Wladimir Klitschko vs these hard-hitters

How heavily was Ali penalised for doing so?

 

penalized enough in Manilla where he stopped doing it. Wlad never stopped doing it, and Wlad was ten times worse.

 

So, once.

While I agree Wlad's clinching was awful, let's not pretend fighters haven't done this for time immemorial. I'd agree with referees governing clinching more harshly.

 

well Briggs was mentioned on the OPs list.
and if he Wlad wasnt afraid of him he should have stood up to him. you dont let some washed up has been show up everywhere you go and disrespect you on TV. not when you're the HW champion of the world

 

It wasn't really a case of poor referring. They were hired to allow Wlad hug and grope with impunity. He and his outfit (K2) controlled every aspect of the promotion.
Wlad was like an F1 driver in the sense his team helped him to stay on top. Ali agreed to fight Fraizer a third time knowing he wasn't allowed to clinch like he did in the second.
I doubt Klitschko would have agreed to rematch Povetkin on the same terms.

 

I only see

Foreman
Tyson
Bruno
Ruddock
Lewis
Ike
Tua
Wilder

Giving Wlad problems.

Foreman would likely KO him. Tyson would get him our early. Bruno might have a chance as he carried power but I don't see him beating Wlad. Wlad would likely get KOed by Lewis. Ruddock has a very good chance. His smash punch was awkward and fast to hit the target, as well as powerful. Ike is hard to say but he has the power to hurt him.

Tua I don't see beating Wlad but if he can connect that left hook, I see a big KO win. Wilder's right hand like a thunderbolt. Wlad is clearly the superior fighter but I don't see him surviving Wilder's right hand.

 

Dempsey - Wlad KOs him. Mismatch.

Baer - Wlad KOs him. Mismatch

Louis - Wlad KOs him. Louis wouldn't be able to avoid the jab, and he doesn't have the chin to stand up to Wlad's power.

Marciano - Wlad KOs him. Awful stylistic matchup, not to mention the physical gulf. Does Beterbiev beat Joshua?

Liston - Wlad KOs him. Liston wouldn't be able to hang with the speed and precision of Wlad's jab, and that takes away his number one tool.

Frazier - Wlad KOs or outpoints him. Horrible stylistic matchup for Joe. Wlad would be leaning all over him in the clinch, same as he would to Rocky.

Foreman - hard to say. If Foreman can bully or manhandle Wlad he's in trouble.

Lyle - possibility of an upset due to Lyle's wild swinging style, but likelihood is a focused Wlad outpoints him.

Shavers - Wlad KO. Shavers would get mashed.

Cooney - Wlad KO. Mismatch.

Tyson - Tyson KO. Bad stylistic matchup for Wlad.

Bruno - Wlad KOs him. Bruno wouldn't be able to deal with Wlad's speed, though his jab might cause some early issues.

Smith - Wlad KOs him. Can't see anything Smith does that would trouble him.

Ruddock - Wlad KOs him. Ruddock not good enough to hang with Wlad.

Bowe - probably Wlad, though Bowe's tenacity could pull off an upset. Would heavily favour Wlad though.

Lewis - Lewis KO. Worst stylistic matchup for Wlad.

Mercer - Wlad UD. He'll outjab a prime Mercer to a wide decision.

Morrison - Wlad KO. Morrison would get caught with something at some point and go down like he was shot.

McCall - tough to say. McCall could pull off an upset if he just kept slugging away at Wlad with no regard for what was coming back, but I think Wlad UD.

Ike - probably Wlad.

Tua - Wlad UD. Tua wouldn't win a round.

Golota - Wlad KO. Golota would get outboxed and caught with something big that'd drop him and make him want to quit.

Briggs - I actually think Briggs is a really dangerous guy for Wlad, the type that could pull off an upset in a similar fashion to Sanders. If Wlad can withstand the first few rounds I'd pick him to win, but the way Briggs comes out the gate swinging he has a great chance.

Wilder - Wlad KO. Wilder sucks and can't box. Can't take a punch either.

Ortiz - Wlad KO. Ortiz would be a sitting duck to Wlad's jab, right hand routine.

Whyte - Wlad KO. Whyte isn't remotely on his level.

 

Dempsey

Depends on the ref and the round limit. If the ref penalizes excessive holding and its for 12 rounds, i expect Dempsey to come out early and lay into Wlad like a weed whacker. It would be one of the most exciting first 5 rounds. If however Dempsey cannot stop him within that time frame or struggles to get past the jab, he gets slowly taken apart and loses by late round stoppage or a split decision. If the ref is lenient with clinching or it goes for 15, Wlad survives an early knock down and smothers Dempsey to death for a lopsided UD.

Baer

Wlad by TKO within 9-11 rounds. Baer had a 20-30% chance of pulling off a sudden knockout at any point with his powerful hayemakers and Wlad's lack of durability and proper defense, but more often than not Wladmir's overall ring generalship and superior boxing ability earns him a win.

Louis

Louis picks him apart. Ive thought about this match up and Louis blinding hand speed and superb technique are a nightmarish match up for a guy like Wlad who likes to slow the pace down and throw 1-2's on the outside. Louis could counter, slug, pressure, attack the body, or throw blistering combinations from mid range. He has a good sharp jab of his own and can parry so Wlad would not be able to just relax and pepper him with his own jab. Wlad's lack of proper defense outside of simply grabbing would cost him. Of course, Louis had a shaky chim himself and slow feet so he'd need to be in perfect shape and alert from start to finish. I favor Louis 6/10.

Marciano

Wlad picks him apart however he chooses. Ugly lopsided decision or late round TKO. The Rock only has maybe a 10% of landing a miracle bomb if Wlad gets careless.

Liston

Similar to the Louis fight only worse because Liston has a longer reach and a better chin. Liston beats the sheet out of him. The younger version of Wlad might have a better chance with his speed and offense.

Frazier

Hmm, the Puritty fight boiled down to the fact Wlad gassed himself out against a tough guy going for the KO. Wlad has no uppercut and doesn't know how to control short fighters the way Foreman did outside of grabbing. This would be a really ugly bout as prime Frazier's bobbing and weaving would enable him to dodge the straight predictable robotic shots of Wlad but be would inevitably get grabbed by the huge 240 pound Wlad as soon as he got inside. Like the Dempsey fight it depends on the ref. If Frazier can dig into Wlad's body and smother Wlad, he breaks him down and eventually stops him late. If Wlad can connect enough bombs on Frazier's chin tho, he might be able to force a stoppage.

Foreman

Young Foreman runs through him like a hot knife through butter. He cuts the ring off and pounds him into the canvas within 4. Old Foreman loses a close decision.

Lyle

Wlad gets off the floor in round 4 to eventually win by KO within 7-9 rounds in a brutal slug fest that has the fans on their feet from start to finish.

Shavers

Wlad by KO within 6 about 80% of the time. Shavers could land a bomb out of nowhere tho. Very, very dangerous fight for either guy as both had suspect chins with dynamite fists.

Cooney

It would look like the Wlad vs Wach fight but more brutal. Wlad picks him apart and eventually knocks him out by the 5th. Wlad wasn't really vulnerable to one trick pony specialists/1 armed bandits like Cooney.

Tyson

This would be a sizzling matchup depending on which version of either man. Prime Tyson vs young Wlad would be like a wild west shootout. I'd favor Tyson 7/10 but he would be badly hurt and bruised by the end like the Ruddock fights. Prime Tyson vs veteran Wlad would be a war for the ages. I can't really predict a winner, it would be awesome. Either version of Wlad easily stops a 90's Tyson using the Lennox and Holyfield fights as his blueprint.

Bruno

Lol Wlad by KO within 7. Bruno only lasts that long due to excessive clinching. This would be a very ugly and annoying fight tk watch but the knockout would be entertaining and the crowd would breath a sigh of relief after all the sweaty wrestling.

Smith

Omg you couldn't pay me to watch this bull ****. Wlad by UD in an even uglier fight than the Bruno fight.

Ruddock

Wlad by KO within 4-6 rounds. Too dumb and predictable for Steward trained Wlad. Young Wlad would be an interesting and fun slug fest tho.

Bowe

Prime Bowe beats the crap out of him. He can fight on the inside and outside. Way better chin and stamina with respectable power of his own and a way better combination puncher. Bowe could potentially outjab Wlad which would kill 80% of Wlad's offense and frustrate him. Bowe wins 8/10, often by knockout.

Lewis

50/50 fight. Both are extremely similar and have similar strengths and weaknesses. Lewis wins the rematch tho as he was better at making adjustments and had a bit more depth.

Mercer

I don't see why Wlad would lose even if this was prime Mercer. Wouldn't be too drastically different from their actual fight except Mercer might make it to the final bell with his superb chin.

Morrison

Wlad knocks Morrison out in 3-4 rounds.

McCall

Wlad by UD. McCall never shows up. Even if he's focused like the Lewis fight, Wlad would not be careless or leave himself open.

Ike

Wlad UD. Like is overrated af and his only elite KO is the tiny ex light heavy Byrd.

Tua

Wlad by lopsided ugly UD. Tua is just not aggressive enough and likely goes into his shell if he gets nailed hard.

Golota

Wlad by UD or stoppage. Golota finds a way to lose even if he finds some success by doing something stupid like an intentional foul or quitting if he gets badly hurt. **** Golota.

Briggs

This would be a funny ass fight and I'm mad we never got it. All depends on if Briggs can make a miracle happen within the first 3 rounds. After that, he starts to gas rapidly and gets stopped eventually if Wlad goes for it.

Wilder

Hard to predict. Wlad should be favored but if I was his promoter I wouldn't allow for this fight to happen since it's soooo dangerous. As of right now Wilder's lack of fundamentals would cost him more often than not and he gets taken out.

Ortiz

Wlad fought 1 southpaw and got brutally KO'd. I don't like his chances here. Ortiz is very patient and great at timing people. He's also skilled enough to win rounds with his Cuban schooling. Wlad could turn things around with his power, but Idk.

Whyte

Wlad makes easy work of the no defense caveman Whyte. KO within 5.

 

That’s about it.. I don’t think anyone could make it through that list undefeated

 

He would most likely be stopped by a number of the above. After getting KTFO twice he employed a safety first approach in a weak era.

Lewis.
Tyson.
Bowe
Liston
Foreman

A few others like Shavers, Lyle and Tua would have a punchers chance.