Is Wlad just a Bute without a Froch to fight?

:deal

Stop overrating Froch, he beat a couple top 10 fighters, some were not even convincing victories. Then he lost to the real champ Ward. Wladimir is in a totally different league then Froch. Froch is on the level of Sam Peter. Solid top 10 fighter, but looses to real champs. Ward totally exposed him.

p.s. Bute is heavyweight Michael Grant and not Wladimir Klitschko

 

Jack u having a fever or smth?


Did somebody hack your account?

 

i know that is unusual, one day Jack has nothing good to say about the klitschkos the next day he is defending them.

 

I'd be hesitant to mention a "Froch" because that suggests that fighting a world class opponent would be a step too far for Wlad. That could be the case but I'm really not sure. I think Wlad is like Bute before the Froch fight, when people still weren't sure about how highly to rate him. Maybe he'd lose to a heavyweight version of Froch or maybe he'd beat him, I'm not sure.

You're definitely right to make a comparison about the quality of opposition though. Wlad's opponents have been similar to the guys Bute has fought and I don't think there's any real indication of Wlad's ability. If he fought a good opponent, would we see him being hurt like Wach hurt him, only for him to be finished off? Would he dominate better opponents in a similar way to how he dominated Wach?

There are too many questions about Wlad, just like there were about Bute. The difference is, Froch answered questions we had about Bute and there's nobody to do the same for Wlad. Until he fights a world class heavyweight, those questions will remain. He's never fought an A-class opponent in his entire career. The best fighter he's fought, Byrd, was never more than a B-class opponent. To say 'there are questions about Wlad' would be an understatement.

 

The average size and record of a Wladimir Klitschko opponent during his title run is better than any other heavyweight in history. He is now 20-2 in title fights, includeing his current streak of 13 wins in a row. He has also established the longest run of being a heavyweight champion without getting knocked down. The only people who have won more title fights than him are Larry Holmes and Joe Louis. Wlad boasts a 81% knock out ratio.

David Haye 25-1
Eddie Chambers 35-1
Ruslan Chagaev 25-0
Tony Thompson 31-1
Sultan Ibragimov 22-0
Lamon Brewster 33-3
Calvin Brock 29-0
Chris Byrd 39-2
Samuel Peter 24-0
Elisio Castillo 18-0
Fabio Moli 29-2
Jameel Mcline 28-2
Ray Mercer 30-4
Frans Botha 44-3 .....

Maybe you dont consider any one of these names to be a true "great", and I would agree. But how can anybody just dismiss the body of work as a whole? Especially considering that Wlad has defeated more undefeated fighters in his career than any other heavyweight champion in history, and also the most south paws. If David Haye had this resume, I cant imagine what kind of boasting we would be hearing from some of the posters on here.

The guy does have a great resume, is clearly the best heavyweight in the world, and is definitely a ATG. I just cant imagine how you could think otherwise, unless topping the resume's of Joe Louis, Ali and Evander Holyfield is the only thing that gets any respect whatsoever.

If/when Wladimir does away with Povetkin, Fury, Price and Seth Mitchell, I wonder what kind of bull**** the haters will be coming with then. Im sure it will be something, there is no stopping them.

 

Interesting thread. I guess we'll never know. He'd have to face the likes of Tyson or Holyfield or even someone like a prime Tua for us to find out. Doesn't seem he will.

That said, I don't think the older, mature version of Wlad would fold under such pressure. Don't think he's a Bute without a Froch to fight even if he was when he was younger.

 

YDKSAB.

Byrd beat Vitali, who Lennox Lewis would argue is definitely elite. He also beat prime Tua, Golota, old but still serviceable Holyfield, KOd a tough Jimmy Thunder, and has a resume as good as any titlist from any era.

Peter beat Maskaev who KTFO Rahman who KTFO Lewis. Peter also beat a prime Jameel McCline, a tricky James Toney, and he ended a promising Tuarus Sykes. And Peter is only 32. He may very well go on to win more tough fights. And even compete in the next generation of contenders.

Ibragimov retired before he could become elite. But before he ran off to Allah with his millions, he KOd a prime Lance Whitaker. Sent Ahunnaya into journeyman mode, beat Shannon Briggs coming off his best win. He also beat Holyfield who at the time, gave Valuev a great fight. NTM, Iggy had about another 5-6 quality wins. There's no telling how truly great Iggy may have been since he walked away a rich man. But all the signs points to a very high quality career.

David Haye.....well aint he just the enigma. Most experts have him top 20 ATG at HW. And he aint fulfilled 1/2 of his potential. Truly sad that he's only in this sport for money. But Wlad is 37. Vitali is 41. Haye is only 32. Perhaps he will return and take the division over. But the fact remains, by anyones honest estimation, David Haye IS elite.

Chagaev has many high quality wins. And wins over Valuev, prime Walker, prime Meehan, and his dominance over a promising CD Drummond, and a tough Matt Skelton show why Chaggy is a top HW. He may be merely a titlist, but he's always maintained that level of quality. Sad he got sick, but he's a contender in any era in most folks opinions.

You want to argue this is a poor division. A weak division. But the FACT of the matter is that it is a strong and healthy division. Just b/c the GOAT retires, doesnt change the fact that this generation has produced 5 top 50 ATG HWs in Wlad, Vitali, Haye, Byrd and Valuev.
And when a concensus of fans and pundits alike agree that those 5 are top 50 in history, ur analogy goes straight to ****. That is simply because you simply DKSAB.:thumbsup

 

More like a Ward with a win over Froch (Byrd, Peter, Chagaev, Ibragimov, Brewster, ect...)

 

Grasping at straws much