how would the klitschkos have got on during the late 80s/early 90s era??

[Master]

Vitali could hold his own but would lose to prime Bowe, Holyfield, Tyson and Lewis, but all were inconsistent so at certain time Vitali may have been able to beat them.

Wlad is getting better but would lose to even the inconsistent moments the champs mentioned above may have had.

[ukansodoff]

The division is awful right now. But i believe that the 2 brothers are the only ones good enough to of competed at the top level in those times.

[HattonTheHammer]

Vitali could hold his own but would lose to prime Bowe, Holyfield, Tyson and Lewis, but all were inconsistent so at certain time Vitali may have been able to beat them.

Wlad is getting better but would lose to even the inconsistent moments the champs mentioned above may have had.

i could never see Wlad surviving a holyfield-bowe type war they went through and eventually taking a 10 count on the floor at some point. Vitali on the other hand probably would of been too good a boxer to get drawn into an all out fight like that though whether he would of been good enough to take holyfields ring guile or bowes power i just dont know?

Lewis would of boxed both guys heads off in his prime ive no reason to think otherwise. An 18 year old tyson would of probably steam rollered his way through Wlad the second he was able to get inside though again with vitali he may just of been good enough to play hare for a couple of rounds thus wearing iron mike out!

[Taeth]

Vitali could hold his own but would lose to prime Bowe, Holyfield, Tyson and Lewis, but all were inconsistent so at certain time Vitali may have been able to beat them.

Wlad is getting better but would lose to even the inconsistent moments the champs mentioned above may have had.

i could never see Wlad surviving a holyfield-bowe type war they went through and eventually taking a 10 count on the floor at some point. Vitali on the other hand probably would of been too good a boxer to get drawn into an all out fight like that though whether he would of been good enough to take holyfields ring guile or bowes power i just dont know?

Lewis would of boxed both guys heads off in his prime ive no reason to think otherwise. An 18 year old tyson would of probably steam rollered his way through Wlad the second he was able to get inside though again with vitali he may just of been good enough to play hare for a couple of rounds thus wearing iron mike out!

Lewis wasn't as good of a pure boxer in his physical prime later on, he was definitely good, but Vitali clearly showed Lennox would never box his head off. Lennox is my favorite heavyweight ever, and I think Vitalit gives him in his prime the hardest fight of his life.

You are right Wladimir Klitschko would never be able to survive a Holyfield-Bowe type war, but he would never a fight agianst a guy 6'2 turn into a war. WHen guys who are 240 can't handle the power of his jab, I would love to see Holyfield do it.

[Hunter]

Vitali gives any heavyweight in history problems.....I think it is basically a tossup..I dont see anyone I would bet the house would beat him.....Wlad on the other hand would have trouble with fast, big punchers like Tyson.....The problem is Wlad can get rattled.......BUT if Wlad weathers the storm he has the physical gifts and power to create trouble for anyone....

The Klitchkos are up there when it comes to technically sound fighters and as we have seen with Hopkins it creates problems albeit not necessarily an exciting fight for the fans........

[Taeth]

Vitali could hold his own but would lose to prime Bowe, Holyfield, Tyson and Lewis, but all were inconsistent so at certain time Vitali may have been able to beat them.

Wlad is getting better but would lose to even the inconsistent moments the champs mentioned above may have had.

Tyson couldn't even beat Buster Douglas when he was a this worst, wasn't able to impose his well on Bonecrusher Smith at his best. If he can't land that big shot then He loses against either brother.

Bowe is so overrated. He was a good fighter who definitely had heart, but Vitali and Wlad are too big, and hit too hard for him. He probably would be favored to beat Wlad due to his chin, but no way does he even come close to beating Vitali.

Only Lennox of those 4 could handle Vitali the rest are simply too small.

[El Kabong]

People say Bowe's chin is great and although he has never been KO'd he never really fought the biggest punchers of his era and Holyfield knocked him down and hurt him several times.

[Spicoli]

Some top quality and prospects were about in the early/mid 90's.Just grabbing a few off the top.

Ray Mercer was such a late starter out of the Olympics but made for a serious player.His problem was inconsistancy and he was no stranger to absorbing punches while attempting to get his own thuding shots home in one deminsional fashion.If you possessed good hands with a steady jab,a little movement and some ring caginess...Mercer would have some problems.I think Wlad has a nice combination of the three.A comebacking Larry Holmes put on a clinic after being rocked in the 1st round to surprise many people.Sharp jab,fast occasional right and a shuffle got it done for him over 12.Shite,Feather fisted Francisco Damiani boxed Mercers ears off for the majority of their fight before succumbing to one single inside uppercut that shattered his nose and left the Italian kneeling on the canvas,oozing blood for the count.Mercer seemed to re-tool things and step it up with Holyfield,actually fighting behind a hard busy jab and giving as good as he got until Holyfield came on strong in the late rounds,hurting Mercer with a jarring left hook and forcing Ray to take a knee.He went to war with Lennox Lewis a year later in a nip & tuck scrap that saw both take huge shots and battle back.Next he soaked up every right hand an in shape (for him anyway) Tim Witherspoon could manage for a nice 'suprise' win.I think that this Mercer stood a chance in with Wlad based on pressure and mentality,not to mention tremendous chin.Wlad could not wait around and hesitate to launch that straight right off Jab,and would very much need that left hook to work over time.He'd have to be very active the entire as Mercer did not detour easily.I can see Wlad taking it be unanimous call but he would work for it!!

One that would a total contrast might be a Razor Ruddock fight.One of the single hardest shots thrown by a Heavy in that era against a known checkable chin on Wlad.Ruddock had crappy balance and Either Brother would constantly stick a hard jab to head/body and vice versa to exploit it.Ruddock was hugely over reliant on that "Smash",that wicked left hook/left uppercut hybrid punch that he brought from the floor at times....and his right could be non existent.He'd have to throw his one trick pony with abandone and "IF" he found that chin under Wlads extended jab,Ruddock could very well KHTfarkout!!I just dont see it,Either brother has way too many tools that would take them to victory...Vitali possibly by TKO late.

How about ....Bruce Seldon..... .Actually Seldon had a very nice rapid fire jab of his own.But both bros would exploit Seldons aluminum foil chin,his constantly squarring up and ....lack of depth in Seldons chest region.

One that I think would be nice would be a very tip top shape Riddick Bowe.Bowe takes alot of flack,and frankly has him self to blame as he sabotaged himself with sloppy habits and an aloof attitude.When bowe was in rare form,at best...Holyfield 1,Gonzalez beat down and maybe Herbie Hide,he preformed very well.Bowe had some nice range and a solid jab from which he could close distance fast.One thing that gets over looked about Bowe Imo,is his ability as an inside fighter,solid body work and harsh uppercuts.Bowes chin was good though Holyfield cleaned his clock,Golota wobbled him,Herbie hide shook him,...He could be easily distracted ,I think Rock Newman had alot to do with that.I think a fit Bowe could TKO Wlad once he got around that jab.Vitali a different story though.Vitali would be able to surpass his strength,a solid beard of his own,and he would not hesitate to match Bowes punching when able.Edge to Vitali down stretch......Running on at the mouth,Need Coffee

[El Kabong]

Tommy Morrison, Michael Moorer, Shannon Briggs, and Andrew Golota would have also been interesting matchups for the brothers.

I do like the Rudduck matchup as well...he was very strong but like you said he relied too much on the smash. Also if people think Wlad looks uncomfortable in the ring they should take a closer look at Razor....he was very tightly wound at times

[HattonTheHammer]

Tommy Morrison, Michael Moorer, Shannon Briggs, and Andrew Golota would have also been interesting matchups for the brothers.

I do like the Rudduck matchup as well...he was very strong but like you said he relied too much on the smash. Also if people think Wlad looks uncomfortable in the ring they should take a closer look at Razor....he was very tightly wound at times

mercer just seems like the kind of guy that would be tailor made for the klitschkos to jab away and beat.

A prime holyfield would of given either brother absoloute nightmares for 12rounds - no way i could see Wlad getting anything other than KO`d in that one and Vitali probably as well.

[El Kabong]

Well the Evander who got beaten by Moorer and the one who was stopped vs Bowe in the third fight or the one that fought Lennox Lewis in their first fight I think Wladimir could handle but it's a HORRIBLE style matchup when Evander is fully healthy as he applied so much pressure and had such a great chin that he could handle Wlad's punches. Vitali IMO could beat Holyfield, different style, different strengths....Vitali is one of the toughest fighters to give anyone a clear shot over him without having doubts.

[ClubberLang]

d of given either brother absoloute nightmares for 12rounds - no way i could see Wlad getting anything other than KO`d in that one and Vitali probably as well.

The exact opposite is the case. Both brothers would have been an awful matchup even for a prime Holyfield. They are both simply too big and would have jabbed him to death. They'd have punished and probably stopped him even in his prime. Just not a good matchup for Holy

[rjj tszyu]

d of given either brother absoloute nightmares for 12rounds - no way i could see Wlad getting anything other than KO`d in that one and Vitali probably as well.

The exact opposite is the case. Both brothers would have been an awful matchup even for a prime Holyfield. They are both simply too big and would have jabbed him to death. They'd have punished and probably stopped him even in his prime. Just not a good matchup for Holy

No way! If Holy showed up for a fight with either brother in full health and in his prime he would totally school both!

[Beanflicker]

d of given either brother absoloute nightmares for 12rounds - no way i could see Wlad getting anything other than KO`d in that one and Vitali probably as well.

The exact opposite is the case. Both brothers would have been an awful matchup even for a prime Holyfield. They are both simply too big and would have jabbed him to death. They'd have punished and probably stopped him even in his prime. Just not a good matchup for Holy

Agreed. Look what Lewis did to Holyfield.

[rjj tszyu]

Vitali could hold his own but would lose to prime Bowe, Holyfield, Tyson and Lewis, but all were inconsistent so at certain time Vitali may have been able to beat them.

Wlad is getting better but would lose to even the inconsistent moments the champs mentioned above may have had.

You have totally hit the nail on the head with this one here Master.

I like Both Klits especially Vitali but at the end of the day he was starting to really struggle with an old out of shape Lennox. Had that Lennox turned up for either Holyfield fight or even the Tyson fight he would "probably" have been beaten whereas the more I watch the Vitali fight the more he seemed to be taking over upto the fight being stopped.

Vitali is the best around now and had he not got that injury we would probably have a champ with 12+ straight defences. But against probably the second best era the HW's have produced I think he falls horribly short!