving contenders than anyone ever has.
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2020
  3. he grant

    he grant Historian/Film Maker Full Member

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    Sone pretty solid points ..
     
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  4. Mendoza

    Mendoza Hrgovic = Next Heavyweight champion of the world. banned Full Member

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    FAKE NEWS. Does someone else want to clean up here on this guy? On vacation.
     
  5. THE BLADE 2

    THE BLADE 2 Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Styles make fights.Toney’s style would be difficult for Vitali.Vitali quit against Byrd.
     
  6. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    Until he quit.
     
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  7. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    McGrain has amply demonstrated that Vitali fought a bunch of unranked patsies.
    As to Haye, it was widely written about .In The Telegraph, The Times,
    The Sun and The Daily Mirror. Sorry Mr Trump ,you're wrong yet again!
     
  8. steve1990

    steve1990 Active Member Full Member

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    Byrd also ducked a rematch.
     
  9. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    Source for this please?
    FYI Vitali was out injured so Byrd defended against his brother just 6 months after beating Vitali.Wlad was ranked higher than Byrd by the Ring, and Vitali wasn't even in their top ten.
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2020
  10. dinovelvet

    dinovelvet Antifanboi Full Member

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    Thats a falsity. It was Vitaly who ducked the rematch when he opted to fight Timmo Hoffman instead of triggering the rematch clause he had over Byrd.
     
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  11. Glass City Cobra

    Glass City Cobra H2H Burger King Full Member

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    I never understood why he never rematches Byrd if, according to some fans, he was "gonna win anyway" and Byrd was lucky he had a shoulder injury. Just clear up the confusion and settle the score ffs.

    It's bad enough the 2 brothers are in the same division and won't fight. At least avenge your losses and have better match making. Im so glad that era is over.

    Part of the match making wasn't Vitali's fault but at some point you have to slam the breaks when reading threads like these and question his overall legacy. Just how exactly do you rate a guy who enjoys such a huge size and technical skill advantage over mostly mediocre opponents? Forget h2h, other than the rare gems like the chisora or lewis fights when did we really get to see what Vitali was made of and actually put his heart and skills to the test? Before you think "can't criticize him for being dominant and skilled", no of course not, but as the OP shows there WERE better options available and we simply never got the most ideal or entertaining fights. Hence the "waste of talent" head line.

    I think it could be compared to Bill Russel and his elite team utterly destroying the relatively weak basketball era he competed in. No one denies Russel's skills but there's an asterisk* if you compare his era to the most recent couple of decades and the difference in overall talent pool.
     
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  12. THE BLADE 2

    THE BLADE 2 Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Arguably, Vitali lost against the best two fighters he fought in past prime Lennox and Chris Byrd. His record does not look very impressive. His best win might be Sam Peter.
     
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  13. Man_Machine

    Man_Machine Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Vitali's first reign, consisting of a single defense before retirement due to injury, speaks for itself.

    I'm not sure how much we could have expected from a returning 37-year-old (and aging), injury-prone and, in my opinion, somewhat overrated heavyweight.

    I've always had the impression that Vitali came back from injury, just because he knew he could; making some relatively easy money in the process.

    Vitali's shared reign, on his return, formed part of what, I think, will be remembered as one of the most depressing periods in heavyweight history.
     
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  14. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    He some how missed quite a lot of ranked guys out during his era.
    Tyson
    Holyfield
    Tua
    Ruiz
    Oquendo
    Golota
    Povetkin
    Chagaev
    Ibragimov
    Dimitrenko
    Maskaev
    Boytsov
    Helenius
    Pulev
    But found time to face
    Mahone
    Sullivan
    Hoffman
    Puritty
    Bean
    Donald
    Williams
    Sosnowski
    Briggs
    Solis
    Charr

    A very good fighter but his record does not live up to the hype. He plundered the WBO rankings defending against fighters who were basically journeymen.
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2020
  15. Man_Machine

    Man_Machine Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Obviously, I wouldn't dispute the 'misses' and the OP poses some interesting alternatives, as well.
    Although, I must admit that I hadn't considered Vitali's ledger, as far back as his spell as WBO titlist, which provides extra scope to add to that list of 'what could have beens'.
     
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