Wladimir Klitschko: Who would he beat?

[El Kabong]

Vitaly's the one who would be able to hold his own against virtually any fighter from any era due to his chin. Wlad on the other hand would be blown out inside of three rounds by nearly all the all time greats who possessed power due to his lack of chin.

....Vitali is easier to hit than Wladimir. Wlad on account of his ability to cover up his flaws is a better fighter

[match]

Vitaly's the one who would be able to hold his own against virtually any fighter from any era due to his chin. Wlad on the other hand would be blown out inside of three rounds by nearly all the all time greats who possessed power due to his lack of chin.

....Vitali is easier to hit than Wladimir. Wlad on account of his ability to cover up his flaws is a better fighter

Honestly, I see it just the opposite. Wlad is clearly more offensively skilled, but I think Vitaly's strengths in total are greater than Wlad's. I hold Vitaly in much higher regard than his brother.

[El Kabong]

Vitali's skill is based on his size and his awkwardness...Wladimir is probably the most technically skilled fighter out there right now not named Mayweather. He does everything correct and I don't know of anyone else who is more effective on the attack than Wladimir fighting these days....maybe Pacquiao but hell Manny has been outboxed several times before and I have rarely seen Wlad so much as frustrated with an opponent's boxing skill...maybe vs Brock or Thompson but he caught both those guys pretty good.

Vitali can get frustrated a little easier IMO, when he's fighting a guy who won't open up like Byrd or Johnson and he wants to land a homerun punch he gets frustrated. Wlad is smart enough to either stick with what works (even if the fans don't like it) like vs Sultan or find a way to get a stoppage like vs Brock and Thompson.

[sumkalambay]

Wladimir is probably the most technically skilled fighter out there right now not named Mayweather.

where do you rate Yuri Foreman and Felix Sturm then?

Wlad wouldn't be in the top 20 let alone the 2nd most technically skilled.

[gest12645]

Wladimir is probably the most technically skilled fighter out there right now not named Mayweather.

where do you rate Yuri Foreman and Felix Sturm then?

Wlad wouldn't be in the top 20 let alone the 2nd most technically skilled.

I agree with Lyle, maybe he isn't number 2, but he's def. in the top 20 of most skilled fighters. Probably in the top 10

[Spicoli]

Ok I'll spot him Joe Hipp.....maybe Bruce Seldon

[rjj tszyu]

One fight that would interest me would be RJJ the night he beat Ruiz against Wlad. I mean my money would go on Wlad but I think Roy could get around the jab with his freak speed and counter Wlad quite a bit. The big problem for Roy though would be that although at MW upto LHW he had freak power, it just didn't carry upto HW, I know he did some damage to Ruiz's face but he never really looked like stopping him at all. Wlad though does have great power and if he hit Jones clean (not that it was easy to do in those days) he would go and over 12 rounds I think you have to give Wlad the benefit of the doubt and say he would catch Jones sooner or later.

[Violent Demise]

Ok I'll spot him Joe Hipp.....maybe Bruce Seldon

No John Tate? Michael Weaver?

[ono]

Wladimir is probably the most technically skilled fighter out there right now not named Mayweather.

Put down the crack pipe.

It's easy to look technically skilled against overweight plodders who don't have the fitness, agility or ambition to take you out of your comfort zone.

[Hunter]

I am of the mindset that current athletes in most instances compete at a higher level than athletes from 20-30 years ago. I think current athletes can take advantage of modern science (nutrition) and training techniques and in many cases start at a younger age. Also, there is way more money involved now so everyone trys to be a professional athlete for the most part (starting in grade school) and you are closer to having the very best people at the top of the game. When I watch videos of some of the fighters from the 70s, 60s, and even 80s etc their technique is terrible and it reminds me of a bar room brawl. You stick those guys in with a guy like Wlad who has great technique they will get killed.

I think Wlad would beat any of the past fighters most of the time if you plucked them from the past and stuck them in the ring with Wlad. Now if they had access to the same resources Wlad has had for the last 20 years than maybe they could compete but who knows it is a different game now......This is IMO.

[rjj tszyu]

I am of the mindset that current athletes in most instances compete at a higher level than athletes from 20-30 years ago. I think current athletes can take advantage of modern science (nutrition) and training techniques and in many cases start at a younger age. Also, there is way more money involved now so everyone trys to be a professional athlete for the most part (starting in grade school) and you are closer to having the very best people at the top of the game. When I watch videos of some of the fighters from the 70s, 60s, and even 80s etc their technique is terrible and it reminds me of a bar room brawl. You stick those guys in with a guy like Wlad who has great technique they will get killed.

I think Wlad would beat any of the past fighters most of the time if you plucked them from the past and stuck them in the ring with Wlad. Now if they had access to the same resources Wlad has had for the last 20 years than maybe they could compete but who knows it is a different game now......This is IMO.

I totally disagree, technically fighters from the past have been far more gifted than todays crop. People like Ali, Louis, Holyfield, Tyson, SRR, SRL, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler (and the list goes on and on) were a lot more gifted than anyone today technically with the exception of Mayweather (maybe). Yes Wlad has good fundamentals, but he is also very robotic in what he does and in comparison to the likes of Ali, Tyson, Frazier etc is a slow HW.

One thing I do agree with you on is that "most" top athletes now are at a higher level than in years gone by, but not for me in boxing. Now the reason boxing hasn't moved with the times as other sports has is because the people who used to come to boxing are going to other sports where the rewards are higher and the risks are way lower. I mean look at boxing in the 80's for example. Ray Leonards fights used to make more money than the big fights now and when you take inflation into account that is an amazing feat. Same goes for Tyson and hell Ali for that matter. When Ali fought Foreman he made £5million. Now almost 40 years later David Haye did almost 1million PPV sales for Sky in his last bout and made the same 5 million. So how, may I ask is there more money in the sport now?? I'll agree there is more money in other sports, but boxing doesn't hold the same interest it once did and hasn't moved with the times.