Quote Originally Posted by Beanflicker View Post
Quote Originally Posted by erics44 View Post
wlad is very good at holding, and when he does he is very good at leaning and sapping the strength of his opponents, this wins him the fights
I don't think this is as big a factor as you say. In the Povetkin fight it was horrendous, but usually Wlad stays on the outside and boxes. I don't remember ever seeing him jumping in to hold and lean like he did with Povetkin. He ties guys up when they try to bum rush him, but that's the same stuff Floyd and Bhop do. It's going to happen more at HW because these are much bigger, slower, less agile guys.

You seem to be telling me that Wlad doesn't have elite boxing skill and simply uses his size to hold and lean to win fights, and that just doesn't mesh with what I've seen of him over the years.

And in the Povektin fight, in the early stages Wlad was doing all the holding IMO, but at the midway point onward Povetkin was hurt, tired and resigned to the fact that he was going to lose the fight and I remember many times him initiating the clinches on the inside and holding onto Wlad while Wlad held his arms in the air to prove he wasn't holding.

That's how I remember it, but there's no way in hell I'm going back to rewatch it to confirm my memory
believe me it is absolutely everything, take it away he wouldnt still be champ, no doubt at all

its also a completely different thing holding/surviving when youre hurt, provetkin did that in the 9th or something, the shocking thing about that fight wasnt the amount wlad was holding (coz he always does that), it was amount he was still holding at a point the the fight when a fart would have finished it