Vitali Klitschko- The greatest heavyweight in history?

I could see Ellis or Norton beating Vitali, on a good night. Either of those would be great battles. - Maybe even Ernie Shavers, though he was probably too slow.

And then of course there are (in their primes) Ali, Foreman, Holmes, and Tyson.
Any of these four would send Vitali into retirement. I left out Frazier due to his size, but he'd also have a shot, if he could get in past Vitali's jab.

 

He has lost vs the two best fighters he has faced so there is absolutely no basis for that argument.

 

And while they were both legitimate, they are reasonable since they are due to injury, and not ability.

Not all losses are equal. We think of Joe Frazier's loss in Manilla as enhancing him, for example. Vitaly has lost two- that effects his legacy. But not as badly as all of that. It does mean something that he was ahead on cards.

Please respond to my answers on post 76.

 

No argument from me but presumably the version of Lewis who Vitali would be fighting if it were prime for prime would be a much better version than the one Vitali fought.

And for those who for some unknown reason other than being too damn lazy to take the time to watch a fight. Watch the Lewis - Ruddock fight and then tell me we were watching a prime Lewis when he fought Vitali.

 

Lewis and Vitali were both training for other fights that night. Lewis for Kirk Johnson. And Vitali (On the undercard) for Cedric Boswell.

 

It always amuses me how haters attempt to trash Lewis to diminish Vitali's achievements.

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to me both Klitschkos are among the greatest heavyweights of all time. Top 5. at least

 

I like Lewis and the Klitschko's. All this about Vitali losing two fights due to injury, Lewis lost 2 by getting KO'd. Not knocking Lewis, but what 2 loses where the worst and for what fighter? I think both Lewis and Vitali are great H2H against most boxers and think they both deserve the credit they both fought to earn. Seems you have to retired to get that credit, even Lewis had problems in that department while still fighting.

Respect to Lewis and Vitali (Wlad is coming up there, but doesn't have the chin or toughness of Vitali for me, I like Wlad as well but to be honest I prefer to watch Vitali fight.)

Peace

Edit : From a big fan of Vitali, no way is he number 1. He is a H2H monster for almost anyone, he would win some and lose some. These fantasy match ups are just a guess. Although I would take him to win against some others think he would have no chance of winning against, although is still a guess on my part as well as we will never see those fights.

 

For the record Lewis is FAR beyond both klitschkos

 

For the record, Vitali has never been laid out cold by a journeyman like Hasim Rahman or Oliver McCall.

Vitali has the highest KO% in HW history.

Vitali has never trailed on the scorecards at the end of any fight.

Vitali came back after 3+ yrs off due to injury to regain his title, and arguably not lose a round since.

You can argue that Lewis is better, but FAR beyond Vitali?-- no way.

 

:rofl:rofl Okay, but Vitali has also been beat by Byrd and a past it Lewis. Say what you want about those fights and I'll go by RECORD. Lewis avenged those losses in devestating fashion. Vitali has never avenged either of his losses.

KO ratio means nothing, except a lack of good competition. same with the scorecard thing.

The 3 yr injury thing can be said about a lot of fighters. Frazier had been blind in one of his eyes for half of his career. Ali had problems with his hands. Lewis himself had fractured one of his hands before.

Almost none of these following things enhance his legacy. Legacy-Wise Lewis blows him out of the water. He has greater wins and a larger array of wins. So therefore I have to give Lewis the edge in head to head to soley because he beat better fighters and was able to adapt his style more then Vitali.

The Klitschkos aren't even comparable. Lewis beats them both, Wladimir he beats easily.

 

nut Sure buddy. There is plenty of evidence Lewis beats them both, cards, domino, etc.

Oh, almost forgot, last time Lewis was in the ring he received a beating of his life and quit the sport after.

Enjoy

 

Rahman brutally knocked out Lewis and Wladimir beat Rahman easy..

 

Two things wrong with this statement:

Beating of his life? Lewis crashed a mean uppercut home and Vitali was reduced to hanging on. Vitali obviously landed his own shots too. That was a great fight. one of the best heavyweight fights in this decade.

And Quit the sport? I wouldn't say that. He had already proven himself. He had beat everyone he ever fought. and he was 38 years old. Most fighters retire by then except a select few.

 

Rahman KO 5 Lewis.
Wladimir TKO 7 Rahman.:good