There are many aspects of Vitali's style that remind me of Carlos Monzon (never more than that effortless performance vs Peter)...I think it's his maximizing his height and reach the way he did, his punch accuracy....and how he out generaled his opponents for the most part. He wasn't as good as Monzon, but for a heavyweight, he was clever, cool, composed and unhurried...maybe excepting the desperation in which he fought Lennox, but that was an exception. VK seemed to control the pace and "dictated the terms of engagement" quite like Monzon did. I still maintain that he was better than his brother...and of course, much tougher and more confident.
Yeah, he is similar to Monzon in some ways, except he hit harder in a pound for pound sense. Vitali was a master of distance, using his long arms and towering height to his advantage. He had an active jab, and could counter well / in fight if needed. Out punching and out landing Vitali was never accomplished has he was active and rather hard to tag.
Before arthritis took it's toll, Monzon was a devastating hitter...he had to convert to a more methodical style from about '72 on. No more big right hands after that....the right was a weapon held in reserve, but not the same as the one that he executed Benvenuti with. Vitali's accurate punch placement, coolness and his sense of distance are the things that make me think of Monzon the most.
I think it's a joke. From the footage I've seen of Carnera, I'm not impressed. Vitali would never get hit by those wild haymaker rights that Baer was nailing Carnera with.
Also, those threads like Carnera vs Vitali, or Tony Galento vs Lennox Lewis I tend to ignore. I don't even bother to read them. What does bother me is it seems like people will give passes to guys like Andrew Golota and Bert Cooper, while they tend to crucify Tommy Morrison, Shannon Briggs, even Corrie Sanders.
