I think neither of the klits get the praise reigning hw champions get is because there's no one around to challenge them. Not to mention for hw's, they are boring fighters. W/ that being said, they have dominated the division for years. Wlad has faced better competition, but still no real challenges. If they want more respect they should fight each other. I thougt that's what the sanctioning bodies was for.
How is Vitali dominant? he isn't doing anything more than what Byrd and Ruiz did when they were champs, in fact he is fighting softer opposition than both of them. For Vitali to be great he needs to beat someone legit, and unify.
The Klits aren't getting as much credit as they'd like simply because they are really very average fighters who rely solely on their extreme height as their primary advantage over the competition. If either Klit were 6'2" they both would have been KO'ed at least 8-10 times by now. With average boxing skills, their height is the sole reason they exist. Without their height advantage, they are very robotic and average boxers. Nothing special at all, and that's the informal understanding they will always face. As has been mentioned on numerous occasions, for a world champion to be considered as GREAT, then that champion must meet and defeat world class ATGs. So, the question is; What ATGs have either of the Klits meet and defeated?
I'd say, "tl:dr," except that (like an masochistic idiot) I did read it. Yes, you did have a choice. You made the wrong one is all. atsch I was convinced that this was a wind-up thread after reading that and now wish I'd been right. This is like a failed Wikipedia article that was rewritten as slash fiction. Have you ever been meaningfully discriminated against for being white? :huh I've never been discriminated against for being Ukrainian. That's for sure. The whole nonsense about the media only promoting "Black American" boxers is one of the stupidest conspiracy theories in Europe... and that's really saying something. With misunderstanding race, nationality, and geography so much, I'm surprised that you consider Herbie Hide to be your countryman. Vit's Klit stock plummets, almost entirely because of his fans. The sensible man doesn't speak for another man, much less fellate him on ESB and expect applause. Because Canadians are quitters, amirite? :canada You mean a TKO happened, right? Go play in traffic, kid. Keep that blindfold on while you're out there, too.
I have never thought Vitali is boring. You could say Wlad post Wlad-Brewster I became boring but Vitali has never been boring. He is a very vicious fighter.
He is probably one of the least boring heavyweights out there. Takes his opponent apart, almost each and every time.
I read the words "white george foreman" and immediately gave up on whatever you were writing. V and W Klitschko can't even be mentioned in the same sentence as big george, sorry.
atsch Sonny Liston is one of the most destructive punchers of all time, Chris Byrd who was a former middleweight went 10 rounds with Vitali Vitali's a flicker, Liston's a murderer
Oh lord... Another racist insecure loser who looks at the Klitschkos as an extension of their ***** and is crying racism because they aren't being treated as Gods by the US fans and media (which is over 90% white). Pavlik was looked upon as the second coming prior to getting humiliated by Hopkins. How about the fact that there is a statue of a fictional white heavyweight champion in Philly instead of a real heavyweight champ (Frazier)? Yea, the US just hates white fighters. The part about him having to endure racial slurs based on the color of his skin is priceless. Mind citing some examples other then a few 16 year olds on boxing forums?
I think the credit Vitali Klitschko gets for his accomplishments is generally fair. Part of the problem in rating Vitali Klitschko is that he is a unique historical case. He has dominated virtually every bout he's participated in and yet his resume of dominance is woefully thin in comparison to dominant HWs of times past or even his brother Wladimir. Now a lot of factors detracting from Vitali's dominance are/were beyond his control. For example, Vitali cannot control the fact that he was injured for nearly four years. Nor can he control the fact that the HW division after Lewis's retirement was dreadful and largely controlled by Don King. Vitali has gotten several strong wins since his comeback( Peter, Gomez Arreola all being top 5 at the time) and has looked very impressive in those wins. Overall, however, his resume lacks the long run of substantial victories necessarry for being considered truly great.
I respect Vitaly, but spending a pargraph on his win over arreola and calling arreola a 'top contender' will cause readers to lose respect for your thread's point