How you can elevate a fighter like Wlad to any status, when there still remains a question mark on a crucial part of his game. We knew he would look great with Chagaev, because we knew Chagaev would go along with the program and get impailed on the outside. We were excited to see Haye who was talking about doing what it took to beat Wlad, and that was take the fight to him. It was easy for emanuel Steward to see if he was wasting his time with Lennox Lewis because he knew exactly where to go when he felt Lewis was ready to showcase what he had taught him, and that was Ray Mercer. He knew Ray could take a punch, had good overall skills and would take the fight to Lewis. The pool of fighters was long and deep. Wlamdirs fights have been a big broken record. The same fight over and over. European fighters who dont know how to fight and try and outbox him which isnt going to happen. To attain greatness you have to face other good fighters who present different styles. When presented with a fighting style Wlad has looked ordinary in my opinion, so until he faces a guy who presents a real threat to his vulnerabilities and he comes through like he does in his other fights with a dominant performance, Im going to hold off my annointing oil.
All these men would be feeling hard done by to be rated below Wlad (although some may ultimately rate below him): Frazier Holyfield Bowe Wills Jeffries Ezzrd Charles Walcott Patterson Norton
Off the top of my head any of the following would KO Wlad ... Ali Holmes Lewis Bowe Liston Foreman Louis Frazier Witherspoon Tyson Holyfield Johnson Dempsey Vitali Harry Wills This is just for starters ... there a likely a dozen more ... Let's give Wlad credit for maximizing his talents and hiding his HUGE flaws ... a glass jaw and questionable stamina ... to call him great is a joke ... Definately Norton has a real shot ...
Wlad is top 20 still IMO. His lack of quality opposition and the three KO losses will be hard to thrust him into the top 10. He may very well crack into it if he cleans out the division without losing.
If we consider last night's version of Wlad, NOT his worst version when he lost to lesser fighters: Louis would get knocked out by Wlad. Give Wlad 6 OZ gloves from that era and Wlad's power is even more devastating. Louis had great handspeed but very little footwork. Foreman has the power to knock Wlad out, but would he be able to use it? Wlad is taller and faster, a very difficult combination when you have to overcome the distance. Same for Liston, he was slower than Wlad and his style wasn't designed to get inside a much bigger fighter. Frazier? Sorry, not in a million years. Wlad probably has 90% of Foreman's power, but is taller and much more accurate. Frazier goes down in 6 - 8 rounds. Bowe? Maybe, but not likely. Bowe was slower than Wlad and less skilled, he couldn't throw a straight punch if his life depended on it. If Golota easily outjabbed Bowe, what would Wlad's jab do to him? Ali KO'ing Wlad? Excuse me, Ali had little one - punch power. He didn't go to the body and didn't fight inside. Outboxing Wlad from the outside is possible for Ali, but considering the size - speed ration, his speed advantage would be less than most people think. Ali could be hurt by left hooks and Wlad's left hook is harder and faster than that of Frazier of Cooper. Withespoon? No way. Holyfield rarely knocked out elite opponents who were in shape. Last night's Wlad would beat the best version of Moorer easily. Holyfield lost four out of five against Bowe and Lewis, who are most similar to Wlad. Tyson is an obvious choice to knock Wlad out, but he sometimes struggled with big men with far less skill than Wlad. Lennox Lewis is the one fighter who matches Wlad's physical attributes and had great skills. And just like Wlad, he was underrated for a long time...
... at making it out of the first round, since Wlad usually measures his opponent in the first. Second round, it's good night.
Wlad is brilliant at controlling range. Vitali is the same. They both hate fighters to come inside on them. They usually just hold once an opponent gets up close. Wlad fought very well last night. His jab was on the money often, as was the right hand when he let it go. While his jab is accurate and powerful, it could be doing with some more speed on it. Not quite the jab of a Holmes.
Based on what he has done so far, I can't find a place in my top 10 heavyweights for Wladimir. I do now recognize him as the true heavyweight champion, and I have seen worse guys hold that title. I'm satisfied calling him champ. :good
Fair enough ,I didnt mean to come down so harshly , on what was a considered post .Time will tell:good
On the contrary, I like him very much. I think he is a great ambassador for the sport. He is a classy guy. He comes into each bout in terrific shape and gives his best. I have said this here and on several other Boards. I simply view him as a limited fighter. We all know he got crushed by Sanders and by Brewster ... little is made of his gift win over DaVarryl Williamson ... see the knockdown ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RylOgj0KtqY Why never a rematch on such a terrible stopage due to a cut ? Here is Wlad against Purrity ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIXlSfoPzWc&feature=related Here is Sanders ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3IdCE6UYlw and Brewster ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5Lf_wXLPkg Now you guys are actually telling me this china chinned giant with terrible recooperative powers and limited stamina is a top ten all time great becaused he has managed to beat a pathetic group of challangers ? I say NO WAY. At best he is this generations heavyweight version of Virgil Hill , a fighter that does the best he can with what he has , represents the sport well, is likeable and is very lucky he is fighting extremely limited opposition.
Arguably has 3 wins over Ali, 1 over Holmes to add to wins over Quarry, Young, Bobbick. Both have devastating KO losses, but Norton faced better punchers. I did note Wlad will end up ahead of some of these fighters based on dominance despite the poor era he is dominant in