What will Clinch-ko's legacy be?

[denilson200]

A lot of greats have lost in their primes inside the distance....I mean A LOT. Joe Frazier got blasted out, Foreman lost in his prime, Ali lost in his prime (if not for the draft dodging) albeit he wasn't KO'd until later on....still that Henry Cooper fight was dodgy as fuck Wlad never pulled any of that kind of shit. Lennox Lewis got stopped twice in his prime, Mike Tyson got stopped by Buster Douglas and that was at a time when people thought Tyson was unbeatable (but it's totally not his prime because his prime was with Cus and/or Rooney ), Jack Dempsey got stopped in his prime (Ko'd by Fireman Jim Flynn in 1)......even Joe Louis lost by KO right in the contender part of his career. It happens, Marciano, Johnson, Tunney, Holmes, those guys didn't get KO'd in their primes (though some of those guys were KO'd earlier or later but they got KO'd, except for Rocky and Gene The Fighting Marine).....those your all-time greats?

To be honest I can't really put in any better than titofan and if I did I'd be pretty much repeating what he has said.

But to add a few things. Frazier only to Ali and Foreman. Which like someone saying they only ever lost a 1 on 1 to M.Jordan and Magic Johnson or Lebron and Steph Curry (For the younger cats out there)

Also the Tyson - Douglas fight, read his book, Tyson spent the night with Japanese hookers, the day b4 the fight and even in that fight he still should have got the win as he knocked down Douglas 4 the count of 14. Tyson fell out of love for boxing long b4 the Douglas fight. Yeah Dempsey and Louis lost. But you can't seriously put WK in the same league as those guys

Lennox Lewis defeats were one punch KO's, that can happen in heavyweight boxing. WK defeats were systematic beat-downs. Big difference.

Did Ali lose in his prime ? I'd argue that Ali never fought in his prime due to his three year exile. The Cooper fight. Yup. Ali (Or Clay then) got lucky. Had that been a minute early, Cooper would have 100% finished him and who knows ? We may well never have heard of Ali if that would have happened. Crazy to think how sporting history may well have rested on such thin margins. Comes back to Al Pacino Speech in Any Given Sunday

I know you don't like to read anti-Wlad stuff from me particularly, but tough shit.

Joe Frazier got "blasted out" by none other than George Foreman, an ATG. After that fight he didn't change his fighting style.
Had the "Thrilla in Manila" with Ali later on.

Foreman lost in his prime to none other than Ali. He then lost to Jimmy Young and retired, only to come back years later for his storied 2nd career. He was still a big puncher... he was still aggressive, albeit a bit rounder and bit slower.

Lennox got knocked out twice, and came back to avenge both those knockouts with stoppages of his own.
Lewis did not change his fighting style 'cause he had gotten knocked out.

Mike Tyson got stopped by Buster Douglas and damn if people don't give Douglas enough credit for fighting the fight of his life. It was toe-to-toe for 10 rounds.
Mike didn't change his fighting style after that.

Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Marciano..... ALL those guys you mentioned maintained their aggressive, effective fighting style throughout their entire, illustrious, HOF careers.


Wladimir Klitschko got KO'ed early in his career by virtual bums. That experience, coupled with some coaching from Emanuel, turned Wlad into a timid little rabbit. Those fighters who were later knocked out by him were scared shitless themselves (ie: Ray Austin), or were downright bums (ie: Leapai, Pianeta). On other occasions the yellow streak was mutual (ie: Sultan, Haye), resulting in horrible fights. Finally, on the rare occasions the opponent was up to the task, Wlad would shamelessly foul, clinch, and maul to his heart's content (ie: Povetkin).

Wlad did change his fighting style to one of survival over aggression.



Every HW champion has had their share of bums on their resumes. But not until Wladimir has there been a HW champion so hated for what I've stated above. Sure, he's beloved in Germany. Who doesn't support their native (or adopted) son in the most prestigious title in all of sports? But outside of that, people abhor him. Why do you think the popularity of the HW division has plummeted since Wlad began his reign? A lot of people (myself included) were ecstatic when Wlad lost to Fury (I wanted a KO, but I'll wait for Joshua to do that). And where is Fury now? It doesn't matter. In fact, it's even MORE damning for Wlad to have lost to such a loser, in what was probably the WORST FUCKING FIGHT IN THE HISTORY OF THE HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION.... breaking all sorts of records for inactivity? WHY? Because as usual, Wlad was scared shitless. THAT is why he only managed to land a punch every full moon or so.

I'm sure your answers to me will not be as measured as they've been for the others, but again... FUCK IT.
Those are the facts, take them or leave them.