Why is Vitali a favorite over his more accomplished brother Wladimir h2h

I think its first impressions. A sizeable number of fans in 2003-2008 came to the conclusion Vitali was better. And nothing Wlad accomplished after that was going to change that for them.

Vitali wasn't fighting title worthy opponents but he was dominant enough where they didn't feel forced to change their mind.

Normally a champion would be blamed for fighting the type of competition Vitali was fighting. But becaue his little brother was cleaning out the division people can interpret it as Vitali stepping aside or passing the torch.

 

I would actually lean towards Wladamir 60/40 here. I'm not sure why people think Vitali is a bad style match up for Wlad other than the fact that he's a very good fighter.

People are pretty quick to point out Vitalis 2 or 3 advantages over Wlad, but they don't mention that Wlad had EVERY other advantage.

Vitali was clearly a formidable fighter, but has a Deontay Wilder level resume of wins.

 

You can be ahead on cards and still lose. And Vitali lost 2 out of his 4 biggest fights.

 

Vitali's performance against Lennox was incredible personally. That fight rose his stock like crazy.

Also, I feel if the two fought - Wlad's chin wouldn't hold up in the long run, but both Vitali and Wlad were both exceptional fighters that actually proved themselves.

 

Smarter, more accurate, better chin, better stamina.

 

I won't go into the H2H debate too much, just wanted to add a historical tidbit. I was around 18 when I watched Lennox vs. Vitali and I was hyped beyond measure back then because German TV broadcast the fight live (no DAZN back then, no Showtime, no HBO, just wave after wave of Kohl/Sauerland cards).
I was rooting for Vitali heavy but watching the fight in real time I had the feeling that Lennox had him going toward the end. I know that Lennox was exhausted too but if I had to bet a KO in the 7th I would have said Lewis.
No slight to Vitali, tremendous fighter, but invincible he was not.

 

This.

Having the far better resume proved Wlad could operate at a higher level - Vitali looked better but fought less of the best available.

Losing to a shot ATG when coming into prime isn't usually the best sign that a fighter is going to be ATG level... And Lewis, whilst much greater than Wlad, was a lot more shot against Vitali than Wlad was against Fury or Joshua.

Wlad is the better brother.

 

Fantasy H2H means absolutely nothing. It is like comic book nerds fighting about if superman or hulk is tougher.

 

It means more than fantasy P4P matchups

 

When you get to talking about the distinctions between bull**** and horse****, you know something has gone wrong

 

all stems from this. Wlad is a skilled operator with massive power and strength, but he’s got a weak chin, knows he’s got a weak chin, and is afraid of getting hit due to his weak chin. Made him fight overly cautious, clinch a lot, etc. give him his brother’s chin and he becomes an absolute beast, willing to take risks to land those big shots.

the guys with great chins know it. Vitali could take risks and get into firefights because he wasn’t worried about getting knocked out, he knew one or two random big punches landed on him wouldn’t be that big of a deal, etc.

 

I always saw it as wlad was more skilled and athletic but vitali would've had the necessary attributes to beat him,

Don't think vitali would try and box him , he'd make it a dog fight and wlad would get drawn in.... vitali was a tough mofo, chin sees him get the win for me

 

Not really the question that was being asked but:

Did anyone have Chris Byrd winning their fight when Vitali quit? I know the judges had Vitali up but that could just be hometown judging. I thought Byrd was slightly edging a close fight. At most he would’ve been one round down.

And it’s no surprise Vitali put his shoulder out, the amount of shots he was missing.

The fact the fight ended from an injury saved Vitali from potentially getting outboxed down the stretch, which is where it looked like the fight was going.

 

I always thought Wlad's fear of getting hit made his chin appear worse he tenses up really bad when getting hit with clean shots. I mean we saw some those bombs that AJ landed and Wlad kept fighting on and he didn't tense up as much as he did when he was younger.

But yeah agreed if only Wlad had Vitali's chin/punch resistance

 

I need to rewatch AJ-Wlad.