Vitali beating Peter after such a long layoff due to injury was notable. His reign as champion was anything but. He had noticeably depreciated as a fighter though towards the end of his reign, and he was probably more vulnerable to a live opponent than was considered at the time. Fights with Povetkin or Haye may well have been dangerous for a slower, injury prone Vitali, who didn't seem to have as much snap on his punches as he aged. While not giving him a free pass for the lack of quality in his second title run, it also has to be acknowledged that his career looked finished beforehand, and many people gave Peter a good shot at beating him. Criticisms about the quality of opponents between Hide and Lewis are more valid in my view. His best opponent (Byrd) was actually a late sub for an embalmed Razor Ruddock. He seemed reluctant to take on quality opposition, and then curiously jumped in with the champ at two weeks notice. It's difficult to evaluate Vitali's overall standing. Whether by design or not, there always seemed to be one eye on Wlad's career; when Wlad was down he avenged his losses, but when Wlad was hot Vitali seemed happy to play second fiddle.
The Peter win was a very good achievement. He was already in training when the Lewis fight became available.
I still find it quite striking, as to how much Peter is relied upon to shore up both the Klitschkos' achievements. In the context of Vitali's return, I can see why Peter stands out amongst the rest of his opposition. However, despite doubts about Vitali, due to his age and anticipated ring-rust, to think Peter stood a chance against Vitali was to considerably overestimate Peter's skill-level (as well as other physical attributes) - he was really quite tailor-made for Vitali.
I picked Vital to beat him and I posted my opinion here.Peter was never more than an unskilled, badly conditioned clubber imo.
Peter gets a lot of mileage from the first wlad fight despite losing and then getting stopped in the rematch. Very overrated fighter who lost many times he stepped up even before the Vitali fight.
I have to say that I agree with this description whole-heartedly. Although, at the same time, I can appreciate that he was a dedicated competitor/trier.
Indeed, the first Wlad fight seems to have elevated people's view and expectations from Peter. This, despite the very strong likelihood that anyone else, who had had Wlad in that kind of 'trouble', would have actually gone on to win the contest.
Can't speak for others, but the credit I give for beating Peter is more to do with Vitali's circumstances at the time, rather than Peter being the second coming of George Foreman. First fight in nearly 4 years at aged 37, against the #2 heavyweight in the world, after being forced to retire due to persistent injury problems, and completely dominating the fight. That is a rare achievement and notable in its own right, regardless of Peter's shortcomings and how poor the division was at that point. ACL injuries are no joke, and many athletes never recover from them. Prior to the scheduled Rahman fight he also had thigh and back problems, and it looked like his body was breaking down.
No everything he wrote is entirely correct.Vitali won the WBO title when he stopped Obed Sullivan and he lost it in his first defence when he retired against Chris Byrd Below direct from Box Rec. 2000-04-01 244¼ Chris Byrd 210¾ 30 1 0 L RTD 9/12 time: 3:00 | referee: Genaro Rodriguez | Dr Ruben M Garcia 89-82 | Joachim Jacobsen 88-83 | Melvina Lathan 88-83 World Boxing Organisation World Heavy Title Fight stopped due to a Klitschko shoulder injury 1999-12-11 244¾ Obed Sullivan 227¾ 34 5 1 Sporthalle, Alsterdorf W RTD 9/12 time: 3:00 | referee: Joe Cortez | Larry Hazzard Jr 90-81 | Victor Salomon 90-81 | Axel Zielke 90-81 World Boxing Organisation World Heavy Title Sullivan fails to answer the bell for Round 10.