I get a bit weary of hearing Billy Conn described as a "featherfisted light heavy" to be honest. He was the only person apart from Louis himself to ever stop Bob Pastor, who beat a whole slew of heavy hitters!
If Wlad was so much stronger than all of his competition and because of this was able to control that opposition at close range in this manner, why are we not to celebrate him? This is boxing. This is part of boxing. Celebrate.
Yeah, I celebrate him, I absolutely loved his career, I loved him as a fighter, he's great. But in answer to the question as to which fighter was greater out of he and Joe Louis it is necessary to point out the very limited in-fighting ability he displayed during his career. And to point out that it makes this comparison clear.
Books on how to box were inspired by Joe Louis. Wlad could not even throw a simple uppercut or understand what range its meant to be thrown from. http://www.yapfiles.ru/files/709646/Wladimir_Klitschko_vs_Alexander_Povetkin_4.gif https://i.makeagif.com/media/5-09-2015/j65Ooj.gif See ^^ Its asking who is more skilled between Marvin Hagler and Felix Sturm.
And like the lonely, war weary sailor to the Siren's call, a post is made about Waldo and the Unbiased Voice of Reason chimes in...
P4P I am going with the Bomber. He was a much better combination puncher than Wladimir as started previously, he didn’t rely on his height and reach to nearly as big a degree as Wlad did and he wasn’t prone to panicking like Wlad was when clipped. He was a much better fighter at mid range than Waldo and unlike Wlad he could throw combinations while moving backwards. Joe also had way better stamina than Wladimir. I would rate Wlad as having a better jab all round P4P than Joe (he relied on it more than Louis did ), as being a more cerebral fighter than Louis and being a really good clincher in the Jack Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes tradition. Something Louis wasn’t. Being a smart arse I had to comment that unlike Wladimir, Louis didn’t have a meaner older brother to sort out fighters who stopped him previously. I imagine Vitali would have faced Schmeling in the rematch not Wlad if Wladimir had been in Louis’ shoes. Being serious for a sec both fighters were absolute credits to the sport of boxing and along with Muhammad Ali, Larry Homes and Lennox Lewis the historic stand outs as far as dominating the heavyweight division for a long period. Cheers All.
Expecting a 6-1, 200 pound fighter to exhibit the same skills as a 6-6, 245 pounder is a bit ridiculous. They are playing different games. Do you want to see Wlad bob and weave? How about fight out of a crouch? His job is to impose his giantness on his opponent. And to be honest, there were times, pre-prime, that he wasn't that good or consistent at it. But once he found his formula, he was remarkably effective and consistent. For a full decade he barely lost a round. Am I a huge fan of watching that style? Not really. But I applaud effectiveness. Louis is my favorite heavy of all-time (along with Tyson). Arguing that someone was more skilled than Louis is a bit of a fool's errand. But framing the argument in a way that the expectations are that they both show the same approach and techniques seems to be missing the larger point.
Gday Seamus, very fair points mate and I also should have given Wladimir credit for being harder to hit than Louis. I just actually read the opening post in the thread and P4P wasn’t even mentioned on some of my points are actually irrelevant. From a purely offensive perspective I have to go with Louis as he had a better arsenal with more weapons at his disposal than Wladimir. Louis was also a great body puncher. Wlad did have a great hook off the jab though, a rarity in the heavyweight division, From a defensive and strategic perspective Wlad is far superior. Waldo was barely hit in his entire career ( luckily for him, not that it was luck though ) unlike Louis who was always a sucker for a right hand over his low left, especially when retracting his jab. Cheers.
A paragon of fair-mindedness...the very epitome of objectivity, is our dino when holding forth on the topic of the big K-brothers.
