Quote Originally Posted by Beanflicker View Post
Quote Originally Posted by TitoFan View Post
You're giving Wlad's opponents waaaay too much credit, IMO. Did you see the Ray Austin fight? Tell me at what point Austin appeared to throw a punch in anger at Wlad. How about Sultan? Twelve miserable rounds of incessant pawing at an opponent (Wlad) who, curiously, was just as scared of getting tagged with Sultan's vaunted left hand. Haye? As was said earlier, if Haye didn't break Guinness records in trash talking before the fight..... he came pretty damn close. And what did he do in the fight? Diddly squat..... and then proceeded to blame his big toe.

The only one I'll give you is Povetkin. The guy put in an honest effort, and tried to win. What nobody foresaw, however, were Wlad's ridiculous mauling, grappling and fouling tactics. Whatever it takes to win.

The Pianetas and Leapais of the world probably wanted to win, too. But they were so ridiculously outgunned (and never should've been there in the first place).... it's difficult to give Wlad credit on those as well.

No. Wlad's collective opponents get no break in my book. I may have to grudgingly give Wlad credit for dominating the division for the last forever years. But I'm not about to let the collective heap of garbage that has paraded in front of Wlad off the hook.
Seems like a mighty big coincidence that all these guys freely decided to not put in a big effort in the biggest fight of their lives, doesn't it?


Intimidation Bean....... intimidation. It does funny things to a man. I've given you some hard examples. Austin. He had the physical tools. His effort, though, was shameful. Sultan all he did for 12 rounds was meekly paw his jab and stay away. Wlad didn't force any action, either. Haye talked a bunch of sh*t.... but didn't back it up.

Wlad fans take this as an affront against Wlad. It isn't (well... except for his dirty fight vs Povetkin). It's a condemnation of his opponents. Every other HW champion in recent memory had their memorable fights. Tell me how many memorable battles Wlad has had. Then people claim Wlad isn't liked in the States 'cause he isn't American. Hogwash! I think that's a convenient excuse, to hide the real fact that Wlad isn't popular in the States because his fights are as dull as dishwater.

Wlad himself hasn't done himself any favors. He obviously enjoys his inmense popularity in Europe, and has done f*ck all to try and win over Stateside fans. That's obviously his choice... but then again it's the right of us fans not to like him for it. If he was a true ATG in his division, he'd make more of an effort to fight in the U.S. more often... and engage like the Tysons, the Lewises, and the Foremans used to do.