Could Wladimir Klitschko ever have beaten Corrie Sanders?

Any time Wlad makes it past the first 4 rounds he becomes a fairly heavy favourite.

Stylistically Wlad has the advantage in almost every way.

The problem is Sanders is very quick fisted and a southpaw and he's got pretty good timing.

If Sanders can nail Wlad with that counter straight he will probably knock him out every time due to durability. However if Wlad can stay away from that his superior athleticism should see him through.

That being said though, Sanders destroyed him and deserves credit as the man who was a superior fighter that night.

 

The sniper is Wladimir nightmare.
Corrie tko early again!!

 

I am not sure if the changes in Wlad’s style, which manifested under Steward, would have significantly helped Wlad against the early onslaught of Sanders. I suppose it would have depended on how long Wlad could repel the Sniper’s offense, in those opening rounds.

We shouldn’t forget that, on the actual fight night in question, Wlad’s opponent was a 37 year old, who’d participated in less than three professional rounds of Boxing, in three years. While I doubt Wlad would have been able to get a grip on the fight until around mid-way point, if his defense could hold up that long (without him expending too much energy himself) then he might have been able to beat Sanders.

I wouldn’t have bet on Wlad’s defense, though. And, the 2003 Go-Getter Sanders, who was prepared to roll the dice, as he did that night, looked to have been an offensive nightmare for anyone.

 

Could Wlad have beaten him on another night? Sure. Sanders was inconsistent and lost to lesser fighters before and after the Wlad triumph. He was also pretty chinny, iirc Wlad even stunned him with a light prodding jab. Had Wlad landed anything of note, the fight would've probably ended soon thereafter.

 

[url]https://media.giphy.com/media/TQbCSC7hZj2cU/giphy.gif[/url]

 

Kirk Johnson was in the best of his career when he fought Vitali too.