How 4 years break impacted on Vitali Klitchkos career, legacy etc?

Its hard to rack up a great resume when you can't fight the rated champ in the division... They both only have half the names on their resumes the past few years if one had all those wins it would definitely look better...beating Byrd in a rematch would have been nice..

Vitali is definitely tougher, we know he can go to war and survive.. vlad has never showed that ability.. I think that fact really helps Vitali..

 

Vitali was close to being the man in 2005--he just needed to get Byrd in the ring for confirmation.

While Vitali was away Wladimir established a new lineage (starting with beating Peter and Byrd).

So essentially if Vitali had dominated 2005-08 surely he would be the lineal champion, but since he took some years Wlad is now champ.

 

Damn, Wlad is being so overrated now. He is unified, Ring and lineal champ, but his resume is not that much greater than Vitali's, even with the four years out. He is also not more skilled than Vitali, that's a myth. When it comes to boxing at it's purest, hit without getting hit, Vitali does it better than him, and doesn't need to hold or fight to a conservative strategy to do so. They are both getting into the HOF, probably together. Their era will be known as the Klit era, not Wlad's or Vitali's.

 

The injury has decimated his legacy.

He went from someone who was all set to be the next dominant heavyweight champ after lewis to someone who was no more than an intermediary champ between lewis and wlad.

Look at the last 12 years

2000-04 = lewis
05 = vitali
06-present = wlad.

He ruled for 1 year because of that injury. Imagine what could have been. But as it is he's spent the majority of his career ranked behind wlad.

From someone who could have been top 10-15 he's someone more like top 25-30.

 

I think a win over Adamek could see him crack the top 20.

Quite a few top notch wins since his comeback.

Solis
Arreola
Juan Carlos Gomez
Peter
Briggs ( well past his best, but an ex World champ never the less. )
Possibly with Adamek as well.

On top of some top wins prior to injury.

Donald
Sanders
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He may need another 3 victories to be sure. Although Solis and Arreola could become decent World champions after the Klitschko's retire which would add to his legacy.

 

He'll need some extreme longevity to create a legacy whilst playing second fiddle to wlad.

I know a small minority like to see this as a co-reign but it isn't wlad is clearly top dog. I think for vitali to forge a legacy he has to start fighting better opposition than his brother. Which would mean povetkin after adamek and then the winner of chambers-thompson. Chances are it'll be wlad taking them on whilst vitali fights someone lower ranked.

 

Maybe, but he needed the time to heal so it's a moot point. It wasn't really a choice he made. In some ways, he has less wear and tear so his career is extended probably. But obviously it's unfortunate for him he had to take the time off. What's amazing is how easily he outboxed Peter after a four year layoff.

 

Vitali had great momentum after losing to Lewis. He crushed Johnson to win the title, had an entertaining fight with Sanders and brutalized Williams. He looked the part of a champion and had everything set up to have a potentially great career. Even HBO were backing him, he lived in America and was set to dominate for years to come.

Then the injuries ruined all his hard work up to that point. He went from being the next dominant heavyweight to playing second fiddle to his little brother. He would be the one holding most of the titles had he not been forced to retire. He would not have been undisputed and would have left the IBF title so Wlad could pick up an easy title and therefore achieve their mutual dream to rule the division together.

Had it not been for the injuries and retirement we would be talking about him being potentially as a top 10 ATG heavy rather than a top 20 at best.

 

it robbed him of his best years probably, got to hurt but he looks pretty happy to be back in action and it may give him a few extra fights at the end which he might not have had. Travelling to poland to face adamak at home is a good fight, adamek in front of his crazy home fans will surely fight the fight of his life there and that means a good fight

 

It impacted his career, legacy from having a chance to be ATG top ten.

As I see it know, he will make it in the IBHOF as a first ballot HOFer.

Pros
Highest KO% HW Champ
Historic fight w/ Lennox
Belt Holder w/ Wlad (brother) - including all of the belts
Was the tallest HW Champ at one point
3 Time HW Champ


I think if Vitali can get say another 3 more title defenses (which would put him at 10 with the WBC in total and 12 in total including the WBO) he could/should warrant a top 20 rating.

Wins
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Donald
Johnson
Sanders
Williams
Peter (Beating WBC Champ after 4 year hiatus, pretty impressive)
Gomez
Arreola
Johnson
Sosnowski
Briggs
Solis
Adamek (possibly)

He might possibly fight Stiverne and Haye which would have him near 41 years of age. If he beat all these guys he would have a 45-2 record which is very good.

 

It sure did hurt his legacy despite it being a rather clear matter that he would have beaten anyone Wlad beat during 2004-2008 but that's not how legacy works. Skill-wise though it didn't seem to have a significant impact on him. He looked very sharp in every fight he had since his comeback and with highly regarded opponents like Adamek, Solis, Peter and Arreola he might build a solid resume after all.

 

You might be right but the fact is he didn't have a choice, so he did the best he could with the cards he was dealt. I won't say "let the chips fall where they may" oh, sorry I did...