Current Wlad vs. Pre-Steward Wlad

Younger Wlad was less experienced and that's one of the key things that holds a fighter on the top for such a long time. He used to be faster, more aggressive and more explosive, but that didn't always work as proven. There have been a couple of bad nights that forced him to become more cautious. He also realized that in order to become so much better than everyone else, he has to train and push himself to an extreme level. That's why he can't be out muscled or pushed around and that's why he walks his opponents down. For example, he wasn't bigger than Wach, but he was obviously stronger. Of course, he also developed many tactics which he uses in different situations. Against Povetkin, he showed wrestling skills as well. I was a bit frustrated with that but it made me sure he practices that a lot. The way he was grabbing Povetkin and blocking his arms made it impossible to land a punch in such a situation, plus it made Sasha very tired as the time was passing.

I think that the current version wins comfortably, mostly because of the experience and all the stuff he has developed over the years.

Also, I'm sure that at some point the tall, big athletic heavyweights will start using some of Wlad's tactics. Of course it requires extreme training in order to become so strong, but it lowers the risk and I'm sure some guys will eventually choose that path. It's not fun to watch to the most people, but it's effective and that's what matters to the individual on his way to the top.

 

An intruiging paradox.

 

Steward improved Vlad a lot. Notice he fights a lot like Lewis did, only better balance/footwork.

 

Steward did a great job teaching Wlad how to destroy every kind of fight. That what the fanatics wanna see, Wlad winning, no matter how ugly it looks and how unfair he does. He´s their god, he can´t do wrong.