Wlad Klitschko vs Tony Thompson next

yeah but who are the better options? i'd probably rather see him fight valuev, povetkin (but he's being overrated), jcg (ranked pretty low in most ratings), peter (he's lined up for a fight), golota (he's old too and many feel hasn't earned it) or chagaev (not sure if this is possible right now), but that's about it. None of the aforementioned would likely have that much better a chance than thompson (who is a little hard to gage b/c of his record and his age) anyway.

 

Good points. Realistically, you can't have a unification bout in every single fight, and like you already said, some of those guys are lined up to fight other people. Therefore, I suppose Thompson is the only available choice or one of the few. Its just a shame though that there isn't a better selection of contenders lined up.

 

+1 to everything he said. Thompson probably has a better chance to win than Sultan did, and the style difference means it will probably be a more exciting fight as well. Thompson's waited for his shot and deserves it. I imagine he'll get obliterated, but specifically with respect to Wlad, he has just about as much of a chance of winning as anyone (other than maybe Peter or Valuev, both of whom are tied up through next year).

 

Thompson is, sadly, the best American contender. His recent resume is the best, he has no recent losses. Chambers, Holyfield, Byrd, Brock, etc, all have losses.

Thomspson is also ranked in the Top10.

 

yeah that's the sad part (weakish division).

 

Thompson is not as bad as some of you have made him out to be. I will give Wlad full credit for beating him just like I did Brock. I give him full credit for beating Ibragimov as well, I just criticize his performance.

 

Having seen the Krasniqi fight, I dont necessarily agree with that. Tony T has to get close and right in front of you and throw volumes of punches to break you down. He doesn't make best use of reach because he is incredibly slow getting off so if he's going to use pressure tactics, he may get wasted like Ray Austin. Povetkin has a better chance because he throws sharp, faster combinations to the body and head - Sasha can't have a worst chance than Iggy's or just go and ask all our russian mates who's better known around there...

 

But Povetkin gets hit a ton. Chambers was winning that fight until he ran out of gas IMO.

You're right about Thompson though. It really depends on how good his chin is. However, getting close to Wlad is going to make him uncomfortable. He is not a good infighter.

 

I think Povetkin is automatically wlad's opponent- but little later. Povetkin needs time, not wlad...

 

I have a russian lady in my house and even she knows that Povetkin is worshipped in Russia compared to Iggy who is also seen just as having gone for the american adventure. Never mind me but I have plenty of knowledgeable people and friends outside this board that see some huge potential in Povetkin amongst the Heavyweight turmoil. Man, just go and ask Asterion who does he like as THE Heavyweight prospect ( as we didn't know who Asterion is around here - never mind that and pardon me Asterion). Of course, Sasha needs time but someone is looking after him and has put him right in the IBF tourney...

 

One UD in the last 5 fights with the others coming by KO, hardly a reason to write Wlad off or call him a coward.:nono

 

i agree with dorefmeister`s assement of thompson.

not a bad fighter , but only if you let him get close, which is strange when you consider his height.

since wlad always keeps it long, this means thompson is in for a hard/tough beating IMO.

from a distance thompson lacks speed/his jab is pushed slow and delivered with a bent arm/squares up from southpaw style.

keeps his right arm down when looking and his double arm guard is easily breached down the middle.

his chin looks sound so far, but boy will thompson eat wlads jab , without having the speed or anything on his own jab at all to compete with.


thompson has a nice workrate up close/moxes it up to head and bodyinside/albeit nothing on them and a bit pedantic/

but wlad will not let him work on the inside and IMO THOMPSON DOES NOT have the abilty/head movement /jab /straight long punches to compete with wlad on the outside and the speed difference will be huge in wlad`s favour

i see this being very one sided brewster 2 type fight to the stoppage.

 

Thompson isn't a bad heavy but I think he gets stopped by Wlad. I don't think there's anything Thompson can do to stop Wlad's jab and being he is a bigger guy than Sultan he should be in range more, which means Wlad will be forced to open up more and increase Thompson's chances at getting ko'ed.

I think Thompson is better than Austin and on par with some of Wlad's other recent wins...Brock, Byrd(06 version), Sultan, etc. I think due to styles that Povetkin would be a bigger challenge to Wlad but he needs more time. I'd actually like to see Povetkin in with a guy who can punch a bit. Put him in with a Rahman, Briggs, Virchis, or a Brock. I'd like to see how he handles a puncher who has a bit of skill. Byrd, Donald,and Chambers don't fit that mold.

As far as heavyweight mandatories go Thompson isn't bad and he shouldn't derail Wlad's unification plans either.

 

alexander povetkin is more worthy

 

Why not, I guess both are ready to fight soon and Wlad has to get a mandatory challenger out of the way. The other 'contenders' are busy anyway. Povetkin won't fight Wlad yet, he's not ready.

Thompson seems to be a pretty solid fighter, only saw him once, against Krasniqui, and he looked good in that fight, fluid moves, decent skills, quite fast for a HW, he could give Wlad some trouble. Wlad is not Krasniqui though, so I'll say Wlad wins by KO middle rds if he chooses to use his right hand, and by wide UD if he's content with just jabbing. I think this will turn out a bit like the fight against Calvin Brock.