I have never been a Wlad fan and have been a big critic of his safety first style but I was very impressed by this performance. For me it's his best performance to date. I would give him 8 out of 10. Minus one point for not getting the KO, minus one point for facing an opponent who simply isn't world class and not even close to it other than in the chin and heart department. Wlad did what any great should do when faced against a vastly inferior opponent. He dominated from start to finish, he didn't play it safe like he has done so many times before, like in the Mormeck fight. This version of Wlad would have had no problem KOing Haye. Wlad was aggressive, his work rate was much higher than normal. Yet this wasn't the old aggressive Wlad who was a KO waiting to happen. His stance back then was wider, centre of gravity lower making him less mobile and he also left his chin out after throwing his shots back then. Not this Wlad, this Wlad was able to switch from offence to defence with ease and had better head movement. When he was hurt in the fifth, he showed he still had all his instincts and the years of training with Steward showed as he handled this crucial moment well by covering up and tying his opponent up. The 8th round when he went all out for the KO was a surprise. Where has this Wlad been during the rest of his reign? He even threw uppercuts on the inside and used the Lewis trick of holding his opponents head while throwing an uppercut. Yes he smothered his work but he was showing signs of fatigue, he hasn't worked this hard in the ring in a long time. Overall very impressive. I could easily become a fan of Wlad, just like I am a fan of Vitali, if he keeps performing like this. As for Wach, he showed tremendous heart and an unbelievable chin. But he also showed what everyone new before hand he simply doesn't have the speed or skills to compete above the level of opposition he has faced previously. He will make a good gate keeper for better up an coming fighters as he is durable and will take them the distance but he is just to limited and unskilled to ever be a serious contender. I would love to see Price face him, let's see how Price does against an opponent he can't just sweep aside in a round or two.
I think a 7.5 out of 10 is a fair grade for Waldo. On the good side: * was aggressive from the opening bell, he threw the kitchen sink at Wach, tons of power punches through the 12 rounds * excellent stamina. Dancing around in round 10, 11 and 12 shows what a tremendous exercise regimen this guy is going through in his prep. * took that punch from Wach well, and showed movement avoiding further punishment. However: A better fighter than Wach would have actually landed a couple of those follow-up punches, Wlad may have been in trouble then. * Wlad threw some nice combos. 3 punch, 4 punch. Haven't seen these in years. * He did an excellent job of switching between forward pressure and fighting (and landing) on the backfoot. Gotta say I was quite impressed by that. Not bad for a "robot", huh? Negative: * Obviously the biggest negative is the boxing skills of Wach. Can't rate Wlad's performance too highly considering how mediocre Wach is. * He doesn't throw the uppercut a lot but he could have thrown it yesterday. Wach was hiding his chin at the top of his solar plexus and Wlad should have taken aim instead of aiming for Wach's ear or forehead which are much more punch resistant.