Vitali TKO, WLd doesnt have a heart or stamina to beat Vitali...his amazing gtalent let him be dominant but he aint going to beat Vitali on talent alone...
I go with Wlad. Much better jab and overall defense. Vitalis chin would not hold up to Wlads power shots. Which means he would have to respect Wlad - and losing a wide UD or RSC (due to cuts) by doing so.
I have always thought Vitali was the superior of the two. Wlad is the better athlete being faster and more powerful but Vitali simply has the better skills. Wlad has quicker feet but Vitali's movement and judge of distance is better, Vitali's head and upper body movement is better as well and Vitali is a far better counter puncher. Throw in the granite chin which will take away Wlad's power advantage and the fact Vitali can work at a rate that would see Wlad gas badly if he doesn't stop Vitali earlier in the fight and barring a freak injury I have Vitali winning most of the time, probably by a late stoppage.
Been done before. Wlad COULD blow Vitali out, I think he is one of the few with the power and technique to do so. Much more likely is that Vitali grinds him down over the long stretch probably stopping him late. I don't think Wlad has the constitution to go to war with Vitali, even if he is technically better in many aspects.
The thing with Vitalis low guard combined with head movement is that it wouldn't work against Wlad. Lennox could find his jab more than enough, but Wladimirs jab would translate to pure poison for Vitali. And if Sanders could rock, and almost knock down Vitali, i'm sure Vitali would have to be much more cautious against Wlad. Which means less risk taking and less energy spending from them both which in turn would benefit Wlads gameplan even more. Another thing: Vitali didn't use lateral movement as much, I'm sure Wlad would clock him down continuously with the jab.
Vitali at any point in his career was better than any version of Wlad ever. I don't think it's close either. Except he got beaten twice fair and square in his prime. :huh Unless you can point out what was unfair about his losses with respect to the actual rules of boxing?
I don't think it's going to be anywhere near as easy as some people are making it out to be but I pick Vitali to win a messy decision, although a Wladimir victory on cuts is certainly a possibility.