Vitali Klitschko vs. Rocky Marciano.

Vitali does have a wider assortment of punches than Vlad, who is almost exclusively jab/left hook/right hand up top. Vitali throws uppercuts, hookercuts, body shots.

 

See I think he was on the back out of necessity because Byrd was effective with his offence. I dont for one sexing believe vitali was comfortable with how the fight was unfolding.

Byrd's head movement that night was top class and rocky can not do that as well. I agree there. However rocky has immense fighting spirit and decent defensive abilities. I think he'll roll with a lot of shots taking glancing blows that graze him rather than reset him.

Ofcoursr if vitali can keep rocky outside he has no chance at all. If rocky can get inside i give him slightly better than even.

Shame we'll never see the fight happen.

 

Vitali has always been less sharp, less talented and less refined than his youngr bro. Wlad doesn't throw one kind of jab; he throws about four... a tap slow tap rangefinder a power jab which is much faster and harder, a double and a really nice jab hook when he isn't being shy. He's got a great left hook which he unfortunately has abandoned too much, a right hook and his pulverizing right. He's got a lot of variations of a few things.

Vitali's greatest asset his crazy sense of distance and timing, something he has retained into old age, even as his punches have lost a great amount of their steam. That, coupled with his toughness under fire, is enough to make him formidable.

 

Are you suggesting that Vitali was hurt by Byrd? I mean, you can't be serious, can you? Is that not comedic? Even the announcers in the fight were talking about how Byrd's shots were ineffective. When Byrd rushed Vitali, most of those punches hit air, shoulders, or arms, but not Vitali's head. The way Vitali backed up into the ropes may have looked dramatic but Byrd wasn't landing **** most of the time. You also said that Byrd was bossing the fight inside. That's just completely false. With his hand speed and southpaw style, Byrd was able to land some shots at mid-range. He did nothing inside.

 

I never said hurt. I said uncomfortable.

 

Not a jab. He has a measuring stick style jab and then a power jab.
The left hook only comes out when is opponents are staggered and he feels brave enough to use it. The left he hit Chambers with in the 12th was so slow it would only be a danger to himself if he were to use it in battle. There is no right hook.
He's a 1-2 artist. Its common knowledge.

 

Slower, less stamina (although he'd still have an insane amount), punch resistance would be increased as would his strength and punching power. With there being 12 rounds instead of 15 anyway, Rocky would be doing serious damage.

I think if Marciano was Fraziers weight he'd have very similiar dimensions with majority of the weight in the legs.

Marciano has no footwork. So mute point.

 

Hmmmm 20 pages

 

That's a good point. Wlad's jab is incredibly versatile and hard to read/get past because of precisely this reason. However, he still primarily attacks on only the horizontal plane, in other words he's either going to hit you straight down the pipe, or around the side; you won't have to be afraid of getting hit with uppercuts or overhands or bodyshots.

With Vitali, his slowness is made up for by his greater workrate and variety of attack. You might not get your lights put out by any one single shot, but you're more likely to be hurt by a punch you don't see/don't expect.

Regarding Marciano, I simply see no way that he beats Wlad because he won't have any opportunities to do so. Against Vitali he'll at least have a few options to trade fire with fire, even though he'll be greatly outgunned. Saying that, he'll be able to make more of a fight of it. Wlad will just shut him down and make him look ridiculous.

 

That's how I see it. Whenever he closes distance with vitali he'll have opportunity to engage with him and I can't see vitali getting the better of those exchanges.

I envision a close points fight going the way of the rock.

 

Not really. He'll often feint a jab then hook round the side to catch an opponent unawares, especially if their guard is becoming too solid at the front. It's the combinations that generally come out when an opponent is staggered, and not particularly good combinations if I'm being honest. His skills in this area of his game have definitely atrophied from his pre-Brewster days.

Do you mean there is no right hook in boxing, or that Wlad doesn't throw one?

 

That's all very possible, but there could be any number of other effects as well that would affect his abilities in the ring, not just physically but psychologically. Rocky said he felt slow and sluggish around 200, and that's not a great mindset to be going into a fight with, especially when you'll need to be the faster man (last thing anyone wants to be when fighting Vitali is a slow immobile tank).

Also, where exactly is the muscle mass being put on here, and via what sort of exercises? Is it upper body stuff, strengthening the core/legs, is it muscle for increasing strength in the clinch or for being more explosive or is it padding for increasing punch resistance? Is it being naturally achieved or artificially? If it was the latter, how would Marciano feel about the fact that he was cheating when he stepped in the ring?

If it's mainly in the legs/core area as you think (and I agree with you) then how does that affect his roadwork in prep for the fight? An extra fifteen to twenty pounds of muscle mass is no trifle for a man of Marciano's size, and if he starts having to drastically cut back on the number of miles he runs in order to maintain the weight and save on his knees then in what way does that impact on his workrate in the ring?

There are always trade offs for anything. It's all about maximising your strengths and minimising your weaknesses. Does a 200lb Rocky fare better against Vitali than a 185lb version under today's boxing environment?

 

He had a left but it hasn't been seen an awful lot latley.

I watched the first Brewster fight again and all i can say is he gets away with murder in Germany. In the first minute of the first round he got warnings for leaning, holding and pushing. All illegal tactics.
It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that with the correct officiating Brewster was able to take him out.
He should of been DQ'd against Mormek.
This guys ability is an optical illusion, with out his personal referee he is very average and extremely vulnerable.

 

i..

 

I know.