Why Didn't Vlad K Have Rematches?

He rematched Brewster

 

Would you want to rematch the man that beat the unholy hell out of you in less than two rounds without even breaking a sweat? Me neither

 

Politics basically.

After he beat Samuel Peter, he found himself a mandatory for both Byrd for the IBF, and the Brewster for the WBO.

He had to take one, an lose the other.

Byrd had a higher ranking with Ring, and a more prestigious belt, and probably posed less of a threat on paper.

He took the Byrd fight, and I would have advised him to do the same.

Alter that, it turns on what his previous conquerors achieved, because they were asking for a shot at the title!.

 

Because Vitali was right there at the top while Lewis vacated and Corrie was right there with him. So they had those two fight for the WBC. Combination of the rankings and hyped storyline.

Wlad had just lost to Brewster in their first fight. So it wouldn’t have made sense. Now they were talking about Wlad fighting Corrie again after that, but remember Wlad had to climb back up the rankings. Many wrote him off! And Sanders just kinda lost interest in the sport.

 

After getting beat up by sanders, Wlad had 2 comeback fights against "OK" opponents in order to get him ready for a second match, a second chance to win the WBO title back.
But by the time he signed the contract, Corrie had already relinquished the WBO title and declined a fight with brewster in favour of a bout with Vitali Klitschko for the vacant WBC belt.

Klitschko hoped to have a rematch with Puritty in Hamburg, Germany on March 18, 2000, but Puritty rejected the offer made by Universum Box-Promotion, Klitschko's management.

 

Wlad and Vitali had a brotherly agreement that if someone beat one of them up, the other would try to avenge it rather than risk one of them losing twice to the same guy.

Because, see, you had to beat both of them for it to count.

So if Corrie Sanders kicks your fanny, send your brother in to do the dirty work.

Chris Byrd made you quit? Send your brother after him.

Ross Purity? Same thing.

You had to beat both Klitschkos but if you beat one of them he sure wasn’t going to give you a chance to do it again. To me it cheapens both of them.

 

Corrie Sanders would’ve ended Wlad in an immediate rematch.

I don’t think Byrd or Purrity would’ve had much of chance, whether in a rematch or fighting the other brother.

Wlad did rematch Brewster, Peter, Byrd, and Thompson.

Vitali was perceived as redeemed once he fought Lewis. Harping on the Byrd loss is the stuff of message boards years after the fight. At the time, the fight was disappointing because Vitali fought a boring fight and quit w injury in what was supposed to be a showcase, not that Byrd was actually a threat to him.

The only “save” was Vitali beating Sanders, but that was also the fight that was needed to establish a Ring champion so it made sense regardless of Wlad.

 

You probably didn’t think Byrd or Purrity had much of a chance to beat either in the first place. But it happened.

Rematching someone you beat isn’t courageous. Neither is sending your brother in to beat a guy you couldn’t. Just the opposite, in fact.

Anyone who lost to one of the Klitschkos should have been afforded the opportunity to beat the other. Put the shoe on the other foot. And anyone who beat one of them should have gotten the chance to beat that same one again rather than this ‘you have to beat the other one’ bull.

 

I still don’t think Byrd had any chance to beat either with the exception of them having unbearable injuries like full blown rotator cuff tears.

Wlad has a two phase career. I had pretty much given up on him after the Brewster fight, but then he had a historic title run. Gassing out as a developing fighter isn’t that big of a deal for his resume, and it could’ve happened against any pressure guy who didn’t get knocked out back then.

I’m gonna pick two heavyweight titlists from the same era and pretend they were brothers. I’ll go with Berbick and Coetzee. Oh look, Berbick avenged Coetzee’s loss to Tate so Coetzee wouldn’t have to fight him. Oh look, Berbick tried to avenge Coetzee’s loss to Snipes for him. Oh look, Berbick got revenge on Pinklon for drawing w Coetzee. Hey look, Berbick took care of Barkley for beating Coetzee. Damn, Berbick had his brother’s back.

 

Except that Berbick and Coetzee weren’t working hand-in-glove in their decision-making with a promoter who had just those two as his main priority.

What you described is two guys in the same era who by happenstance faced a few common foes. It certainly wasn’t by design. The Brothers Klitschko were booked deliberately to do so — you think it’s coincidence that Ross Purrity beats one and gets a fight with the other? Or Corrie or Byrd.

 

The part of Wlad's career that really matters is his title reign. He did rematch the one guy who beat him and was still relevant, Brewster, at that time.

Byrd played the Don King circuit 2002 to 2005. He fought Wlad again in 2006 once he was freed up. Vitali was out with injuries at that time and Byrd was cooked by the time Vitali came back 2008. It is what it is. Vitali came back against 22-0 Timo Hoffman after the rotator cuff, highly regarded af the time , and beat Donald who bore stylistic similarity to Byrd. And of course he went for Lewis.

I agree that Vitali bailed out Wlad with Sanders. Apart from that, Purrity and Byrd don't really matter that much to me, and Brewster was avenged.

 

I know @dinovelvet knows the ins and outs regarding why Sanders vs Wladimir 2 didn't happen, I think he can break that down for you if he replies.