I agree with this statement. Vitali's power is not as good as his KO percentage indicates. In fact I am not sure I would place him in my own list of the top ten hardest punching heavyweights in history. Although he may sneak in. His brother however is a lock. KO percentages can be misleading. I believe Jack Sharkey had more pop than his KO percentage would lead one to believe. As for Wlad's jab it has deteriorated as has his handspeed. Slowly but it's perceptible. It's still good, a testament to his year round dedication. But Father Time still undefeated.
Don King would not let Byrd with a belt go near Vitali. It was not his fault. When Wlad re-matched Byrd, Byrd needed a big pay day It was clear Lewis avoided the re-match.
It's an interesting question. Then again, if the two best heavyweights in any era teamed up and together only one of them had to beat the best of the other eras, they'd nearly all do fine. If the 80s Holmes and the 80s Tyson teamed up, at least one of them would beat the best in every decade. If the 60s Ali and the 60s Liston/or 60s Frazier (whoever you prefer) teamed up, same. Same if the 90s Lewis and Holyfield teamed up, if the 70s Ali and Foreman teamed up, if the 50s Marciano and Liston teamed up, if the 40s Louis and Charles teamed up, if the 30s Louis and Baer teamed up, if the 20s Dempsey and Tunney teamed up. If Johnson and Dempsey teamed up. The top two in any era usually have different strengths. Vitali and Wlad are no different. Guys Wlad couldn't or didn't beat, Vitali could and vice versa.
Not true. Byrd said he was forced by Universum to face Wlad. Wlad hadn't even a WBO ranking. Byrd was held captive. Byrd clowned Vitali. Why would Don King hold him back from doing it again? Klaus Khol worked with both the WBO and Universum. Vitali could have had it if he wanted it.
Wrong.. Byrd lost nearly every round of that fight to a man who was basically fighting with one arm... Hardly clowning someone.
Im not a fan of Byrd at all , never was , i much prefer Vitali but the fact is he could not hit sand off a wall in that fight. He struggled to hit Byrd so badly , he knocked his shoulder out of joint. If he really had an injury. Thats the definition of being clowned.
Vitali dominated the fight until the last rd or so, he did not seem tired or afraid but worried about his arm. I think Vitali removed all doubt when in the fight against Lewis his head opened up from a cut and he still wanted to fight on. I remember at the time being disappointed because Vitali could only lose by a KO but I was not feeling the pain and I am sure as a DOCTOR Vitali has more knowledge than I do about the body
Byrd got hit plenty in that fight, and really didn't do anything to warrant the claim that he schooled or clowned anyone. Making the other guy throw out his arm isn't something that anyone actually plans for in training. By the rules he was entitled to the "win" but in boxing terms, he didn't actually "beat" Klitschko. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FecLhLS8ibI
Exactly. Klitscko tore that rotator cuff at about the third round. he continued to fight while being in pain and was still winning practically all of those rounds regardless. By the time the fight ended, he had been fighting with that injury for about 6 rounds and still winning !!! Having a PHD in sports medicine, he knew the potential consequences of continuing under those circumstances. Byrd deserved the win according to the rules. But for all practical purposes he didn't do anything to win that fight except win the lottery.
Vitali won 6 rounds. Thats only the half way point. A fight is 12 rounds. If you cant make it to 12 or get a knock out you lost . End of story. Dozens of fighters get injured and have found a way to win. Nobody knew anything about any Vitali injurey till he quit. If an injury is that serious it will be apparent to everybody watching. Vitali felt he was trailing on the cards. Byrd was clowning him and embarrassing him. He was fleeing around the ring. He wanted out. Danny Williams had his arm visibly out of socket in a fight. It was dangling down like it was about to fall of. He didn't quit. He held in and knocked the guy out with his other arm. Povetkin won a fight only using one arm. Mayweather but his hand , fought on by adapting to southpaw. Ali , Morrison fought and won with broken chins. List goes on and on.
And if Byrd didn't win by 'boxing terms' by that reasoning , Wlad didn't beat Williamson either. But anybody unbiased knows that already.
Vitali retired after 9 rounds with a torn rotater cuff. He was up on the scorecards after 9 rounds 88-83 (2x) and 89-82 on the other card. So that is 7 rounds to 2 twice and 8 rounds to one once. So he could of lost the remaining three rounds on every judges scorecard and still won. After seeing what fighting on with an injured shoulder has done to robert helenius career I am glad Vitali with many years ahead of him as a fighter didn't further the injury. If the fight had been close I believe a rematch would have been warranted it was not close. This is not the same as what Sonny Liston pulled against Ali. Only in Dino land is that being clowned.
These excuses can't change the fat,glass-chinned Byrd knocked Vitali klitschko out. Vitali's ko percentage means nothing. -His Solis ko was injury. -Charr and Puritty kos were cuts. -The Norris and Hide kos were ridicolous. In his prime he couldn't beat (obviously) knock the weak,glass-chinned Byrd out. His several punches weren't enough against the 37 (nearly 38) years old overweight,slow Lewis. These 2 cases prove vital is/was featherfisted. Who cares his ko list against bums ? Maybe some neverbeen featherfisted bums have 100% ko percentage.What does it mean? Nothing. The ko percentage is just an unimportant ,number.Some klitschko propagandist's pathetic mania.
i think they would be contenders in every decade but not more than a top 10 contender no top 2-5. witch of the brothers was better in his prime? Vitali of Wlad ?