Would he be the major beltholder and Heavyweight number 1 at the moment and would Vlad hold maybe just 1 belt or none How would history have differed?
He couldn't have avoided John Ruiz Nah I think Wlad would hold the majority of belts. Wasn't he inline to face both Peter & Byrd for the WBO/IBF eliminators and beat both and had the belts? He hasn't lost since, and that was when Vitali retired. So unless Vitali faced Wlad, he wouldn't have had his belts. All that would have happened is that he would have destroyed a few more people.
He'd hold the majority of the titles and have been an undefeated champion for over 7 years. His legacy would be much better and he'd be seen as the superior of the 2 brothers.
possibly... Vitali retired because he was afraid of Rahman. then his little bro got him out of the way like he did against Byrd who made Vitali quit. So Vitali could come back to beat up some Sosnowski type opponents and act like hes actually a champion..