Chagaev is very good boxer and do well against much taller opponents like Valuev and top amateur Felix Savon..you should look at Savon fights against Tua, Briggs, Ibrgimov and Brewster..total domination
Really? Then why wasn't Muhammad Ali or Larry Homes DQ'd for excessively holding, and pulling their opponents heads down in particular?
They held also, but it is the absolute number of times that Vlad held Peter that makes the difference. Go count up one Ali fight in which he held nearly as many times as Vlad did. You won't find one. Strategic holding is one thing, but what Vlad did was pure John Ruiz 101. Btw, you already know this, or you're just being a blind ****!
90's- The Klitschko's huge size would be detrimental. Heavyweight champion John L Sulivan outlasts them and KO's them in about the 40th round. 00's- Jefferies retires and leaves boxing to be rules by the brothers Klitschko. 10's- The Klitschkos do very well, until they run into a black freight train named Jack Johnson. Again, unable to last as long, Klitschkos go down. 20's- The Klitschko's do quite well, but Wald falls to the Menassa Mauler, Jack Dempsey. This loss is avenged by his big brother. 30's- The Klitschko's are star struck by their hero and good friend, Max Schmaeling. Wlad feels bad about having to beat him up. A Klitschko reigns supreme until Max Bear comes along. Bear soon drops the title to Klitschkos brother. 40's- Joe Louis dominates this era with two good wins over a pair of Ukranian brothers. 50's- Heavyweight contender Rocky Marciano retires with a strong record of at 47-2. 60's- A brash young heavyweight gets under the Klitschko's skin. He uses his big mouth to secure himself a title shot and shocks the world. Cassius Clay immediately changes his name and then takes on the other brother. 70's- Klitschkos are solid contenders, but still have losses to champs Ali and Foreman. One of their best wins is against a hard hitting swarmer named Joe Fraizer. 80's- Larry Holmes is the man of the hour, he is succeeded by kid dynamite, Iron Mike Tyson. No one else is a problem. 90's- Lennox Lewis beats both brothers with ease. Evander Holyfield has less luck, but holds his own. George Foreman is back but the old man can't beat Vitali. Mike Tyson, fresh out of prison scores a KO win. They never fight Tua, and people pretend that Ike would have destroyed them if he weren't busy being crazy. 00's- Lewis makes Vitali's face look like a bloody mess. After Lewis leaves, The Klitschkos are free to dominate, albiet with a few unforseen bumps in the road. 10's- With prize fighter obesity on the rise, Klitschkos look to dominate this era, but aging Vitali is set to retire. 20's- Genetic engineering creates faster stronger and wiser opponents. The relics of the past ae unable to complete with the fighters of the future.
In an era where there is one universal belt, no. Maybe in the 80's and forward but not in the 70's and before. They'd never be at the top in any era; Holmes would beat them both and Tyson as well. They'd be solid contenders in most though. I agree, Wlad and Vitali are very skilled at controlling range. They however, don't matchup well against swarmers like Frazier, Marciano, Tyson, etc. and would be outskilled against Louis, Ali, Johnson, etc. The gulf in skill between the Klitschko's and the other top 10 fighters is ridiculous. It's not so much that the Klitschko's are so skilled, it's the fact that their opposition is very underwhelming. These guys don't even try to bring the fight to them; they sit right out of range and get pounded by jabs and rights all night long while offereing no head movement and not trying to get inside.
Lewis was in serious trouble against Bruno, Mercer, Briggs and got KOd by McCall and Rahman. Looked good against a 37 year old Holyfield who lost a year later to Ruiz. Looked good against a small Tua (who rocked him bad in the last second of a round). I don't think he is as invincible as you think. Lewis is never going to look as good against Vitali as against a smaller fighter like past prime Holyfield or faded Tyson. He is probably the best HW since Holmes but his stature has grown out of proportion with reality since his retirement.
What heavyweight HASn't been in trouble? A prime Tyson was in trouble against Bruno for example. ANd from what I remember of that Briggs fight, which was a classic. Was Briggs getting knocked down, getting back up, and getting knocked down again..... and more. Lewis deserves all his credit IMO.
Chagaev tried like hell to work his way inside. A blind man could see that. He kept trying to weave, duck, and push forward to get inside, even up til the last round when he was on the verge of falling. He gave a very impressive effort, in spite of being continually hammered. ANYone could see that. Don't mistake not trying, for trying like hell, but not being effective.
They'd be a damn tough matchup in any era; they'd neither completely ruin everyone else nor be outclassed, but I don't think there'd be any point in time where they weren't at least top 5 quality.
So you using Wlad's worst fight (clinch-wise) for comparison? Who's being the **** here? Go watch the Thrilla again and count how many times Ali pulls Frazier's head down.
Come on Borracho, Zelenoffs heavybag had more life in it than Chagaev did that night. Though I predicted the fight to go as it did, with Chagaev retiring late in the fight. The writting was on the wall for Chagaev, his fights with Skelton and Drummond showed how faded he really was, and that he was no longer a top shelve heavyweight. I rarely ever question Wlad's physical abilities, it's his lack of mental toughness people doubt. He can't handle pressure, and when trouble comes knocking at his door he panics or melts to the canvas like a icecream cone on a warm july day. He is not tough at the top ranks, history proves that. It's just the division sucks so bad, that noone can get through his offense and defense to get to that achilles heel of his.