A single video clip hardly tells the whole story. Wladimir Klitschko was a veteran of nearly 70 professional fights. He not only got up off the canvas to win bouts but he also came back from three crushing defeats to become a dominant champion for nearly a decade. What happened to Bowe after he took his shilaking from Golata. What did Goltata go on to achieve after being sparked by Lewis ?
And in fairness he did fight a few bums. For the life of me I still don't know why the Fvck Alex Leapai ever got a title shot but at least Wlad's career doesn't rest on the shoulders of wins like that. Klit fought other reigning alpha champions, beat number one ranked mandatories, gave people the fights that they wanted to see like povetkin, Haye, etc. and there were a lot of decent opponents and big men with good records, quality amateur careers, etc.. His comp wasn't that bad
My views aren't biased because I'm neither a Klitschko fan nor a golata hater. My statements are based on what I can clearly observe and not what I " prefer" to see. The ones who are arguing steadfastly for Golata to beat BOTH Klitschko brothers have a track record of bashing the klits and would very likely pick any obscure fighter prior to 1995 to beat them....Hell, Dino once picked the guy who got sparked in one round by Michael Bentt to beat them both and debated about it for like 8 pages.. Now THAT my friend is bias.
EVERY champ had those easy "What's that guy getting a shot for?" fights. But Wladimir took on every challenge and at 41 years old he's getting ready to step in with a belt holder and Olympic medalist 14 years his junior. He doesn't shy away from a challenge! Lol
I agree completely. It's mind boggling how HE'S the one being billed as having no heart in contrast to Andrew Quitolata
Right. Go figure huh?! But Andrew Golota, although a VERY solid fighter at his best, doesn't have NEAR the resume The Klitschkos have (Especially Wladimir) and therefore isn't as... threatening to some people on this forum. If you catch my drift. They will ALWAYS try their best to shortchange both K-bros at every turn.
Unfortunately for you, my argument is strengthened by the fact that the wider public shares my view and deems the Klitschko era as the weakest in boxing history. I didn't just make this up and write it because it meshes well with my argument. It's extensively published, just research different eras and fighters in heavyweight boxing and read what noted boxing writers have to say about Vitali and Wladimir. You'll learn how the Ukrainian hitters compare to other champions of the past.
Fail. Holmes fought those 3 guys in the first half of 1980. He fought Ali in the second half. When did Wlad fight 4 times as a Champion? One of his marquee defences was Pianeta - his own sparring partner who just so happened to be sent home because he wasn't good enough during the Tony Thompson camp... . That was 1 out of his 2 major fights of the year... A guy who wasn't good enough to be a sparring partner. What does it say about his era when the governing bodies make truck driver Leapai mandatory?? It says his division was the thinnest talent pool of any organized competitive sporting endeavor . EVER You know something is seriously lacking when your career defining performance is the remains Ray Mercer.. Who was schooled in his prime by a beer bellied Larry Holmes 3 decades outside of his prime.
Golota had the guts to trade inside with bowe, wlad hugged for dear life guys like byrd, chambers, pianeta, fat thompson etc not to mention the povetkin fight or peter. Put wlad in golota shoes and he would be a finished story after the first bowe fight. Golota still fought bowe again, lewis and tyson, you think wlad would have the balls to fight them, the guy who got stopped x3 by bums, went life and death with peter, was scared to engage with chinny blown up cruiser haye etc.?
I don't need to cry. I'm proud of all Andrew Golota was able to accomplish. On the global stage, Poland has punched well above its weight in terms of successes. Consider the fact that years back professional athletes from Communist nations, like Poland, couldn't turn pro due to their socialistic economic systems (governmental subjugation over Poles spanned 45 years). Hence, Golota wouldn't have been able to compete as a pro prior to the early 90s. Luckily, he came up as the Iron Curtain was falling and in 1997 became the first Pole to ever challenge for a heavyweight world title (this marked a historic and unforgettable moment for Polish professional boxing). Although he was not successful, we know it is no mean feat to secure that title shot. Just being able to challenge is an achievement on its own that Poles should all be mighty proud of. If there is anyone that should be crying, it should be Ukrainian and all fans whose Klitschkos are not esteemed by noted boxing experts as the Klits do not even remotely compare to the greats of the game, and many boxing writers/historians make this point very clear. Yet a number of posters on here insinuate that both brothers are ATGs. Instead, each brother is a product of the weakest era in heavyweight history. That does not bode well for their future legacy. Years from now – when discussing Dempsey, Tunney, Louis, Marciano, Frazier, Foreman, Ali, Holmes, Tyson, and Holyfield – the Klitschkos will be a mere footnote. Heck, they already are in that type of discussion.
