i just re-watched this fight i havent seen for years and i remembered how bad klitschko looked. does anybody remember anything that might have been going on with wlad? was it poor training/trainer hence later steward became his trainer? distractions? did he not know who sanders really was? or was sanders all wrong for him regardless? did try to pursue a rematch or did he feel as though his brother got revenge for both? THIS THREAD IS NOT INTENDED FOR TROLLS!!!:smoke
His style was just wrong back then, I think he tried to rematch sanders but he vacated the belt and went after vitali. Safety first, great 1/2 having dominant Wlad we see today became that way in the peter, you can actually see him change from the way he was before to the guy he is now in the middle rounds, thats how he pulled of that fight and started his current reign.
Back then, when Wlad threw his punches he wouldnt cover his chin or pull his body back after he threw, neither did he have very good balance after he punched, he kinda let his body and chin hang after letting his fists go.. Those flaws was just perfect for a fighter like Sanders... These errors has been corrected with Steward as his coach, he has far better balance and maintance focus for all 3 minutes every round.
what i noticed is that he never tied up or tried moving away much either after being rocked and floored the first time! he kept coming at sanders throwing wild shot clearly not been recuperated!! breathing room thrown out the window
think wlad himself said he was arrogant.thought he was unbeatable and underestimated sanders..he was humbled and brought down to earth..but he said thanks to that defeat he would never be like that again...
:smoke He got cracked by a punch he didnt see and while he was still in the first round . In fact I thought he was out after the first knockdown ! He seemed more rattled then hurt in the succeeding knockdowns .
He is still THE VERY SAME person. He just doesn't fight anyone who is capable of exploiting these weaknesses. Talk about trainers, talk about different styles, talk about improvement, .... have someone hit him like that again, and he will crawl ...
Wlad made the mistake of stepping to the right after throwing his right. This works against right handers but not against south paws. It puts you right in the path of their counter. Vitali did the same thing in the first 2 rounds vs. Sanders. Then he adjusts. After round two Vitali never moves right after throwing a punch.