If Vitali was fighting in the 1970's-1980's

He would have beaten every1 except maybe George Foreman during 1970-1980 .

 

He would of forsaken his amateur background, done a runner to the West, and would of been one of them bolt upright horizontal white European Heavyweights, everyone from the UK westwards liked to steamroll, to pad the record.

 

I don't think he beats and of the belt holders until post thrilla ali.

I think Young can beat him but he probably beats Norton. A preprime Holmes could feasibly lose to him as well.

Shavers, Quarry and Lyle all fall to him.

I say he goes unbeaten into a title shot around 72 where he loses to Frazier. He regroups gets a title shot against Ali in his first fight after Thriller and wins on points. Loses to Young who loses to Norton who loses to Vitali who keeps the belt until about 79 when Holmes beats him in a rematch, then he goes on to be just some belt holder fighting cans.

 

We did this recently didn't we?

He'd be a top contender and would beat some of the 'greats' from that era. His chances increase as the 70s go on.

I don't think he'd ever be no.1 nor would he be as highly regarded as this era has allowed him to be.

 

I think his only window to reach number 1 is between the thriller and Holmes v Norton.

 

His only loss would be against Stevenson in the olympics of '72 if he stays amateur until then.

 

He would get deported back to USSR.

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You got a good point there.

 

He would have a better chance then if his prime was in the mid 90's.


The amount of damage his 6'7 body would have taken from the 90's punchers would have ended his career by the time he hits 33-34.

He might have beaten the likes of Bruno-Ruddock-Tua-Morrison-Golota but all those punchers would have inflicted a lot of damage.


In the 70's and 80's, he would have taken less damage, but a aging Vitali would have been a Prime Larry Holmes victim.

A Prime Vitali would probably had been a Holmes victim.


Maybe if Vitali can last until Tyson, he can become a Tyson victim.



Vitali is the single most overrated heavyweight to be called an 'ATG'.

The guy stepped up in class twice and was brutally embarrassed in both fights.


He quit against a god damn former Middleweight because of a hurt shoulder and was on his way to getting knocked the **** out by a 38 year old 260 pound semi retired corpse version of Lennox.

 

Is is of course unsure to predict, but probably only George Foreman could have had an high probability to stop him; of course, in the heavyweights there even is an upset probability versus anyone, but he would have been too much oversized, too much chinnier and powerful; the only two matches that i would have wanted to see him in are him versus Valuev (because he could have been the first to put down him), and him versus a prime LL, because the "aged" one would have lost if not the cut.

 

No he would not of. His 'heroic escape' would of been used as a tool to show the 'First World' was better than the 'Communists'. Then to top it off, the lack of amateur pedigree (because he left the USSR), would of meant he would of been given an 'American' style, which I doubt he would ever of taken too, and thus would of been nothing special as a fighter.

Indeed I suspect he would been nothing but a freak show. The 'Frankenstein Monster from the USSR'. The show would go down well in the Southern States, as he flattened a load of tin cans, but at around 25-0 (25), he would of stepped up to a 'live body', and would of been found wanting. The granite chin, just prolonging the beating he would of taken.

 

He'd lose to any of the top men up to the 1976-79 part of the seventies. He could feasibly beat the post Manilla Ali and maybe the post Zaire Foreman. I'd also include Joe Frazier,after Manilla in that scenario. From 1970-75........No chance.

 

Its hard to envision bringing fighters backwards or forward when all of the benefits of each fighters certain time all work for that fighters time, any fighter that is current would lose something and gain something by going backwards and every fighter from the past would gain something probably size and weight first and foremost.

Russian and Polish fighters have always been a strong group of fighters,trainers,etc. and I think there certainly would have been an impact had they been allowed to compete through the ages. Vitali would have an impact in any era if we had a time machine but IMO you have to take every fighter by their era and judge them accordingly

 

If he were severely dehydrated like Foreman was, yes.