Look at Wlad's great reflexes at age 32... (short video embedded) *fixed*

Rahman himself got a piece of Wlad's elbow with his left, taking a bit off of Wlad's own shot... and making it more of a "skipping" punch. Wlad's right still landed, but not exactly dead on like it would have if Rahman didn't get a piece of the arm.

 

Maybe it's me but from watching some of Wlad's earlier fights (check some youtube highlights and how fast he used to be compared to now) I think he's definitely lost some speed. He's still damn impressive with the speed he has, for how big he is, but back before he got with Manny, he used to throw some wicked combos.

 

Great thank you. Wlad learned very much from Emanuel Steward and was well prepared for Rahman´s overright hand.

 

U wanna talk about reflexes? Did anybody catch that Karoly Balzsay kid fight last Saturday? Beautiful.

 

Hand speed....take a look at the left hooks from the Austin fight...seems fast to me. He might have lost some speed..he 33 now...but I still think he is very fast

 

I see it now, very interesting to see Wladimir pull this off after he throws a hard punch.

 

I am not sure that it's a matter of Wlad losing speed. I think that it's more a matter of Wlad becoming a more well rounded, smarter fighter. He used to just show his blistering speed off more in his younger days, because he was all guns blazing on offense. He learned that putting so much torque into every shot, and throwing it all out there from the outset of a fight isn't exactly the smartest plan to victory. Sure... 95% of your opponents aren't going to be able to handle what you throw at them... but what happens when someone survives the storm? So, Wlad picks his punches in a much more intelligent manner now, and sets a comfortable pace for his fight, at his distance, and on his terms. He is also clearly paying much more attention to his balance, and making sure that he doesn't leave himself out of position by overextending on his power shots like he used to have a habit of doing. When Wlad really decides to turn on the heat, he still has the speed.

 

I don't understand why he wouldn't still have his reflexes. He's only 32, hasn't been in any wars, and seldomly gets hit clean.

 

True but this is Rahman though - slow.

 

Vlad landed five left hooks to knock out Austin in the second round. Vlad has great skills and is underrated, so is Vitali. He will knock Haye out if they ever get into a ring.

 

wlad is definitely a great fighter. just gets a lot of hate in these boards. :-(

 

I have always enjoyed watching both Vitali and Vlad fight. He has really great skills, power and is quick.