Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko II

[Master]

Vitali Klitschko admits he is plagued by guilt about his brother Wladimir's defeat by Anthony Joshua after offering the "wrong advice" in the corner at Wembley.

The Ukrainian appeared on the brink of a dramatic victory when he floored Joshua in the sixth round of the world heavyweight title fight, but the home favourite fought back to produce a stunning stoppage win in the 11th round.

Vitali was part of Wladimir's coaching team and bitterly regrets his decision to demand a cautious approach from his younger brother after he badly hurt Joshua.

He told Boxingscene.com: "Immediately after the fight, we were barely speaking. We do not need to talk, it was just enough to look into each other's eyes.

"Only in the locker room, I thanked him for one of the best fights of his career. I know how important this fight was for him and unfortunately, we saw what happened. In the heavyweight division, each punch can be decisive.

"I blame myself for the defeat of my brother, I share some of the blame. When Wladimir almost knocked Joshua out, I gave him the wrong advice.

"I was positive that Joshua, with his huge muscle mass, would not be able to last [the distance]. I advised Wladimir not to rush anything. I had hoped that after the seventh, the eighth round, Joshua would really slow down.

"Now I think that maybe it was a mistake, maybe it was necessary to finish him off sooner."

Wladimir is expected to make a decision within the next two weeks about a possible rematch, but Vitali will stand by him regardless of whether he choose to fight on, or enter retirement.

"To be honest, Wladimir has nothing more to prove," said Vitali. "I do not know any other boxers who have gathered as many titles and defended them all, dominating for more than 10 years.

"He has nothing to prove, but whatever decision he makes - I will support him."

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxin...cid=spartanntp

[smashup]

Wlad should have just gone for it and ignored his brother, fuck me he's been a pro long enough and a fighters own instincts should tell him that if you've just violently put someone down and they get up wobbling around like a pisshead on roller skates then finish them off.

[Spicoli]

Fight and fighters worthy of a rematch but hard to see AJ making the same mistake blowing his wad and don't think Wlad can keep up the movement he had. Roles may very well reverse and maybe Wlad goes for the ko knowing he can also hurt him, and that it's likely his final fight. Can't see more than 7 round.

[Memphis]

I think Wlad gets a lot of unwarranted stick for not getting Joshua out of there. He landed left hooks and right hands, he 'Naz'd' Joshua into the turnbuckle and lumped him with several cheeky uppercuts when Joshua tried to tie up. All in the same round. He tried alright.

[Fenster]

Yeah hindsight. If Wlad had gone loco and got himself ironed out the sentiment would have been - "he should've took his time, placed his shots, he'd have knocked Joshua out."

The same people certain, with a bit more venom, Wlad would have sparked out Joshua will be those certain Dylan Whyte's wild lack of experience was the reason he didn't finish Joshua off.

[El Kabong]

People who know Wlad's career know about these things....Wlad has a very good killer instinct, HOWEVER, he's been guilty of pushing too hard too quickly most specifically vs Purrity and Brewster I. It's got to be difficult as a fighter having been guilty of that, to really KNOW for certain that a guy is about to go, it's a leap of faith and guys can get timid when it comes to doing that especially when they've had it bite them in the ass before.


I think the ONLY issue Wlad had in the Joshua fight is that he hadn't been in a fight for a very long time before such a huge bout. Maybe if Wlad feels sharper, maybe if he has less ring rust (can't tell if he had much, he still looked good in the fight) but that would be the only issue I think that would have been cause for concern. With AJ getting hurt and going down, it's hard to know how he'll answer that question because it's the first time as a pro we've seen him deal with it. AJ did alright, he was certainly hurt but the dude has power to fire back and he controlled himself very well for being hurt.


Hindsight is 20/20 it was a very solid fight and here's hoping the rematch gives us even more entertainment

[erics44]

seen a few places saying wlads not having it after all

im glad me, id rather see him fight Pulev