Right here my good man: https://www.boxingforum24.com/threa...e-other-way-round.583384/page-6#post-18454027
Wow thank you. That makes it crystal clear that Wlad wanted badly to rematch Sanders. It’s unfortunate that Wlad didn’t get the opportunity. Post 83 clarifies everything.
I have a problem with Wlad because on the one hand he lacks great victories, and the most valuable ones were a yawn festival - Ibragimov, Haye, Chagaev, Povetkin. He also fought not very cleanly, for many years he was the A side in negotiations, which he used well, he fought most often in his own ring and had terrible, embarrassing defeats that no other prime champion except Lennox Lewis had. But you can't ignore so many defenses, long-term dominance and so many defeated rivals. If you fight so many times, there is no chance that you won't have weak moments. I think that Wlad is top 10-11, but I agree with people who even put him in top 5.
Sanders is on record saying Wlad didn't seek the rematch. Not only are you calling Sanders a liar but a ducker as well. Pathetic. Remind me who Sanders went and fought when Wlad fought Moli.. That's right... Vitali Klitschko
Damn man, you guys flamed that guy over there. It's funny how some people can't even read with comprehension when it can shatter their worldview.
Mongoose was a liar and a troll. That's why he has been perma banned multi times. He cowerd away and refused to debate honestly. Thsts clear for all to see
Remember Vitali entering the ring and challenged Sanders. That only happened if Wlad allowed it, which he did. That why the greatness of both guys is questionable. They both avenged the others losses instead of doing it themselves
He is a hard one to rank IMO. I get the arguments for having Wlad higher but, in my personal list, he is 10 - 15. I remember, at the time, watching him get blitzed by Sanders and Brewster and thinking he was absolutely finished. So he deserves massive credit to come back the way he did - his partnership with Steward, especially, seemed to bring out the best in him. And yet I do feel he presided over an unspectacular era, dominant as he was. And I can never, personally, shake the image of those bad losses in fights he should have won. Gritting it out and finding a way to win are not in his resume, bar perhaps the Sam Peter fight. Other fighters overcame inexperience. Other fighters overcame fatigue. He just seemed to fall apart in those early losses - something of a front runner, bar the AJ fight at the end of his career. At least with Lennox Lewis, for example, you could say he was caught by a single shot when not focussed - and he came back to avenge them. The same can't be said for Wlad. Those losses are as head scratching today as they were then. I I think, in the end, while I do respect him as a heavyweight great, I would always be fearful to back him in a truly elite fight, although he is certainly capable of winning some h2h fantasy matchups
Once he faced skilled men his own size, he lost: Sanders, Fury and Joshua. That is my argument against putting Wlad in the Top 5. On the other hand Top 8-12 seems reasonable.
I wouldn't call Sanders particularly skilled. He was a very hard, bar fight puncher. And it's definitely the biggest stain on Wlad's resume. But we need to take into consideration the fact, that he fought Fury and Joshua when he was 40 years old.
Top-10 clearly. His HW title run had 19 wins in title fights in a row, from 2006 to 2015. 18 title defenses in a row. During that period Wlad lost no more than 10 rounds total and was never knocked down. You may say anything about his opposition, but during that time he beat Byrd, Brock, Ibragimov, Chagaev, Chambers, Peter, Haye, Povetkin, Thompson twice, Pulev among others. Not a great, but very solid opposition. And a very long title run.
