Wlad Klitschko vs Max Baer

Well, make that 5-4 for Wlad then.

This is a good thread because Baer has that air of unpredictability about him. He'd probably bemuse Wlad and leave him wondering what he's getting in the ring with. Baer as we all know rarely took things very seriously in the ring, except for one or two occasions.
In this world of icy staredowns and super seriousness, Baer's madcap behaviour could unsettle Wlad a bit.

Baer on the scales would be much the lighter fighter, but Baer was actually a huge man himself. His dimensions compare quite favourably to many modern heavyweights.

In any event, where I reckon this fight is won and lost is in the preparation. Wlad is one of the best-prepared heavyweights out there, and I can only assume he'd have a sound, if cautious, strategy in place come fight time.
Baer? I don't know...he was such a off-the-wall guy it's difficult to predict what he would be thinking on fight night.

So for me Wlad wins basically because he's a more professional, disciplined athlete. The chance of Baer scoring a knockout is definitely there, but generally the fighter with the better preparation and gameplan wins.

 

I think a heavy bag would do better than Arreola, honestly.

 

Disagree. Baer gets stopped in his tracks repeatedly by Wlad's accurate ramrod jab. His rushes lack the head movement to avoid getting hit first, Baer loaded up his punches, he would never be the first to connect. If we are talking about the best (current) version of Wlad, not the one who got starched by Sanders, Wlad is a clear favorite.

 

I swear, there are some people on this forum who would pick Tex Cobb to beat Klitschko, and soley on the basis that he has " a granite chin and a big punch. "

 

The Baer of '33 and '34 would beat Wlad Klit of 2004 / '05.......... But a prime Baer would get sliced and diced by a 2006 to 2009 Wlad Klit like a Goose in a butcher shop.....

MR.BILL

 

Baer may have been able to chase around those inept midgets of the 30's winding up with haymakers from last week but that wouldn't remotely work in a modern ring. If am wrong, point me to the analogous fighter today. Even Peter had more science, better defense and footwork than Baer.

He's a dream come true for Wlad.

Picked apart and stopped with major damage in the 8th.

 

Well I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty.

Wlad would loose if he went into the fight with the same estimate of Baers style and abilities as yourself.

There is a reason why Baer got to the top of a heavyweight division with far more technicians than todays.

 

Im actually with you on this. Baer is aweful technically and against somepone with the fundamentals and sheer physical advantages would cripple him in brutal, clinical fashion.

 

Watching Baer on film I can only afford myself so much suspension of disbelief. His is absolutely horrible in his skills. What he has is toughness (against anyone not named Joe Louis), a chin and a great punch that he telegraphs from the Mesozoic Age. All things taken equal, that they both come in equally motivated and prepared, that's just not near enough to beat Steward-era Wlad.

 

I often think that with alot of old fight footage lol Theres a tendency throughout sports (and life in general in fact) to sentimentalize the past and place it on an unreachable pedestal when the truth is often far more complex and often the contrary e.g. comparing footballers of the 50's with those of more recent decades. Theres also somethiong called confirmation bias which is when you expect a certain outcome or result, you will tend towards noting things which confirm that result. Those things become more perceptually salient so to speak. I also think its easy to join the ranks of the boxing historians and share in their hyperbole. Everybody wants to appear knowledgable about the sport they love and spout names and fights and anecdotes etc. Theres a certain 'prestige' and respect one is afforded by other less knowledagable fans. But how anybody can comment acurately on say for instance Harry Greb is beyond me. The footage ive seen of him training is the epitome of hilarity lol i mean come on fellas! Baer is just aweful though, i mean really bad. What some refer to as unorthodox or 'zany' angles are what most would refer to (esepcially so if the person throwing those shots was a 00's HW) as sloppy and technically destitute.

And before people start jumping all over this, im not a hater by any means. I have fighters from across history i like (SRR, Louis, Loche, Olivares, Gomez, Napoles, Zapata, Pacquiao, Hearns, Curry, Arguello, Whitaker, JCC, Toney etc.) Anyways, that was fun lol take it easy guys

 

I would not call this one of the most incredible beatings in ring history nor even close. Baer got his arse kicked, no doubt, but he was only in serious trouble for perhaps 2 rounds of the 4 that he lasted. In fact, the fight should have ended in round 3 but baer was rescued from a KO by the bell. I would hardly place this on par with such beatings as Liston-Wepner, Ali-Quarry, Holmes-Cooney, Tyson-Ribalta, etc..etc..

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5zkE4BkMgg[/ame]