Karl Mildenburger..Was he better than Sultan Ibragimov? How would he do today? vs the Klitschko's etc.
No, I don't think he was batter than Sultan. Iggy was and maybe still is a pretty good fighter..definitely a smart, if very limited guy, who takes a punch much better then Karl, who's biggest asset was his southpaw style..the only reason he gave Ali any trouble. Sultan, on the other hand is a smart, if awkward safety first type fighter who avoided being decked by Briggs as well as Wlad. Meaning that Sultan has a little more on the ball than the German did, and thus hasn't been ko's and decked like was the case with Mildenberger.
I like Sultan, he is crafty and has showed some good power. I would like to see him fight again soon but he has some promotional problems from what I have heard.
Sultan is a highly underrated guy. He used an initial style emphasizing fast hands and power to get guys out of there. This style (allegedly) even impressed Mike Tyson, but almsot casued him losses against Friday and Austin. And so, since he a southpaw with a very good amatuer backgraound, he switched to a classic boxing style of hit and don't be hit. With these two styles, he compiled a good record of wins against Whitaker, Briggs and Holyfield. Sadly, he chose to die by the same style he lived by by attempting to outbox WladKlit when his fast handed, free swinging style could have been much more effective. My point with Sultan has always bee, what if he fully integrated these styles to change up within a fight depending on how things are going at the time? He would have been an absolute beast, and still could be.
Good observations. Sultan is a guy who was very successful with two completely different boxing styles, as you say. He was an aggressive attacker early, and then a counterpuncher under the tutelage of Jeff Mayweather. I also thought that if he could have found a way to tactically combine the two, he could have really given Wlad a run. As it was, Sultan fought on the outside and never did find a way around Wlad's jab. I'd like to see him make a comeback before it's too late.
Sultan avoided getting ko'ed by Wlad K., which is more than Chagaev can boast, though he was arguably more highly thought of than Iggy.