Is Vitali underrated or overrated

I actually think Vitali is a bit underrated. If Lewis hadn’t have weaseled out of the rematch he promised Vitali, I think Klitschko would have won and fully gotten the respect he deserves. Don’t get me wrong I don’t think he’s CRIMINALLY underrated or anything, he is widely considered a HW H2H top 5 All Time, but still, his 2nd reign is a bit under appreciated imo.

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Vitali did a GREAT service to the boxing world there. “Let’s Go Champ!!!!”

 

Like with any fighter depends on the person you ask. Some will overrate him, some underrate him.

Personally I think in general due to him being in his younger brothers shadow and not having a resume that stands out he's a little underrated by some. I've always thought he was superior to Wlad, it's just that Wlad was flashier as he was more athletic and Vitali's short mid career retirement due to injuries completely derailed his career.

But his ranking as a fighter from a historical perspective has to be lower than Wlad's. As good as Vitali was he simply didn't do enough and have enough good name opponents on his resume to warrant a very high ranking. Even though I think Vitali was the better fighter, more skilled, more well rounded and would beat Wlad had they fought which even Wlad himself has said would be the case, you can't rank him that highly.

 

Lewis was starting to take over that fight after the success in the earlier rounds by Vitali. He would’ve knocked Vitali the **** out with or without the cut imo as that fight went along. And that’s an over the hill Lewis…

 

I rate him somewhere in the top 25. Closer to 25 than to 10

 

For me, the guys who say "both" (aka "depends who you ask") are about right - some overrate, some underrate, some about right...

He was undeniably a very good fighter, but his resume could've been stronger and he lost to a subpar version of Lewis.

The relevance of the Lewis fight coming into play when people talk about this "ATG H2H nightmare" - well here we have a fight against a genuine, undeniable ATG H2H nightmare, in poor physical shape, and Vitali lost that fight. Yes, you can argue, with some validity, that Vitali wasn't quite at his peak, but you can't deny that that version of Lewis was miles away from his.

Funny enough, you can probably separate the people who overrate Vitali from the rest with 4 simple characters: "TKO6".

 

Overrated, and here's why. Because no one (or almost no one) with three seconds of thought can tell me what is Vitali's best win.

 

He's overrated, but would easily beat all these old Murican nostalgia heroes.

The problem with Vitali is that he has terrible power for his size and his style was perfect for boxing smaller opponents, which was practically everybody, but against other athletic SHW's, I think it comes apart. But it's hard to prove that since outside of Lewis he just seemed to fight small or smaller HWs.

I think Wlad KO's him, for instance. Everyone talks about Vitali's chin, but it's only one thing and he's never been hit by Wlad-level power. Wlad can definitely take some shots from Vitali, who needs 45 minutes of non-stop punches to KO HWs. But can Vitali even avoid Wlad's shots with his hands down style let alone take them? I say no. Sanders landed a flush counter hook on Vitali and had him running for his Kiev mansion. What's he gonna do if Wlad lands some bombs?

Fury would also take his shots and while he also lacks power for his size, he is faster and more versatile.

 

If you actually sit down and analyse him as a fighter you become aware of just how damn good he is. However those saying he lacks the big wins to have proper recognition are also right. H2H he's a nightmare.

 

Who's his best win? Samuel Peter?

 

On this forum? Heavily overrated

 

Interesting interview on klitckho brothers, and comments by emanuel steward on comparing the two:

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"Wlad is the more coordinated of the two,, but Vitali is more intense and has a meaner streak in him"

 

Disagreed. Pound for pound and all-time great lists' criteria are inherently subjective, and though some degree of commonly accepted line of thought ought to be followed, there are numerous people who seriously take into account numbers as well as names.

You obviously need names to compete in the top 10, but greatness has many shapes, some overlooked.

 

Some of the shots Lewis hit him with were certainly "wlad level" power. His chin was legit although he is overrated imo. AJs resume is a fair bit better but most people would rank Vitali higher all time due to his perceived h2h abilities.

 

One of Vitalis top 3 wins is Chisora. Let that sink in...