Wow, how everything changes with time, unbelievable. Fist you hear he's( insert any name here) the next big thing, he got toll to beat Wlad, then you hear, ah no, hes a bum, it was expected. Not big really. Here's the article from a year ago. Enjoy. got it from boxing***24 Is Wladimir Klitschko The Best Heavyweight In The Division? This content is protected By Chet Mills: After his 11th round TKO of Tony Thompson last Saturday night, theres still question in the minds of more than a few boxing fans about whether IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko This content is protected (51-3, 45 KOs) is truly the best heavyweight in the division or not. As for me, Im still as undecided as many of the fans and writers are about who really is the best. Certainly, it was a good win for Wladimir to defeat his number #1 challenger Thompson, but then again, he wasnt a particularly dangerous challenger given his lack of power, aggression, youth or background. When you look at how good Thompson was, it really wasnt such a big deal Wladimir beating. Id give handful of other heavyweights in the division just as good a chance at beating a feather-fisted fighter like Thompson as Wladimir did, which kind of takes away from the Ukrainian fighters accomplishment in my mind. I still feel that its up in the air in terms of who the best heavyweight is in the division. Sure, we can speculate all we want about Wladimir being the best, but until he beats at least a couple of big name heavyweights like Peter, Valuev, Chagaev or Povetkin, we cant really even begin to consider Wladimir as the best heavyweight in the division. To crown him prematurely at this point is foolish, nothing more than wishful thinking on the part of the person giving Wladimir such a high regard. Below, Ive included a list of who I personally feel are the best heavyweights in the division. Ive left off some of other notable heavyweights like John Ruiz This content is protected or David Haye, because I feel that theyd get blown out by Wladimir due to their lack of size, and for that reason Ive not included them here. 1.) Nikolay Valuev (48-1, 34 KOs) At 7′ feet 320 lbs, Valuev, 34, has the size and power to give Wladimir huge problems, and unlike Tony Thompson This content is protected , Valuev has the power to hurt Wladimir, and take him out once he has him hurt. His speed may not be top notch, but given his long reach, his mauling style of fighting, and his ability to both box and punch, Id give Valuev a better than average chance at beating Wladimir. Hes not the type of fighter that will allow Wladimir to stay on the outside and peck away at him with a jab, like Wladimir typically does against his more dangerous opponents. For that matter, Valuev isnt going to allow Wladimir to land right hands all night long as he was allowed to do against the much weaker Thompson. If Wladimir starts throwing right hands, Valuev will immediately respond in kind, adding powerful lefts in as well. This is a fight that Wladimir would possibly have to use his legs a lot if he has any chance at winning. He couldnt stand in front of an ox like Valuev without being taken out in short order. 2.) Samuel Peter (30-1, 23 KOs) The young WBC heavyweight champion from Nigeria has already previously had a scrap with Wladimir, a fight which Peter knocked him down three times and had him within an eyelash of knocking out in the 10th round. Nothing much has changed since then other than Peter improving a great deal, learning how to box and becoming even more experienced and powerful. He matches up well with Wladimir in the power department and in fact may be even more powerful than Wladimir. The difference here, however, is that Peter has already proved that he can take Wladimirs shots, but the same cant be said for Wladimir. Peter landed only a very tiny amount of punches due to Wladimirs constant moving and clinching, yet in those small amounts of times that Wladimir was hit, he was knocked down and around the ring like a rag doll. Next time out, Im not so confident that he can successfully avoid getting hit by Peter as much as he did the first time out. Peter will be stronger, a better fighter when/if they fight again, whereas Wladimir will only be older. 3.) Vitali Klitschko (35-2, 34 KOs) Although both Vitali and Wladimir have promised momma Klitschko that they would never fight each other, it seems that theres a creeping likelihood of them possibly doing this at some point in the not too distant future. In an interview earlier today with a German newspaper, Wladimir kicked around the idea of a fight and didnt rule it out like he had in the past, instead saying that his father could overrule his mothers wishes and give the two brothers the go ahead to fight. If this happens, the 6′8″ Vitali may have too much power in his right hand for Wladimir to withstand for long. The two have previously sparred earlier in Wladimirs career, and Vitali reportedly always won the encounters. Vitali has just as good boxing skills as Wladimir, if not better, and had revealed a new weapon, a nifty-looking uppercut, that he used in his last fight before his retirement against Danny Williams. If Vitali is able to make it into the fight without any problems, I think he might be too much for Wladimir to take. 4.) Alexander Povetkin (15-0, 11 KOs) A former 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist from Russia, Povetkin has the pedigree to beat Wladimir. So far, Povetkin has stomped on his first 15 opponents, beating most of them by knockout and beating some good quality heavyweights along the way like Eddie Chambers, Chris Byrd and Larry Donald This content is protected . Povetkin doesnt have as much power as Wladimir, that much is clear, but what he does have is a high work rate and a rugged style of fighting, the type that Wladimir typically does bad against. Povetkins work rate alone would be enough to cause Wladimir tremendous problems given his history of wearing out early in his fights. Povetkin obviously is well aware of this and will no doubt be training even harder for a bout that hed likely turn into one big pressure cooker of a fight. 5.) Ruslan Chagaev (24-0-1, 17 KOs) Known by some as The White Tyson, Chagaev, the current WBA heavyweight champion, has excellent power in either hand, and is a natural counter puncher. Perhaps one of the worst nightmare match-ups for Wladimir in terms of style, the southpaw Chagaev has many different methods of fighting. First and foremost, hes a counter puncher, but he also has the ability to fight turn into a pressure fighter much like Povetkin, which he can turn off or on in a single moment. Of all the top heavyweights, hes perhaps the most flexible of the group, with the ability to adapt to any given opponent and change courses if something isnt working for him. When Chagaevs in close, his power is comparable with Tyson, only a lot slower. If he can get close to Wladimir without being tied, he has an excellent chance at taking him out with something big. Clearly, he wouldnt be foolish enough to stay on the outside and let Wladimir jab him all night like his fellow countryman Sultan Ibragimov did in his fight with Wladimir. Chagaev has an uncanny ability to come underneath jabs, moving inside and landing big shots. I can see him landing often against Wladimir each time he attempts to jab, which will probably turn Wladimir into right hand only fighter much like he was against Thompson. Thought?
Well alot can change in a year or two since the article has been written, many of the fighters named either lost to Wlad or other oppenents. Peter has fell off the planet after getting destroyed by Vitali and then Chambers. Disease ridden Chagaev lost bad to Wlad, which was expected because his last couple before fighting Wlad he showed awful skills against Drummond and Skelton. Valuev went life and death with a 46 yearold Holyfield, enough said. And Povetkin keeps delaying inevitable, which is solid beating at the hands of Wlad. Vitali is the only man on that list I would bet against Wlad on. Big brother is just too tough for Wlad, he knows his brothers weaknesses and would expose them if they ever fought in the ring. Other than Vitali, Wlad is the best out there until proven other wise.
Yeah, thats what i'm saying. C'mon Valuev number 1??? Thats gotta be crazy. Of that list Vitaliy is a sure #1. Chagaev, Povetkin? Thats a joke list, dont matter when it was written. A year ago, or today its still a joke
I agree, but that was before alot of the fights I mentioned. Valuev didn't fight Holyfield yet, and Peter didn't get his ass handed to him by Vitali either. The guy that wrote this has an clear hate towards the Klits, even I wouldn't be as obvious as him if I wrote the article, and I hate Wlad as a fighter. Vitali is probably the only one on that list I would favor over Wlad, and it's not by much. If it was 04 and not 09, I would bet everything I got in the bank that Vitali would give Wlad a real ass kicking. Now I'm not so confident, but I would still favor him.
I'd go with Wlad now cause hes got his new style and vitaliy is getting older so age and skills is on Wlad's side
I will take mental over physical any day of the weak. Physically there comparable, with the edge going to Wlad. Mentally it's not even close, Vitali is tough with an iron chin. Wlad has panic attack if his oppenent gets too close, and god forbid if they actually hit him with something decent. Wlad also has a proven glass chin, the stats dont lie. I think Wlad stands a decent chance of winning now because of injuries, anything can go wrong. Put the 04 version of Vitali against Wlad, it's Corrie Sanders all over again, the fight wouldn't go past 4 rounds.
:good Wladimir is too fast for Vitali. And Wlad had no glass chin and no panic. Valuev has no chance against Wlad. He is slow and clumsy and he had not the power to knock Wlad out Wlad would knock Valuev out. Toney Thompson is a much better fight than Valuev, awkward southpaw style. And Chagaev? We all could see the fight, he could not get close to Wladimir. Wladimir destroyed him.
Well if the fight actually happened in 04 I'd pick Vitaliy for sure. Wlad just lost and Vitaliys confidence level is at pick. Plus hes at his prime. But 04 Vitaliy vs 09 Wlad thats a different story. Wlad's confidence is at career high, plus hes a lot better than he was before. MUCH better. Manny did a great job on him. He knows how to act when hit and he knows how to NOT get hit. Even if its ugly. No way is that fight Sanders sequel. You can go 60-40 for Vitaliy, that i could understand, even though i say its more like 50-50 fight.
