Should Wlad have avenged more of his losses? Or would it have mattered?

Redeeming the Sanders lost would have had the most positive effect on his career. In reality though all it would have done is silence a few haters.

 

To me it doesn’t...and I don’t understand why people give Lennox Lewis so much credit for defeating everyone he fought ...when he lost to fighters he had no business losing to

 

The only one that really mattered that he missed was Sanders. I’m not sure he would beat Sanders in an immediate rematch either. Sanders was a fast starting, quick powerful southpaw and Wlad’s confidence was shaky after the first bout. At the time I didn’t think much of missing a rematch but but in retrospect as difficult a matchup as it was it would of been a great win for Wlad.
Wlad dominated Purrity every minute of every round until he faded.
I chalk that up to nerves in front of his home crowd for the first time and his corner not doing their homework on purity’s durability and not telling Wlad to slow down his pace by the 6th round.
Brewster did get rematched. Fury avoided his rematch and Joshua was eight time to walk away.
The fact Wlad made 18 consecutive title defenses is as impressive a feat as you can accomplish in the sport. Ppl don’t realize how hard that is. Taking on live challengers not cherry picks like Wilder. Reason only Joe Louis, Holmes and Wlad could do it

 

Not rematching Sanders remains a glaring omission on his record. Just like not rematching Byrd does on Vitali's record. The Sanders omission is a far more serious offense because it is clear that Wlad was afraid he would lose again. I agree that Byrd's win over Vitali was a bit lucky. I had Vitali well ahead before he quit.

 

Beating everyone you have faced is a huge deal. Losing two bouts and in return fights dominating both opponents and knocking them out is a huge deal. Being koed by single blows twice is a huge deal.

 

fury avoided his rematch? are you serious?

 

Yeah. Or should I say he had mental issues that prevented him from fulfilling his contractual obligation. We know Wlad wanted it

 

Wlad would have lost again.

 

It is not a huge deal in my eyes.

Brewster was clearly the one that mattered the most.

It was the most recent loss after Wlad became the man in the division, and to somebody who was still relevant in the division.

Sanders lost to a non entity, when the rematch was realistically on the cards, so it would not have had much credibility after that.

That pushes Purity even further to the back of the que.

Fury wouldn't give Wlad a rematch, so he fought the best man that he could get into the ring (Joshua).

 

There was little point in a Purtity re-match once Wlad became champion. Wlad talked about a Sanders re-match but Sanders lost his last fight 1 one round and retired.

Wlad beat the tar our of Brewster and re-matched another person who fouled out earlier in his career.

 

If you want to wax lyrical about Wlad being an ATG then talking about the dodged rematches is fair criticism.

Lewis beating every man he ever fought is often brought up when talking about his greatness. If he had not avenged Rahman and McCall it would definitely be held against him. Those who defend Wlad avoiding rematches often bash Lewis for not rematching Vitali , a fight he won.

Taking and avenging a loss to a guy who just beat you is one of the true tests of ones greatness.
First you have to face the guy who just beat you while your confidence is low and his is high. Then you have to make adjustments and improve on your previous performance. Its easier to walk away and many have.
Overturning losses in the immediate rematch is an achievement that stands among the best.

Wlad very blatantly avoided the rematch with Sanders , a guy who was a cherry pick to begin with. He chose the IBF route after losing his WBO to Brewster since Chris Byrd's faded spirit was in possession of that belt at the time.

Ring mag omitted Wlad from the top 15 of all time. Ducking rematches probably factored into their decision.

 

I was about to say I agree with you for the most part, but Wlad did fight his fair share of no hopers, however after taking a closer look at his record that’s not really the case and I’ve had to change my tone. Mormeck, Lepai, Rahman were probably his worst defences, apart from that the rest of the names on his record since becoming champ are all very solid

 

Very true. Beating every opponent you ever faced such as Marciano is beyond the pale.

Right behind this if a fighter rematches all the opponents who did beat them and win this is certainly a sign of greatness.

In case of Lewis this is exactly what he did obliterating both McCall and Rahman. Not losing a minute of either bout. However being koed by virtually one blow by these opponents also needs to be considered.

Throughout hwt history it is rare to find a hwt champion who rematches everyone that beat them. In the case of Wladimir he has three embarrassing KO losses where he completely fell apart when hit on the chin. Needless to say durability was not his forte.