HW prospects..

[El Kabong]

I agree with Rafael on things here and there and he does have a favorable view of Wladimir, but Wlad already fights pretty often usually 2 times a year and he's running out of opponents. Wlad has 13 successful title defenses (or there abouts) so far and to get 25 would only be difficult in terms of finding guys ready & willing to fight him. Rafael writes like if Wlad wanted to he could break that record tomorrow.

[rjj tszyu]

I see Mitchell getting KO'd if he moves up a level now. I just don't see him living with guys like Arreola, Chambers and Adamek. Klitschko would kill him!

[THE PHILOSOPHER]

I see Mitchell getting KO'd if he moves up a level now. I just don't see him living with guys like Arreola, Chambers and Adamek. Klitschko would kill him!

Mitchell is a schooling waiting to happen....a tarvoris cloud/jeff lacy type fighter! Im a fan but he's not ever going to be great.

[THE PHILOSOPHER]

I agree with Rafael on things here and there and he does have a favorable view of Wladimir, but Wlad already fights pretty often usually 2 times a year and he's running out of opponents. Wlad has 13 successful title defenses (or there abouts) so far and to get 25 would only be difficult in terms of finding guys ready & willing to fight him. Rafael writes like if Wlad wanted to he could break that record tomorrow.

I don't rate him as a writer. He does have his good points though, being a wlad fan is one of them.

Povertkin needs to man up. It would seal a great resume and would probably be at least a top 3 win for wlad. Povetkin doesn't want to know though! Shame because its a natural fight to make just like lewis v byrd was in the early 00's.

[rjj tszyu]

I agree with Rafael on things here and there and he does have a favorable view of Wladimir, but Wlad already fights pretty often usually 2 times a year and he's running out of opponents. Wlad has 13 successful title defenses (or there abouts) so far and to get 25 would only be difficult in terms of finding guys ready & willing to fight him. Rafael writes like if Wlad wanted to he could break that record tomorrow.

You know what is a scary thought? What if Wlad had gone straight to Manny after the Olympic win. I personally believe it took Manny around 4 years to get Wlad fighting as well as he is now and I know he still pushes him to improve and move in for the kill more. Well imagine he did take him under his wing in 96, he would have had regular sparring with Lennox Lewis and what's more what took him 4 years to teach a fully grown man might well have taken him half that thus leaving much more time as a youth to develop even further.

It's all what's, if's and maybes now but it's worth thinking when you talk about how many defences Wlad could have made. I personally don't think he'll catch Louis now because he's not as active as he was a few years ago mainly due to injury, but had Steward taken him from the Olympics I think we could have had a 30+ defences man in the HW division.