I own about 30 of Wlad's pro fights and a handful of his amateur fights. I have probably a dozen of Vitali's pro fights.
It's a legit Byrd victory. But it's not like Chris was hammering him into submission or anything like that. A rotator cuff injury is quite serious and many professional athletes never fully recover from such an injury, especially if they don't get medical attention right away. The injury required surgery for Heaven's sake.
That is simply a function of his opposition level. Faruq Saleem is 36-0 with 32 KO's yet nobody is talking about him as an elite HW because he still hasn't stepped up to the top level. Vitali stepped up to the elite twice and lost twice. All the tears in the world will never change that.
Try watching some of the victories then, they have almost 100 beatween them. :yep Most are KO's too.............................almost all of them Very exciting stuff. :deal :bbb
Well Evander's doing much better now since whatever surgery he had to correct his neck, back, shoulder issues. He almost seems as good as he once was, almost. You now see improved handspeed & combination punching, which may be directly related to repairing his ailments since back, neck & shoulder issues can certainly affect the mechanics of a punch. These guys are boxers and boxing is a sport where your opponent does everything in his power to injure you. All boxers are human & can be injured. Due to Vitali's extensive kickboxing career and later boxing career, he has taken more punishment than your average boxer would by just merely boxing alone.
I watch them whenever I get the chance. Wlad's fights are impressive even though they are usually one-sided because of his offensive skill. Vitali's are OK, but he is more awkward and not that entertaining really.