Actually I preferred the great line he came out with before his 2nd fight with Toney: "I weel heet him so hard he weel regret everything in his life" Quality!
I kinda wish for the Wlad of old.. goddamn Corrie Sanders for making him timid. He was much more entertaining.. I'd rather him rely on his offense to keep people away rather than clinching.
Of course it was an awful performance, he only hit him two or three times and Ibragimov did nothing but lean to one side for the duration. Wlad should have banged him out of there and got it over with. Response to OP RE Thompson: Poor performance against average fighter. Reminded me a lot of the McCline fight, hardly any punches thrown both too timid to do anything.
Did everyone forget that Ibragimov is a known KO artist? He wanted Wlad to reach in to counter him. Wlad could see that so he chose to jab the guy to death. There's nothing wrong with that. Iggy hits like a mule according to many who have fought him. Just because a guy isn't 6'6" and 250 doesn't mean he can't hit hard. Want proof? One name: Mike Tyson. Thompson was a bit different in that he was just as big as Wladimir. He had a very solid chin and countered Wladimir very often. One look at Wladimir's face after the fight proves that. He also out landed, out jabbed, and out punched Wladimir. Something that nobody else had ever done. So Thompson was actually fighting and came to win. Wlad was technically superior and won the fight based on the delivery of an awesome right hand thrown over Thompsons left.
Wlad had been saying since day 1 that "while Thompson was not impressive, he was very effective." Thompson is a much better fighter than alot of people give him credit for. He has very good defense, good chin and is very awkward. I give Wlad alot of credit. He was throwing all punches including a very large # of rights. He was very aggressive and showed great stamina that so many question about him. To come out the way he did in round 11 and knock Thompson out shows that his stamina has improved greatly and is really no longer an issue
Excellent post :good :good I just dont understand why people cant see what Iggy was trying to do. Wlad should get credit for his rings smarts
I was very impressed with Thompson's Chin especially early in the fight. He took some flush right hands and did not back off like several of Wlad's opponents have.
You think its just so easy to get in and KO a guy. Iggy was so far back I dont think Wlad could have reached him. Do you know boxing? its very clear that Iggy's game plan was to get Wlad to reach for him and try and counter. Wlad should get credit for understanding that and not falling into the trap. IMO the fight was boring due to IGGY not Wlad
All of us in Wlads camp were amazed. There is a reason that Thompson had not lost in 8 years prior to Wlad. The guy has a great chin
I wasn't. He took a couple of shots and lost heart. He may not have backed off, but he stopped throwing punches, lost his aggression, lost his belief. Dreadful performance.
What's all this talking up Thompson bollocks? Who is/was he? Awkward Southpaw? :rofl It wasn't exactly Pernell Whittaker in there. Thompson just stood there with no much movement the whole fight, he just kept his gloves high. Dick Wad-imir could have KO'd him in 3 rounds but as usual he was cautious. Thompson was not Awkward. He did not fight like a normal Southpaw. Where was his jab? What skill did he show? He was undefeated so what? Who did he beat? Imagine what Lewis would have done to Thompson for Heavens sake. :yep