Is Wladimir better at controlling range than Lennox was ?

lennox himself had a jab that was tough to counter. Very tough. That makes him a hard guy to deal with. It's not as if there is some huge gap between the 2 on any sort of scale. It's a small difference, but a difference. Some of the early Lewis bouts were the one's he was countered more often. And it wasn't as if Wlad didn't have a terrific jab/distance in his early bouts either.

Both guys create distance very very well and usually this board likes comparisons of polar opposites and not similar abilities.

I sent away for fights from both guys and watched their careers develop from A to Z. I've never seen anyone counter the Klitschko jab in 55 fights. And he's even faced his share of counterpunchers and southpaws. I watched the Holmes career from the beginning and his jab did get countered. I use to think the Lennox Lewis jab was the most difficult to counter since Ali. You just don't see it happening. And it just makes it so tough to deal with when those guys just don't leave an "opportunity window". But Wlad overtook Lennox by a small increment. Be that as it may, whenever a guy cannot possibly counter a top heavyweight jab, they are going to be in for a very tough night's work and victories are going to be tough to come by.

 

I would agree. to control range you need speed, activity, height, arm length, solid footwork and the threat of power behind each blow.

Lewis sometimes forgot to use his jab. Wlad never has.

 

Fair post all-round, though i'd like to point out on viewing them A-Z, i think Klitschko has just passed the R. He's got a few years left.

 

Well Wladdy has easier opponents and he doesn't look to take opponents out as much as Lewis did, Lewis liked to brawl a bit at times too

 

Yes he is but there are a couple things to note. Lewis fought better competition and Wlad's gameplan relies more on the jab. Lewis adapted more during his fights while Wlad sticks to his jab first and often gameplan. I think a lot of what makes Wlad so jab happy is his low confidence in his chin. I think he jabs to keep his opponents totally at bay and it works beautifully. Both had excellent jabs but I think Wlad's is a bit quicker and its a bigger part of his game. But if they were to have ever fought I think Lewis would have gotten Wlad out of there within 5-6 rounds. If they were to have gotten into a battle of jabs I think Wlad would win that. Lewis would recognise this and go for the kill like he did with Grant and Golota.

 

I think because all Wlad does is stay at distance he appears to be 'better' at it than other elites. If Wlad actually tried to get fighters out of there he'd have to come inside more. If other top top fighters never did anything else, like Wlad of late, then they'd look equally impressive at dictating the distance.

 

Well lets expand. I'd like to see Wlad control the range against the likes of Rudduck, Tyson (yes the one Lewis fought), Holyfield (same) and all his better opponents.

I really don't think that highly of Wlad's opposition.

 

Imagine what Lewis would have done to Wlad's bunch.

:!:

 

Peter wouldn't have scored any knockdowns, for one thing.

 

Peter would have been crushed by Lewis' uppercut, except Lewis would actually finish him unlike McCline. It's the one punch that Wladimir doesn't really utilize and recently his great left hook hasn't been seen a whole lot either.

I guess it proves how dominant Wladimir is over his opposition since he doesn't have to use much more than a jab and the occasional right hand.

 

Yeah but we have to be fair and temper that. Lennox had his two losses too, i'm willing to overlook some of Wlad's drama's earlier as he seems to be much improved. I do think at his best Lewis would have blown most out of the water. It's a poor bunch compared to Lewis' IMO.

 

I never saw that much in Lewis' jab.It could be heavy, but all too often had all the snap and pace of an old man reaching up for a tin of soup from a shelf.I'm not sure i would even have it a top ten British fighters jab list, yet it seems to be considered one of the heavyweight greats?.I dunno...

I don't think Lewis or Wlad have fought hardly any competent counterpunchers that can even semi consistently take advantage of lazy jabs.Certainly not Chris Byrd.It's mostly been a bunch of punchers and unskilled labourers.

 

What fighters would you bracket as having the ability to counter effectively and consistently against such size?