Wlad Klit Retires

[Master]

Not really surprised by this. Fair play to him. Nothing more to prove. The hunger no longer there so why bother.

A new era can properly begin now. Wlad and dare I say it Fury both bow out.

David Haye will worm his way back in ffs. It will happen

I read Hughie is being lined up to fight Haye if he wins the WBO title.

[powerpuncher]

I'll say something nice about Wlad since he is retiring. He was a respectable guy outside the ring and he definitely learned from early mistakes in his career and improved himself so respect for that.

I'm so glad he isn't fighting AJ again. Great first fight but a second fight wasn't necessary.

[Kirkland Laing]

He waited till the last fight of his career before being in an exciting fight. He was never going to fight Joshua again, he could never have faced taking another beating.

He'll always be remembered by boxing fans for his greatest moment though:

[El Kabong]

He waited till the last fight of his career before being in an exciting fight. He was never going to fight Joshua again, he could never have faced taking another beating.

He'll always be remembered by boxing fans for his greatest moment though:

Typical classless post from you Kirkland but no matter how much you and any other hater bitches about Wlad you're not going to erase him from the sport where he was one of the best of All-Time, the numbers do not lie.

[X]

A giant of his era and the undoubted dominant heavyweight of his generation. An Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist and the recognised professional heavyweight champion of the world for over a decade. Those achievements alone qualify his to get into the first or second tier of World Heavyweight Champions.

A auperb athlete, 6'6" tall, very well built and an utter professional in his preparation... you never saw Wladimir out of shape between fights, he never undertrained for an opponent and he carried himself with class and dignity throughout his career both inside and outside the ropes. He never demeaned or damaged the reputation of the Heavyweight Champion through any bad behaviour, scandal or newspaper headline. Very very well schooled as an amateur and he successfully carried that style into the pros.

Yes, I felt he could be hurt, and he could gas out quite badly early in his career, but he was intelligent enough to work that out and to develop a style that hugely played to his physical strengths and negates his opponents effectiveness - and he copped a lot of criticism for that which I suspect will slightly tarnish his legacy.

I always thought Vitali was a better fighter, but Wlad achieved more, for longer and it's that longevity that marks him out as something a bit special.

So long, Champ, all the best for the future and thanks for the memories.

[Alpha]

I feel it's the right call. He went out on his shield against a young gun and has nothing left to prove.

[erics44]

A giant of his era and the undoubted dominant heavyweight of his generation. An Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist and the recognised professional heavyweight champion of the world for over a decade. Those achievements alone qualify his to get into the first or second tier of World Heavyweight Champions.

A auperb athlete, 6'6" tall, very well built and an utter professional in his preparation... you never saw Wladimir out of shape between fights, he never undertrained for an opponent and he carried himself with class and dignity throughout his career both inside and outside the ropes. He never demeaned or damaged the reputation of the Heavyweight Champion through any bad behaviour, scandal or newspaper headline. Very very well schooled as an amateur and he successfully carried that style into the pros.

Yes, I felt he could be hurt, and he could gas out quite badly early in his career, but he was intelligent enough to work that out and to develop a style that hugely played to his physical strengths and negates his opponents effectiveness - and he copped a lot of criticism for that which I suspect will slightly tarnish his legacy.

I always thought Vitali was a better fighter, but Wlad achieved more, for longer and it's that longevity that marks him out as something a bit special.

So long, Champ, all the best for the future and thanks for the memories.

did you watch the same fights as me? not sure how anyone can clap at any of them

are you not a bit gutted that for 10 years of your adult life that was the HW division?

[Batman]

A giant of his era and the undoubted dominant heavyweight of his generation. An Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist and the recognised professional heavyweight champion of the world for over a decade. Those achievements alone qualify his to get into the first or second tier of World Heavyweight Champions.

A auperb athlete, 6'6" tall, very well built and an utter professional in his preparation... you never saw Wladimir out of shape between fights, he never undertrained for an opponent and he carried himself with class and dignity throughout his career both inside and outside the ropes. He never demeaned or damaged the reputation of the Heavyweight Champion through any bad behaviour, scandal or newspaper headline. Very very well schooled as an amateur and he successfully carried that style into the pros.

Yes, I felt he could be hurt, and he could gas out quite badly early in his career, but he was intelligent enough to work that out and to develop a style that hugely played to his physical strengths and negates his opponents effectiveness - and he copped a lot of criticism for that which I suspect will slightly tarnish his legacy.

I always thought Vitali was a better fighter, but Wlad achieved more, for longer and it's that longevity that marks him out as something a bit special.

So long, Champ, all the best for the future and thanks for the memories.

did you watch the same fights as me? not sure how anyone can clap at any of them

are you not a bit gutted that for 10 years of your adult life that was the HW division?

He wasn't praising him for being in exciting bloodbaths, he was praising him for his utterly professional approach in and out of the ring and for ironing out the flaws that we saw early on in his career, whether you disagree with his style (or as you like to put it his blatant cheating) the point is that he saw his own flaws and acted on sorting them out.