Why Are There No Good Heavyweight Inside Fighters Anymore?

Sometimes I hear people happy with the contracts, other times you hear they're just greedy bitches.

They're probably greedy bitches, and some guys are happy with 15% of the total purse.

Luckily K2 has only 1 fighter that can become dominant after Wlad and Vitali retire.

Wlad also sometimes looks like he is just pretending to be nice.

Maybe their HQ gets hit by a comet.

 

Wondering what your opinion is on Sultan Ibragimov, the real Sultan who was an aggressive hard hitting swarmer not the castrated version Jeff Mayweather crippled. I always wanted to see him and Povetkin and Sultan vs Chagaev got cancelled back in 2007 with Ruslan's achillies injury.

 

IMO Ibragimov had better potential than either Povetkin or Chagaev. He has the faster hands by a small margin, and faster feet by a good margin. He hit harder than Povetkin for sure. Sultan’s chin seemed good, and when trained by Mayweather he was hard to catch. Too bad he quit the game so young. He could very well be the third best man in the division, behind Wlad and Vitali.

 

I have been further educated on this situation. Thank you for all the info.

Still have a hard time feeling for the guy who pulled out of the fight twice in 2008 and 2010. I don't think you can duck a guy who ducked you so blatantly twice when you were ready to go.

And Sultan was a really good fighter. I thought his boxing skills were well-rounded and high level; He could box, he could put on a ton of pressure, he had great feet.
Wouldn't say Jeff Mayweather ruined him. He had him adopt a boxing style to defeat a massive puncher. Considering that charging Briggs or pressuring him without true size or power is probably not the best idea, I would say that it worked out. He also outboxed Holyfield easily. Pressure would have been much more ideal against Klitschko, but I'm not sure that Ibragimov had the ability to win that fight, he was completely outmatched physically.

Ibragimov vs. Chagaev(I could swear that this was a fight that was being made at some point) was one I was looking forward to immensely. I still watch amateur fights with these guys, and their amateur fight is absolute class.

 

They signed to unify the WBO and WBA belts in 2007 but Chagaev tore his achillies tendon that kept him out so long and took his prime. Who would you have favored for Ibragimov vs Chagaev in 2007 and Ibragimov vs Povetkin in 2008/2009? I pretty much agree Mendoza speaking of infighting Povetkin vs Ibragimov would have made for some very exciting stuff i would favor Sultan though.

 

I've seen/read Povetkin interviews - he's just a fighter really.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Just like fighters from Thailand were - his team tells him what to do and he fights anybody they put in front of him without asking any questions.


I don't think Wlad "ducks" Sasha - like I said it's just a money/business dispute - if Povetkin was a nobody (in terms of popularity) who'd fight for a small purse the fight would have been much easier to arrange.


On a side note, as far as I know, both Wlad and Sasha never said anything disrespectful towards one another - no ducking accusations or stuff like that.

 

I favored Chagaev on styles. Neither guy did a tremendous amount of stylistic improvement(Adding tools and using them) from their illustrious ATG amateur campaigns, and Chagaev looked like he had the edge in that. That's what I use to split them, though. Wouldn't have been surprised to be wrong, the two guys were master boxers, it would have been incredibly competitive.

I don't think Povetkins head was right in 08 and 09...Backing out of fights with top guys around this time, in between trainers. Sultan takes him to school.

I like what I see of Sasha now, a lot. He's come through a tough fight(Huck) and had a couple of mighty sharp performances where he's flashed versatile skills. He's definitely world class now, and I'm not sure he was, despite the hype, 4 years ago.

 

I don't know a single professional heavyweight who doesn't have a ton of respect for either guy, they have a great reputation amongst the community for being great dudes.

Hasim Rahman, after his butt whipping, didn't open his mouth to compliment Sasha with backhands. That says it all, really. The kid made me a fan in the Chambers fight.

The fight will happen, but arguing it hurts Wlad's legacy that it isn't happening now is ludicrous. He tried, twice. Now they can't get on the same page and the fight will happen some other time. Wlad's gonna want to unify, he's a competitive dude, and I think Povetkin is FINALLY ready to actually step in the ring(Maybe you are right, maybe it was guys like Atlas who stopped those fights from happening, it wouldn't surprise me at all, Teddy does **** like that).

 

From his amateur days through 2008 Povetkin was more of a pressure fighter and volume puncher who fought in straight lines the Chambers fight being a good example. That would have got him killed against Klychko. As much as i hate Atlas in general and what he did with Povetkin (turning down a title shot and feasting on journeymen) i do think his defense is a bit better and his use of angles. He's a little more intelligent with the way he goes about getting inside now, he uses lateral movement or counters before trying to close the gap and takes alot less punishment as a result.

 

Teddy Atlas knows boxing, and he's an undersold, extremely competent trainer.

I still think he's a *****. But we agree: Sasha Povetkin became a better fighter under his care. He's Wlad's most worthy remaining opponent, and in 2008, wouldn't have lasted six rounds.

I'm going to tell you what, I thought the Huck fight was incredibly even, and maybe Huck was even unlucky to not leave the winner, but Povetkin impressed me. Responded to serious adversity, kept moving, and kept trying new things. It kept him from getting knocked out.

 

Magna, if the Haye-Pulev gets made, how do you see that playing out? It's a big step up for Kubrat, but he has huge physical advantages

 

I like Pulev a whole lot. Fun to watch, and I think he's the goods.

I think he figures out a way past Haye. Haye eats the slow and the ponderous. I don't think he can take a true heavyweight with real physical tools and well-rounded skills anymore. He's looking for a way out of the sport on a high, and Pulev is looking for a way to the top of the division.

 

I agree on Pulev, he's got a lot going for him, very good jab, power and he's patient in there

Do you think Haye will have declined since the fight with Wladimir? Even though he wasn't great that night, he was still able to make Wlad miss repeatedly and land a few hard right hands of his own. Kubrat is very good, but he's not quite on Klitschko's level yet, I could see the fight going either way

What do you think about Fury-Cunningham next weekend? I think the size difference is too much for Cunningham to overcome

 

I agree with you. Fury is too big and he's fairly quick on the draw. I think he gives Cunningham issues for many of the same reasons Hernandez did, but on a larger scale.

I think he'll give Fury on argument, though. Steve is a helluva boxer. Great jab, freakishly long arms. He's not to be taken lightly.

 

Fury also moves quite well for a big man, he impressed me against Kevin Johnson who's a good fighter. Cunningham has travelled the tough road though, the fights he's had to take in his opponents backyards deserves respect from anyone, he deserves a big break, I'll pick Fury by decision though.

I appreciate you value your anonymity, so ignore this question if you don't want to answer! but in terms of style and technique, who would you say is most comparable to you in the division today? (sorry if this is a silly question!)