Re: how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??
People say Bowe's chin is great and although he has never been KO'd he never really fought the biggest punchers of his era and Holyfield knocked him down and hurt him several times.
Re: how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??
Some top quality and prospects were about in the early/mid 90's.Just grabbing a few off the top.
Ray Mercer was such a late starter out of the Olympics but made for a serious player.His problem was inconsistancy and he was no stranger to absorbing punches while attempting to get his own thuding shots home in one deminsional fashion.If you possessed good hands with a steady jab,a little movement and some ring caginess...Mercer would have some problems.I think Wlad has a nice combination of the three.A comebacking Larry Holmes put on a clinic after being rocked in the 1st round to surprise many people.Sharp jab,fast occasional right and a shuffle got it done for him over 12.Shite,Feather fisted Francisco Damiani boxed Mercers ears off for the majority of their fight before succumbing to one single inside uppercut that shattered his nose and left the Italian kneeling on the canvas,oozing blood for the count.Mercer seemed to re-tool things and step it up with Holyfield,actually fighting behind a hard busy jab and giving as good as he got until Holyfield came on strong in the late rounds,hurting Mercer with a jarring left hook and forcing Ray to take a knee.He went to war with Lennox Lewis a year later in a nip & tuck scrap that saw both take huge shots and battle back.Next he soaked up every right hand an in shape (for him anyway) Tim Witherspoon could manage for a nice 'suprise' win.I think that this Mercer stood a chance in with Wlad based on pressure and mentality,not to mention tremendous chin.Wlad could not wait around and hesitate to launch that straight right off Jab,and would very much need that left hook to work over time.He'd have to be very active the entire as Mercer did not detour easily.I can see Wlad taking it be unanimous call but he would work for it!!
One that would a total contrast might be a Razor Ruddock fight.One of the single hardest shots thrown by a Heavy in that era against a known checkable chin on Wlad.Ruddock had crappy balance and Either Brother would constantly stick a hard jab to head/body and vice versa to exploit it.Ruddock was hugely over reliant on that "Smash",that wicked left hook/left uppercut hybrid punch that he brought from the floor at times....and his right could be non existent.He'd have to throw his one trick pony with abandone and "IF" he found that chin under Wlads extended jab,Ruddock could very well KHTfarkout!!I just dont see it,Either brother has way too many tools that would take them to victory...Vitali possibly by TKO late.
How about ....Bruce Seldon.....:-X :lolhaha:.Actually Seldon had a very nice rapid fire jab of his own.But both bros would exploit Seldons aluminum foil chin,his constantly squarring up and ....lack of depth in Seldons chest region.
One that I think would be nice would be a very tip top shape Riddick Bowe.Bowe takes alot of flack,and frankly has him self to blame as he sabotaged himself with sloppy habits and an aloof attitude.When bowe was in rare form,at best...Holyfield 1,Gonzalez beat down and maybe Herbie Hide,he preformed very well.Bowe had some nice range and a solid jab from which he could close distance fast.One thing that gets over looked about Bowe Imo,is his ability as an inside fighter,solid body work and harsh uppercuts.Bowes chin was good though Holyfield cleaned his clock,Golota wobbled him,Herbie hide shook him,...He could be easily distracted ,I think Rock Newman had alot to do with that.I think a fit Bowe could TKO Wlad once he got around that jab.Vitali a different story though.Vitali would be able to surpass his strength,a solid beard of his own,and he would not hesitate to match Bowes punching when able.Edge to Vitali down stretch......Running on at the mouth,Need Coffee
Re: how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??
Tommy Morrison, Michael Moorer, Shannon Briggs, and Andrew Golota would have also been interesting matchups for the brothers.
I do like the Rudduck matchup as well...he was very strong but like you said he relied too much on the smash. Also if people think Wlad looks uncomfortable in the ring they should take a closer look at Razor....he was very tightly wound at times
Re: how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Lyle
Tommy Morrison, Michael Moorer, Shannon Briggs, and Andrew Golota would have also been interesting matchups for the brothers.
I do like the Rudduck matchup as well...he was very strong but like you said he relied too much on the smash. Also if people think Wlad looks uncomfortable in the ring they should take a closer look at Razor....he was very tightly wound at times
mercer just seems like the kind of guy that would be tailor made for the klitschkos to jab away and beat.
A prime holyfield would of given either brother absoloute nightmares for 12rounds - no way i could see Wlad getting anything other than KO`d in that one and Vitali probably as well.
Re: how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??
Well the Evander who got beaten by Moorer and the one who was stopped vs Bowe in the third fight or the one that fought Lennox Lewis in their first fight I think Wladimir could handle but it's a HORRIBLE style matchup when Evander is fully healthy as he applied so much pressure and had such a great chin that he could handle Wlad's punches. Vitali IMO could beat Holyfield, different style, different strengths....Vitali is one of the toughest fighters to give anyone a clear shot over him without having doubts.
Re: how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??
Vitali gives any heavyweight in history problems.....I think it is basically a tossup..I dont see anyone I would bet the house would beat him.....Wlad on the other hand would have trouble with fast, big punchers like Tyson.....The problem is Wlad can get rattled.......BUT if Wlad weathers the storm he has the physical gifts and power to create trouble for anyone....
The Klitchkos are up there when it comes to technically sound fighters and as we have seen with Hopkins it creates problems albeit not necessarily an exciting fight for the fans........
Re: how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Master
Vitali could hold his own but would lose to prime Bowe, Holyfield, Tyson and Lewis, but all were inconsistent so at certain time Vitali may have been able to beat them.
Wlad is getting better but would lose to even the inconsistent moments the champs mentioned above may have had.
You have totally hit the nail on the head with this one here Master.
I like Both Klits especially Vitali but at the end of the day he was starting to really struggle with an old out of shape Lennox. Had that Lennox turned up for either Holyfield fight or even the Tyson fight he would "probably" have been beaten whereas the more I watch the Vitali fight the more he seemed to be taking over upto the fight being stopped.
Vitali is the best around now and had he not got that injury we would probably have a champ with 12+ straight defences. But against probably the second best era the HW's have produced I think he falls horribly short!
Re: how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??
Quote:
Originally Posted by
hattonthehammer
d of given either brother absoloute nightmares for 12rounds - no way i could see Wlad getting anything other than KO`d in that one and Vitali probably as well.
The exact opposite is the case. Both brothers would have been an awful matchup even for a prime Holyfield. They are both simply too big and would have jabbed him to death. They'd have punished and probably stopped him even in his prime. Just not a good matchup for Holy
Re: how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??
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Originally Posted by
ClubberLang
Quote:
Originally Posted by
hattonthehammer
d of given either brother absoloute nightmares for 12rounds - no way i could see Wlad getting anything other than KO`d in that one and Vitali probably as well.
The exact opposite is the case. Both brothers would have been an awful matchup even for a prime Holyfield. They are both simply too big and would have jabbed him to death. They'd have punished and probably stopped him even in his prime. Just not a good matchup for Holy
No way! If Holy showed up for a fight with either brother in full health and in his prime he would totally school both!
Re: how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??
Quote:
Originally Posted by
rjj tszyu
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ClubberLang
Quote:
Originally Posted by
hattonthehammer
d of given either brother absoloute nightmares for 12rounds - no way i could see Wlad getting anything other than KO`d in that one and Vitali probably as well.
The exact opposite is the case. Both brothers would have been an awful matchup even for a prime Holyfield. They are both simply too big and would have jabbed him to death. They'd have punished and probably stopped him even in his prime. Just not a good matchup for Holy
No way! If Holy showed up for a fight with either brother in full health and in his prime he would totally school both!
Holyfield dealt with bowes height advantage with some ease and was able to run rings around him quite often.
The evander holyfield that turned up and beat tyson twice and bowe once would of found a way to make both klitschkos fight his fight!
Re: how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??
Holyfield always had trouble with Bowe's jab and that is the best weapon of Wlad. Holyfield would eventually catch up with Wlad because he could not live with the intensity of Holyfield that fought Bowe the first time. Vitali would probably survive to the end but lose a decision.
Re: how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??
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Originally Posted by
Killface
As much trouble as Wlad had with Ray Mercer I reckon Mercer would have had his way with him back in his prime.
What??? Wlad absolutely destroyed Mercer! I've never seen Mercer take such a horrendous beating as he did from Wlad.
And as unpopular as the Klitschko's may be, there is one undeniable fact: Those guys would do great in ANY era, and on any given night could have beaten any HW who ever lived. I'm not saying they are the best HWs ever, I don't even think they are top 10. But anybody with a combination of that much size and that much talent would be AT THE VERY LEAST an A-level, title contender in ANY era.
Re: how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ClubberLang
Quote:
Originally Posted by
hattonthehammer
d of given either brother absoloute nightmares for 12rounds - no way i could see Wlad getting anything other than KO`d in that one and Vitali probably as well.
The exact opposite is the case. Both brothers would have been an awful matchup even for a prime Holyfield. They are both simply too big and would have jabbed him to death. They'd have punished and probably stopped him even in his prime. Just not a good matchup for Holy
Agreed. Look what Lewis did to Holyfield.
Re: how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Taeth
I don't necessarily think so, I don't see how prime Mercer would have an easier time getting past that jab. Wlad is much better IMO at using his height than Lennox was who fought more athletically and especially against Mercer failed to really impose his size on Mercer, nor did Lennox tie Mercer up on the inside which Wlad would do everytime Mercer got in close.
I think Vitali would be competitive and probably at the top of any division all the way back. IMO it wasn't just Lennox's age that made the fight so hard for him. Vitali is that good. He's so tall, great chin, good defensive skills, and still pretty athletic. This guy could compete with anyone who's ever fought.
Though I think either could compete at the top level at any time in the sports history..
I agree especially on Vitaly...The man is damn good and impressive, when at the top of his game he is frightning..
His chin is one of the best ever...He hits so damn hard...He can move...he can fight in more then one style...
The man is the complete package...To say otherwise is ust hating on the Klitschko name not genuine boxing opinion
Re: how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??
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Originally Posted by
Master
Holyfield always had trouble with Bowe's jab and that is the best weapon of Wlad. Holyfield would eventually catch up with Wlad because he could not live with the intensity of Holyfield that fought Bowe the first time. Vitali would probably survive to the end but lose a decision.
Now we have no doubt seen evidence of Wlad totally gassing out during a fight and that's why I think Holyfield is a horrible match up for him but make no doubt about it Evander would have had to edure a hellacious beating to win.
Vitali on the other hand is durable and is far too economical with his punches to lose a decision to Evander.
