Vitali Klitschko vs. Evander Holyfield.

I skip Dino's posts in general.

 

Are you serious? Lol

 

Thanks for the advice. I will do the same

 

Styles are an irrelevant part of surmising the outcomes of head to head fantasy fights. Only boxrec results and names on paper are needed.

 

Absolutely serious. He considers Fury the best in the world and he spent a year claiming Wlad would never fight Povetkin, that Povetkin would knock him out.

 

Lennox also took the fight on less than 2 weeks. have to go both ways. being up 4-2 is the slimmest of margins. not impressive considering Lennox was 38 on 2 weeks notice and in the worst shape of his life. the fact that a 38 year old worst shape of his life boxer stopped Vitali is the definition of exposure, considering that is the ONLY semi-legit opponent he ever fought, and considering the tide was clearly in Lennox's favor heading into the 6th

you criticize Evander for losing to the best opposition he fought, when even his lower opponents - Moorer, old Foreman, old Holmes, prime Ray Mercer - are all vastly superior to anyone that either of the Klitschkos beat. But you give Vitali all the credit in the world for getting dismantled by a 38 year old geezer (the best opponent that Vitali fought) in the worst shape of his life, even though the geezer took the fight on 2 weeks notice.

Evander beat Bowe also. Was also past his prime when he beat past prime Tyson. He beat Foreman, who went on to be champ. Holmes was past it, but still a much better win than anyone on Vitali's list. Then you bring up that Evander lost to Moorer, disregarding that unlike the bum Vitali who quit on the stool with an injury (against a much more inferior opponent than Moorer in Byrd), Evander fought to the final bell with heart conditions and the same rotator cuff injury as Vitali, in a close majority decision. and unlike Vitali, Evander actually avenged his loss by knockout.

and you bring up Ruiz when Holyfield was well past his best. You are a neophyte when it comes to boxing. The fact that Vitali makes it look easy is because of his trash competition. There is not ONE person on either Klitschkos list of wins that would trouble Evander. not ONE

Don't reply. I'll only make you look even dumber than I already did.

 

A complete non truth.

A fightes record is all you can can judge him on and how he fared in the ring against those names. I go by what i see.
Vitali never beat anybody better than the two guys he lost too.

Other than that Holy's style is all wrong for Vitali. You think Vitali would win? How?
Vitali had no upper body mobility. He can only throw straight punches. Holy comes in at all angles, in and out , side to side ,parrying shots and throwing back doulble-tripple of what Vitali can dish out. Byrd countered him at will. At will.

Valeuv hadn't a much different style than Vitali but was way bigger and Evander made his way in on and and worked him over at near 50 years old.

 

This is NOT a good matchup for Holyfield, being American i would want him to pull this off, but the more i think about it, i just don't see it happening:-(
Holy at 6-1 would be giving up at least a half foot in height, and his prime weight at 210 he would be sacrificing about 40-45 lbs in weight...

Holyfield couldn't resist toe to toe combat in fights with Dokes, Cooper, Bowe, and this would lead to his downfall against a much bigger stronger foe, he simply lacked power to keep the big ukrainian off him...

Klitchko wins a decision.....

BTW- The Valuev fight is irrelevant, Valuev isn't in Vitali's league!

 

Maybe Silver Skull, but Holyfield is 6' 2 1/2& his reach is 78", Vitali's is listed at 79" & 80".

 

Lewis was supposed to fight Kirk Johnson with Vitali on the undercard ,when the Johnson fight fell through Vitali stepped in.

He had just as much notice as Lewis, and was in much better shape. Lewis scaled a career high 256.3/4lbs for that fight and had been out of the ring for a year. Vitali scaled 248lbs, the same as he weighed in his last fight against Charr.

 

Vitali beats the hell out of him... Similar to the Bowe fights, except more one sided in Vitalis favor.

 

Vitali was not training to fight Lewis.. He was scheduled to go 10 rounds vs a no name. Even you must acknowledge there is a difference between a tune up 10 round match, and a title shot vs the lineal champion that goes 2 rounds more.

By the way Lewis stepped on the scale with some clothes.

 

Lewis was not training to fight the number one contender Vitali either.
Both stylistically and physically ,you could not find two more disimilar fighters than Johnson and Vitali.

Tyson was originally due to be on the undercard to possibly drum up interest ina return with Lewis ,he pulled out and when Johnson pulled out Vitali , who was scheduled to fight the unbeaten Cedric Boswell, got elevated to the main event.


"June 21st 2003, Lennox Lewis fought for the final time of his career. His opponent was Vitali Klitschko, the current reigning WBC heavyweight champion. When Lewis fought Klitschko he was the lineal heavyweight champ and was widely perceived as the best fighter in the division. Klitschko, who was viewed by most fight observers to be Lewis's biggest threat and most dangerous opponent, was a replacement for Kirk Johnson, who injured a pectoral muscle during training.
Eight months after stopping Klitschko, Lewis retired as champion with his health, wealth and legacy intact. Since the fight’s conclusion the Lewis and Klitschko factions have gone at it non-stop regarding the result of the fight. Moreso it's amazing how some live and die through the ups and downs of their favorite fighter or team. It's almost as if their manhood is threatened if they have to admit their guy lost. If you're a huge fan of either Lennox Lewis or Vitali Klitschko, you might want to stop reading this if you reside outside the world of reality. I live in the real world and as uncomfortable as it may be, I never try to squeeze things so they fit into my perfect world as I hoped it to be. I'm a boxing guy more than I'm a fan of any one fighter. "

How the fight was made:

"Lewis was scheduled to fight Kirk Johnson on June 21, 2003. Mike Tyson was supposed to fight on the undercard in the hope of stimulating a rematch with Lewis who knocked him out in the eighth round a year earlier. When Tyson pulled out, a fight between Vitali Klitschko and Cedric Boswell was inserted to be part of the undercard in its place. At that time Klitschko was the WBC number one contender and was probably going to be Lewis's next opponent. So having them fight on the same card made sense."

"Once Kirk Johnson was injured and couldn't go through with the fight, it seemed plausible to have Klitschko step up and challenge Lewis. At the time Boswell despite being undefeated was viewed as just another opponent. The only upper-tier opponent Vitali had faced before Lewis was Chris Byrd, a fight that he was leading in but suffered a torn rotator cuff that ultimately forced him to withdraw, thus suffering the first set back of his career"


"The Timing Favored Klitschko:"

"Whenever the Lewis-Klitschko fight is discussed, there's one aspect surrounding it that's never mentioned and it's huge. That being the mindset of a reigning champion who has reached his pinnacle versus the mindset of a challenger who has had beating that particular champion in the back of his mind since he turned pro. "

"In regards to Vitali, Lewis was considered the measuring stick for him especially after he dispatched Tyson. Whereas Lewis looked at Klitschko with the same disdain Frazier did Foreman. In other words just a big strong clumsy guy who can't fight nor has he been tested.

Sure, both Lewis and Vitali had been training for a fight at relatively the same time, but they were miles apart in the way they were going about it. In reality, Klitschko hadn't really ever stopped training since he turned pro, whereas Lewis hadn't been near a gym in a year. Klitschko, was still hungry and was fighting to prove himself and to erase the quitter label he'd acquired after his fight with Byrd. In his mind he couldn't slip up and had to be impressive every time out. A contender who has yet to win the title can always fight on short notice easier than an established champion who is unsure of his future.

On the other hand, Lewis perceived Klitschko as a cumbersome non tested cartoon character that quit versus a blown up super-middleweight. Which is the wrong way to approach any fight, especially when you're 38. Lewis accepted Klitschko as a replacement for Johnson without hesitation. He was thinking, I believe, that he'd pull one over on the boxing public, being that most saw Klitschko as his biggest threat and successor. Only he didn't see it that way and thought he'd get over beating a guy who wasn't nearly as good as advertised, and it almost backfired on him"




"So the bottom line is going into their fight, Klitschko had the mental and physical advantages. The fact is Lewis wrongly didn't think much of Klitschko, and for Vitali, Lewis represented the king of the hill who he had to knock off."

The Fight And The Aftermath:

"For his fight with Vitali Klitschko, Lennox Lewis weighed in at 256 ½, the heaviest of his career. Klitschko weighed in at 248 which was within two pounds of what he was for his fight prior to and next fight after Lewis."

"At the bell for round one Lewis and Klitschko both came out pawing with their left jabs strictly looking to set up and land their big right hands. There was a lot of holding and wild swinging during the round, but Vitali was busier and displayed a better punch variation. In the second round Klitschko bounced a perfect right hand off of Lewis's chin that had him hurt and holding on for a moment. Lennox tried to laugh it off but no one was fooled, he was clearly shook. For the remainder of the round Klitschko pot-shotted Lewis, yet Lewis still plugged forward with his hands down as if he didn't believe Vitali could really hurt him. "

"In the third round Klitschko was again the busier fighter, but Lewis landed the cleaner punches and opened a cut over Klitschko's left eye that worsened as the round progressed. Lewis fought more measured in the fourth round and seemed to make Klitschko throw his punches more with the intent of holding Lewis off than hurting him. By the end of the round both fighters looked dead tired and spent as they hung onto each other waiting for the bell. Throughout the fifth round Klitschko was busier and Lewis was looking to hit the lottery with one big right hand. However, Klitschko's eye cuts were getting worse from the few jabs and grazing rights Lewis landed. "

"For the first minute of the sixth round Klitschko once again was busier than Lewis, until Lennox landed the best punch of the fight, a right uppercut that shook Vitali for a brief second. That was shortly followed by a clean left hook while Vitali's back was to the ropes. As the round was concluding Klitschko was holding on as Lewis was trying to get room to punch. Right before the bell Lewis scored with another big right uppercut and went back to his corner and sat down hard on his stool. "

"Shortly after the fight was stopped due to Klitschko's cuts, Klitschko vehemently protested the fight being stopped. At the time of the stoppage all three judges had the fight scored 58-56 Klitschko. At best Klitschko was leading by two, but it could've been just one. Neither fighter had established themself as being in control. It was close and wasn't exactly the finest hour for either fighter. The best way to put it is there's no case for Lewis being in the lead and there was for Klitschko. "

"Due to the cuts sustained by Klitschko, the fight being stopped was the right call. It's ridiculous to argue who would've won. Championship fights are scheduled for 12 rounds so the score at the time of the stoppage means nothing. "

"I do know Klitschko hit Lennox with more clean right hands than I've ever seen him hit with before in his career, and he went at Vitali as if he were handcuffed. So either Lewis's chin got better as he aged or Klitschko's punch isn't what we quite thought. And that was an old and terribly out of condition Lewis he was nailing throughout the bout. As far as the cut, it was caused by a punch Lewis threw with intent of doing damage, and it did. The fight continued and the cuts got worse and the fight had to be stopped. That's boxing. Durability is part of what makes a great fighter and as we know, Vitali's body, not his heart, has betrayed him against the two best fighters he's fought, and also in training, leading to many of his fights being postponed or canceled. "

"In regards to fighting a rematch, I don't buy for a second that Lewis feared Klitschko. He showed beyond a doubt that he wasn't a coward or lacked heart. Many forget that he came back from two devastating knockout defeats that very easily could've ruined him psychologically. And other than him being shook for a second he wasn't close to being in trouble or going out versus Klitschko."

 

I pretty much agree, although he has some amazing statistics, i feel Vitalis punch power is overrated

People (in General) compare it to the likes of Foreman etc

Especially when a Vitali vs Frazier thread pops up now and then.

 

Too many points to comment on as my time today is short so I'll reply to three.

Point 1 ) Lewis was a very good fighter past the age in his mid to late 30's. In fact one of his best performances was the re-match win over Rhaman in Nov 2001. Lewis Meet Vitali less than three years later.

Point 2 ) The timing was all in Lewis favor. Who takes the fight of their life on less than 2 weeks’ notice?

Point 3 ) As for the re-match, Lewis said he would give it a few times:deal

17-18 million was there for Lewis. :deal

He waited and kept talking as if he was active:deal

Lewis was talking to Johnson for a match in Canada post Klitschko...he was NOT RETIRED.

Lennox only retired because a re-match was ordered, and if he said no he was to be stripped of his title.:deal

While Lewis likely didn’t fear Vitali in the ring, he knows he was lucky and feared a loss in the re-match would damage his reputation. THIS is why he did not take the fight. And he would have lost the re-match six months later. His talk was BS, and when the moment came to act, he folded and quietly retired.