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:
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:
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.![]()
If God wanted us to be vegetarians, why are animals made of meat ?
I feel it's the right call. He went out on his shield against a young gun and has nothing left to prove.
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.
that's one way of looking at it
another is that he generated so much money that the rules were adapted so that he would have every chance of winning considering his flaws
if he didn't generate the amount of money he did or if he had fought several of his fights outside of his adopted homeland he would have lost his title long ago
and people go on about what a gentleman/professional he is/was
who gives a fuck? I enjoy watching boxing not someone talk articulately and hearing how he is faithful to his wife
Officially the only saddo who has had a girlfriend
eric44 you get excited about the activity outside the ring, stop pretending you do not. That is why you like Bellew v Haye or Eubank Junior.
Do not let success go to your head and do not let failure get to your heart.
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