Vitali vs Wlad. Who is/was better ? My break down on 11 categories.

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I have seen dozens of threads on who was the better. As a fan of both who has seen both of them on at least 10 different occasions here is my break down on 11 separate categories.

Power: Prior to Vitlai’s shoulder and back, leg and back injuries, Universum said he Vitali harder than Wlad and early Vitlai fights will back this up. However as Wlad matured, and Vitlai had to over come injuries which required surgery, Wlad became the harder hitter. Who hit harder between the two at their best is debatable. I do think Wlad at his best had a bit more power in his cross and hook, however Vitali seemed to have “ heavier hands “ and could hurt his man a bit easier without landing perfect type of punches. I will give this one to

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by a narrow margin.

Size: Defined as a full-blown tale of the tape. Both are super heavyweights in every sense of the word. Vitlai is 6’7 ½” with an 80” reach, Wlad is 6’6” with an 81” reach. Vitlai is on average about 5 ( 245-250 ) pounds heavier and has the bigger lower body of the two, while Wlad’s torso rivals and possible exceeds the sculpted statues of the Roman or Greek gods. Vitlai seems to have a thicker / stronger neck. Wlad has bigger arms, shoulders and back muscles. Both men are without a doubt among the largest heavies every. Overall, I would give a slight edge to

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Skills on Offense: Wlad owns a laser like right hand, and compact hook, and an accurate jab. Vitlai is a bit less refined in terms of technique, but has the ability to throw and land punches at odd angles, and uses the uppercut and body punching a bit more. Vitlai is also a bit better on counter punching. Wlad can combo off his jab, or turn it into a hook, which is rare among heavyweights. While Vitlai seems to be more dominant on the scorecards, I would give the edge on skills to his younger brother, who in my opinion is a rare technical boxer with great power and very good speed. Advantage to

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.

Skills on Defense: Defined as the ability make the other guy miss, punch anticipation, clinching, block shots with the gloves, base guard stance, use of footwork to get out of the way, and covering up. Wlad has mastered the art of clinching and can execute the maneuver with technique, speed, and power. Wlad has also developed a high right hand guard that makes it tougher for his opponent to land the hook, and very smart footwork. Vitlai defense is a bit more un-orthodox, as his guard is lower. However Vitlai has great punch anticipation, makes the other guy miss often by leaning back a few inches, and actually can cover more ground quicker than his brother can. Vitlai can clinch or cover up well if he needs to. I think Vitlai is harder to hit over all with the jab, body shots or right hand, which is 70% or more of the punches thrown in a boxing match. Advantage to

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Hand and foot speed: Wlad has extremely fast hands for a larger fighter. Vitali has deceptive hand speed. I think Vitlai’s foot speed is better than Wlad’s though. I call this one a

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Quality of competition fought: Although Vitlai fought a decent collection of fighters, Wlad has more overall fights, and has had more matches vs fighters who were X Champions, or one time top ten rated opponents. Advantage to

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.


Chin: If Wlad had a top chin, I have little doubt he would be among the best ever. However like most fighters, Wlad has a suspect chin vs punchers. Vitlai in my opinion has an all time chin at heavyweight. Vitlai has never been knocked down from a punch, and has taken hard shots extremely well, and shown the ability to recover from them quickly. This is category has perhaps the greatest difference between the two. Big edge to

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Stamina: Early in Wlad career, he had some stamina problems, but the problem has been corrected due to focus on sparring many rounds, and more cardio work as opposed to the weight lifting that Universum favored. As it stands right now, Wlad has very good 12 round stamina, and can box, fight and move without resting on the ropes for 12 rounds. Wlad has a high punch out put, and his stamina seems to be an asset these days. Vitlai stamina is under rated. Vitlai actually throws more punches per round than legends such as Rocky Marciano or Joe Frazier. The ability to score late TKO’s and punching on average 70 times a round or more point to Vitlai having better stamina. Two of Wlad’s losses seem to be stamina related. Edge to

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, though Wlad in his prime seems to have good stamina as well.

Heart: Vitlai did quit in one fight vs Chris Byrd, but to be fair it was a bad injury and I could name a dozen hall of fame fighters who also packed it in. Vitlai proved he could fight with a bad hand vs Williams, and with a bad cut that would take the heart of most fighters vs Lewis. Wlad’s fighting heart is under rated, and he’ll get up as many times as he physical can. But part of a fighting heart is nerve and composure for the rough stuff in boxing, and here, Vitali seems much better. But who is better overall? I’ll give

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a slight edge here.

Ring Generalship: Wlad used to have problems managing his stamina, preparing himself, and changing tactics vs different type of opponents. It appears now that Wlad is fighting much smarter, and because of this, his weaknesses are much harder to exploit. . Vitali to me had a better sense when to box, slug or brawl, and when to change tactics. Wlad himself says his brother is a smarter fighter. I agree. Edge to

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Intimidation / Killer instinct: Both Klitschko are intimidating figures in the ring. I do think Wlad no longer sees himself as a younger brother and now casts a shadow of his own, however I do think Vitlai has a bit more aggression in him when he has his man hurt. In addition Vitlai has the better stare down, and meaner disposition in general. Wlad personality is a bit more happy go lucky. Advantage

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.



Tally:

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has an edge in 4 categories

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has the edge in 6 categories
One category is even

 

I think Vitlai who was an amatuer and professional kick boxing champion ( More brutal than boxing ) could do fine in MMA, but I perfer to focus on queensberry boxing rules here.

 

No worries! Do you think my judgment on who has the edge on the 11 categories is mostly correct? Which areas to do disagree on?


Barring a Vitlai comeback win to take a title, I think Wlad will have the better legacy, and Vitlai will go down as the better head-to-head match up fighter.

 

Vitali was in at least 275 combat matches ( Kick boxing and boxing, amateur and pro matches ). I too think he had some good years left, but the injuries ruined it for him.

 

I agree that Wlad will end up with the better legacy ( barring a disaster vs future opponets ), but I disagree about Vitlai's claim to fame. Vitlai was Ring Magazine champ, and owns the all time KO % in boxing. Both of these things trump having a famous last name. At least I think so.