I remember thinking in his last fight that it was absent yet seemed the punch he need to use so much through that fight. So does he ever use the uppercut??
Wlad always keep opponents on the end of his punches so it would be unwise for him to throw an uppercut from distance. No fighters can break inside on him so it is not a punch he has developed. strangely most guys seem to be content and stay at the end of his punches. It would be poor style for Wlad to fight on the inside. A tall, big guy should use their advantages, this is what Manny teaches. Pwill for example would be a more complete fighter if he used his height and reach, but he gives that up for a more exciting style.
He did in the past, watch the Mercer fight, but he abandoned quite a few techniques since he is trained by Stewart. Back then he was more offensive, took more risks and was more versatile but also weaker defensivly, had stamina issues and took more punches. He was more exciting too. He is better now though.
Hold on guys...how much taller is he than Lewis?? I mean Lewis used the uppercut and right cross as his two money punches...so I doubt height is an issue. Sure whilst fighters are at long range he's not going to use it but there will be times and there was in his last fight were he was close and could have used that punch effectively. I think anyway.
I'd hardly call it tragic. Ali was a limited fighter as well. He never threw a body shot and he was far from a great inside fighter. As a general rule, because of their size, heavyweights tend to be far more limited than other fighters.
He throws an uppercut every now and then, sparingly when he knows there is a hole. The L-Uppercut/R-Cross combo he landed Peter late in their first fight was a beauty, he also threw a few uppercuts against Thompson because he was inside with Thompson quite often. He switches up a check-Left-Uppercut for the check-Left-Hook once in a while. Just don't blink or you might miss it... and since most guys are sleep through his fights I'm not surprise they get missed.
He's thrown it. From what I've seen it's not pretty. He looks awkward throwing it, but I guess being that tall could cause that. ****, he hasn't needed it though.