Exactly... Vitali won the WBO belt against Herbie Hide in 1999 which means that he had been world champion before the Sanders fight. Haye has a big mouth and I would love to see him fight against Vitali. His chin wouldn't pass that test. This content is protected + This content is protected + This content is protected = 37 Let's see how Haye will perform
Vitali shouldn't even get **** for his loss against Byrd because everyone knows he was whipping his ass easily and would've no doubt gotten the decision had he decided to grind it out. Here were the score cards when the fight was stopped, Melvina Lathan 88-83 | judge: Ruben Garcia, Dr. 89-82 | judge: Joachim Jacobsen 88-83 I think Vitali was smart and did the best thing for himself, his health and career, despite what some think. A torn rotator cuff is serious and it's obvious he was hurt in the fight. What good is a "W" against Byrd in his career column if he had to retire because he aggravated the injury by fighting the extra 2-3 rounds? It's like those dumb ****s who have sex without birth control then go "What the ****" when they realize their going to be parents. Byrd's win was luck. He was just an extra sturdy punching bag that topple over and leak after getting hit repeatedly with a sledgehammer. I have no problems declaring Lennox the victor in their fight though. He busted up Vitali good and his eyeball was practically hanging out.
I have some sympathy with this point of view. But Charley Burley fought on against Holman Williams with a thrown shoulder. You have seen the footage of Danny Williams fighting on one handed? Dean Francis fought Mathew Oakey to the bell losing a close decision one handed. All these men were fighting for less cash and with less on the line than Vitali. They all had serious injuries. But they dug deep and finished, in the case of Francis and Burley, to losing decisions. That's heart and courage and people respond to it. When people see the opposite, perhaps harshly, they often feel the opposite. I don't condone that but I do understand it.
Vitali that fought Lewis would have destroyed an overrated overhype Haye. Haye wouldn't last 3 rounds vs a healthy prime Vitali.
I think Haye might be just about too fast, athletic and poweful for Wladimir which could set up a classic with bigger/better Vitali.
Has Gaymaker picked up an opponent for his upcoming fight yet? I am 99.99% sure that they will choose some bum 2-3 weeks before the fight.
There is no doubt it takes a lot of heart + courage to finish a fight with a serious injury. If a boxer feels up to then challenge, then by all means gut it out and get that W. With serious injuries like a torn rotator tuff, the risk for the reward ratio is just way to high, especially for a guy in the spotlight like Vitali who could live to fight for the title another day.
Damn the Brits basically have Haye inked as the TRUTH without doing a thing. Gonna be a lot of broken hearts around here.