frankI think sanders would have done well in most sports he tried . If the guy took boxing serious i wonder how good he could have been . sanders had speed size power courage . and I have to say even a bigger hero outside of the ring .But with that said and I do belive vitali is the most under rated heavy weight champ ever . I think vitali is being guilty of doing what I acuse other fighters of doing saying his toughest fight was a guy he beat , all credit to sanders but to me I thought the lewis fight was tougher on vitali not that it wasnt also tough on lewis Posted January 24, 2013 4:52 pmIts Me, ErnieI would say you must have never been in the ring with those comments. Posted September 27, 2012 12:06 pmSREDMONDWhat kind of legacy is giving someone “tough first and second rounds” ???????????? No KD’s were produced and Sanders was ultimately stopped… Trying to elevate the man because he fought well during a couple of feeling out rounds and was stopped is pretty desperate and nonsensical…. The ledger reads that Klits stopped Sanders and that was indeed the LAST we heard of him near the top…. AGAIN RIP Corrie Posted September 26, 2012 3:10 pmSREDMONDBeer Party, I respect you respecting Sanders but the guy was NOT a serious player beyond upsetting Klitschko…. The guy was not even better than Rahman in their primes…. Losing to Tubbs and Rahman in that manner tells a story and remember Sanders was beating up fodder in South Africa for the majority of his career…. We bid him a fond farewell but the guy was not 70% as good as some of you guys are trying to make him out to be…. He beat Wlad, played some Golf, lost to Vitali and then he faded into obscurity…..RIP Corrie Sanders Posted September 26, 2012 12:15 pmSREDMONDGet real Sanders scored and upset win over Wlad (Kudos) …..So did Hasim Rahman who knocked Lewis cold and also stopped Sanders… How Great are we going to rate Rahman? Giving Vitali a decent fight then getting knocked out in the 8th round if I recall is not exactly the stuff of legends…Sanders “Power” was on display against 97% C class fighters we have seen plenty of MORE impressive KO artists who made their bones facing less than stellar comp…Lennox Lewis would have squashed Sanders like a bug, his whole legend as a boxers is predicated on upsetting Wlad who got upset by 2 other underdogs….. AGAIN RIP to Corrie Sanders but he was no one special in the annals of boxing history….. Buster Douglas crushed and undefeated Mike Tyson are we going to induct him also if he gets blown away god forbid??? Posted September 26, 2012 12:06 pmBeer Party MovementSanders beat a future hof´er. one of the most dominent champions ever, and he gave Vitali his toughest first and second rounds in his career, and he even hurt Vitali. Grant and Galota, well looking at their records alone, doesnt show they were better boxers at all. Sure Sanders had flaws, but with his handspeed and power he was a danger to eny fighter. Also to Lennox, who got floored by two fighters with less power than Sanders. SREDMONDThe idea that Sanders was worth Lewis avoiding is some more nonsense coming out of K2′s mouth….. Lewis was beating guys like Tua and Holyfield who were consistently having success against World Class competition…. (Corrie Sanders RIP) was a late replacement who stopped Wlad Klits a guy who despite a gaudy record had been susceptible to beatings from fighters that were perceived to be WELL below his level…. Amir Khan appears to be following in his footsteps…..Fact is that Corrie Sanders would have likely lasted less than 3 rounds with Lennox Lewis given his skillset, Grant and Golota were BOTH better fighters than Sanders and Lewis destroyed them in the blink of an eye…. Posted September 26, 2012 7:36 amSREDMONDSad to hear about any man cut down in this manner with so much time left, but lets get real Sanders was NOT a GREAT fighter nor will be remembered as one by those who know boxing…. After upsetting Wlad Klitschko the trail pretty much goes cold and we have a guy who had a good punch and did well against C class competition…. Getting killed does not make you scoring champion, all time leading rusher, great pitcher, or homerun king and it certainly does not make Sanders a “Great” over even Very Good fighter…. Nice to of Vitali to give Sanders some credit in the wake of his death but a blind man could see that an aging Lennox Lewis was his BEST opponent and the guy who gave him his toughest run in the ring hence the TKO loss on his record…. Posted September 26, 2012 7:30 amSpliff_FisterByrd got pummeled for most of the fight.. Official scores. 88-83 twice and 89-82 all for VK. Why revise history? Posted September 25, 2012 10:53 pmExiled YankRIP champ. Sad news indeed. Posted September 25, 2012 5:20 pmscottyboyWlad never tried to engage haye a single time throughout the fight. This was despite having a 35lb weight advantage and 5 inches in height. This is the same as a LWW against a LH – are you telling me that a LH too scared to engage against a LWW hasnt got serious concerns about his own chin? Wlad even promised the world he would punish haye for 11 rounds and ko him in the 12th. In reality he was too scared to even try in case his chin got cracked again. Haye’s best round was the 12th when wlad was more aggressive than the other 11 and the way wlad held for dear life in this round when haye got through tells me he has every bit of insecurity about his chin. To place this in some form of context – steward trained both lewis and wlad. Both are similar shape and size and yet steward has trained wlad to be a far more defensive fighter than lewis ever was. This tells me that both wlad and steward know that wlad has a china chin, further reinforced by the fact that he has been down more than lewis, tyson, holyfield and bowe put together, dspite facing no one better than a slightly above-average sanders or an elderly mercer. Posted September 25, 2012 3:41 pmmehk2 gushing again………..vitali said Lewis was his hardest fight. TKO6. However Saunders was an excellent fighter despite being badly trained and conditioned – raw speed and talent wise he was exceptional. Posted September 25, 2012 3:32 pmBill Patrice JonesScottyboy: If Wladimir couldn’t take a solid punch then he would not have been able to remain unfazed in the Haye fight, or the Peter rematch. Both are very powerful punchers, and both caught Wladimir cleanly at least once or twice. The old Wladimir would have backed away and tried to hold Peter, or desperately try to evade Haye when he got caught. Instead Wladimir did to Haye and Peter what Lewis did to Tyson in 2002, take a sharp shot, (a short left from Peter in the 1st/A looping right from Haye in the 12th) and immediately hit him back hard. He doesn’t have an iron chin, but so much of Wladimir being hurt looked phantom to me. A psychological inability to conceive of being hurt. He was clearly carrying psychological baggage all the way up until about 2006. Posted September 25, 2012 3:15 pmBeer Party MovementAmen to that. Posted September 25, 2012 3:14 pmscottyboySad to hear corrie’s death but I think people are rating his boxing achievements a little emotionally. He was never a great boxer, great puncher or ever world-class at all. He finished with a ko ratio of just over 65% and this is without ever facing any top fighters (klits aside). He was even dominated by nate tubbs and hasim rahman – not the signs of a great hw. People using corrie’s supposed power to dispel potential myths about wlad’s chin are clearly incorrect and even without the 4 knockdowns wlad suffered against the average sanders, wlad has still been down another 7 times in his career against not a single opponent that may be worthy of the HOF – all the signs of a chronic inability to take a solid punch. Corrie did have fast hands but in all liklihood would have been first round ko fodder for a prime tyson and would have been dominated and stopped late by lewis or holyfield. Besides having fast hands he had nothing else to his game that really stood out, apart from maybe a willingness to engage. The fact that sanders totally dominated, outboxed and overpowered wlad in every second of their fight (and along with an old mercer is probably the best guy wlad has fought), speaks volumes about the current state of the division. An era where a slightly above-average boxer proves to be the dominant champ’s best ever opponent yet totally owns him in every sense, is not a strong era. Posted September 25, 2012 2:46 pmTokolosWhat should not be overlooked about the 2 fights with the k’s is that Corrie was 37 and in semi retirement when he fought W. His conditioning let him down against V. What could have been for Saunders if he had been more active and maybe spent some time state side. RIP. Posted September 25, 2012 1:31 pmE in DenverAdrian- You aren’t clinching if you are punching. Old school refs would just pull the arm that wasn’t punching off & a clinch was when both were holding/neither were punching. Now-a-days seems like refs call for a break once the shoulders touch(like Cortez). Either way, the uppercut I am referring to neither fighter was trying to clinch. LL did grab at VK’s neck(almost looked like a punch) & hit him w/ the uppercut. Don’t take my word for it, the fight is on youtube. Posted September 25, 2012 1:26 pmE in DenverI can’t argue that one. Sanders was indeed a dangerous opponent. An accurate Southpaw w/ some deceptive handspeed, power & a ton of heart. Posted September 25, 2012 1:05 pmgluesnifferHowever, Bill is WRONG about Sanders being the only opponent to wobble Klitschko. In the 6th and final round of their epic contest, Lewis almost took off Vitali’s head with a enormous uppercut. Vitali was stumbling and grabbing all over the place, and then the round was over and the match was called because of Vitali’s grotesque cuts. Some of that stumbling and grabbing was about fatigue (and lots of it), but certainly not all. Posted September 25, 2012 11:53 amgluesnifferI wish Bill Patrice Jones would write more for this site. He wrote a fabulous breakdown of the Helenius-Peter fight about 1.5 years ago. I’m very pleased to read his contributions to the comments section, but it’s a distant second-best. Posted September 25, 2012 11:49 amShowboatIronic how sanders caused some of the most dangerous men on the planet all kinds of problems was taken out by some crackhead with a gun. No justice in this world. Sympathies to the family. Rip Posted September 25, 2012 10:44 amK2FanIt is a senseless tragedy like this , that JJ1I always respected him as a fighter. Bill Patrice JonesSwedish boxing fan I respectfully disagree. What happened to Wladimir against Sanders absolutely devastated the Klitschko family, and their team. When Vitali fought Sanders he was the most anxious he’d ever been for a fight. He had tons of pressure on his shoulders to protect the family name, get revenge etc. Look at his demeanour during the ringwalk, and the early exchanges, and that’s about as ill at ease Vitali has ever been for a fight. This gave Sanders an advantage, and he nearly got him in the 1st round. Corrie wasn’t good enough to win, and I doubt trained as hard as he could have for the fight. Posted September 25, 2012 8:14 amBill Patrice JonesCorrie Sanders was a very underrated, and I think underachieving, heavyweight in his prime. You hardly ever see HW boxers with that kind of power who can punch at such speed. Obviously we all know that Lewis was Vitali’s toughest fight, but in a way he struggled more with Sanders. Corrie was, to this day, the only fighter I have ever seen actually wobble Vitali. He hurt him in that first round more than anyone has before or since. Looking at Vitali’s resume that is total proof of what a devastating puncher Sanders could be. Lewis hit Vitali clean several times and didn’t shake his legs at all. When Vitali fought Peter, apparently the only thing the Peter camp worked on was power, and he was alledged to have been hitting the heavybag with more force than at any other time in his career. Go watch his fight with Vitali and at the end of round 2 he lands his two best fight hands to NO EFFECT. Vitali has the greatest chin in HW history and Sanders put him down. How hard a puncher Sanders is also contributes to the debunking of Wladimir’s supposedly terrible chin. Corrie overwhelmed him that night, had Wladimir really had a crap chin he would have been left on the canvas out for the count. A strange career no doubt, but Sanders had massive talent. R.I.P Posted September 25, 2012 8:09 amFredRIP Sanders, it was always fun watching your fights, great handspeed and power, he could have been one of the greats had he dedicated his life more to boxing, he had the tools and talent very few have. Posted September 25, 2012 7:35 amSwedish Boxing FanI belive that Corrie Sanders could have had a good chanse to defeat Vitali Klitschko if it haden’t been for that Sanders in 1st place had fought Wladimir and knocked out his brother in almost a destructive way. Vitali was there at that night and that fight gave Vitali an personal close look analysis of how he should fight Sanders. If it had been reversed to that Vitali fought Sanders instead of Wladimir in first place, Im sure Sanders would have upset him likewise as Sanders at that time was a tough one but not by the top regarded as a serius thret and with that a lot of underestimating from boxers, fans, critics and experts was made and I belive the Hasim Rahman fight made it a lot. Then it would have been Wladimir who would have studied Sanders and in his fight then would have fought better – but a victory Im not saying is a guarantie. Just think about the scenario :neutral: Posted September 25, 2012 7:01 amHutchHe said it out of respect you dim wits just leave it alone. Posted September 25, 2012 6:20 amrumpoleNo disrespect to Sanders but surely Lewis was VK’s toughest fight? They launched bombs at each other the whole time.. Sanders did catch VK a couple of times with his quick hands but he was on his way to being seriously injured when the ref stopped things, he was one tough mofo to still be on his feet taking all those flush shots. Posted September 25, 2012 5:49 am2slickRIP Corrie Sanders and all due respect, fair play to Vitali for being respectful to Sanders but clearly Lewis and Byrd gave Vitali his toughest fights. Sanders almost got the job done though and he was OLD when he fought Vitali. Anyway – RIP big fella. Posted September 25, 2012 5:04 amSpliff_FisterHis reach was deceptive as well. He could nail ‘em from distances that seemed impossible. Posted September 25, 2012 2:15 amSpliff_FisterExtremely underrated.. Explosive ,powerful and crafty.. Had a talent to strike when his opponents thought they were out of range.. I guess that is why they called him the sniper. RIP Champ. Posted September 25, 2012 2:12 amrighthookAll respect to Sanders but please…he was never good enough and never would have or could have been good enough to beat Vitali. I mean lets be real. With all due respect to Sanders of course. Posted September 25, 2012 1:22 amAdrianYes “almost ” stoped but he didn’t unfortunately but when it comes to Lewis he could have if they fought but we will never know… Posted September 24, 2012 11:54 pmAdrianSo you want to tell us instead of klitchko who was his toughest fight? If klitchko says it was sanders than it was sanders !!! AdrianWho clinched who??? You say klitchko clinched?? Lewis was the one who clinched and hold and he was able to hit klitchko with uppercuts only that way … Klitchko is saying sanders was his toughest fight and I agree .. The cut was a cut punch or not . Ask yourself who was lewis’s toughest opponent ? Posted September 24, 2012 11:45 pmbadoneVitali didn’t train to fight Lewis…..but he trained to fight Sanders. Lennox Lewis himself supposedly said that Sanders was the one guy he did not want to fight. Some true boxing experts say that Sanders possibly had the fastest hands the HW division ever seen. It is to bad it had to come to this. Posted September 24, 2012 11:29 pmFedorRIP Corrie Sanders Posted September 24, 2012 11:22 pmWinetasterI was impressed with Sanders speed of hands. However, he never covered up or brought his hands back in a defensive posture. Major weakness in all of his fights. He should have beaten Rahman if not for his lack of defensive skills. Why shoot a person when you already have their money. Really pisses you off but the world has many sickos. Posted September 24, 2012 10:53 pmnot laughingCorrie Sanders was a quick powerful southpaw.Wlad underestimated him but Vitaly did not.He was a good heavyweight fighter who gave his all,most especially with his demise.A true man to look up to and Vitaly B RedCorrie Sanders gave Vitali a run for his money and would have one if not for his age and stamina. God bless him. He was one of my Favorite Hw’s Posted September 24, 2012 9:12 pmBeer Party MovementI would have loved to see Sanders fight Lennox, Holyfield and even Tyson. But as shown in Sanders fight with Rahman, stamina wasnt his only problem, he was also too open. Posted September 24, 2012 9:11 pmBoxingnut76I really think Vitaly meant to say that Sander’s style was the hardest he fought. Without a doubt Lennox was his best opponent. Styles make fights, and Corrie’s southpaw stance, fast hands with very hard punches, and a willingness to exchange made it a very hard night. But anyways, a senseless murder. Its one thing to rob someone , another to rob them of their life. The world is too full of crazy people. I hated Sanders after he knocked out Wladimir, but became a fan in the Vitaly fight. PansWhen i think of the Klitschkos, Corrie Sanders is the opponent who springs to mind straight away. Personally i think he had Wlad’s number, and the fight against Vitali i’ve watched many times (Corrie showed unbelievable heart in that fight). Hope they get the bastards that did this. RIP champ. Posted September 24, 2012 8:44 pmBeer Party Movementcorrection I reversed the names ‘i didnt say he didnt hurt Vitali’ Beer Party MovementI didnt say he didnt hurt lennox, but he didnt wobble him. And Vitali wasnt going to go down. Posted September 24, 2012 8:21 pmdwcSanders was one tough fighter and could punch…big time.Sanders really loved golf I belived that was his first love not boxing.But if Sanders put his heart into boxing 100% he could have gone alot further.R.I.P. MR.CORRIE SANDERS AND GOD BLESS. You gave boxing fans some real thrills. Posted September 24, 2012 7:54 pmE in DenverIf you didn’t see LL hurt VK then you didn’t watch the whole fight, or mentally blocked the last few rounds. If by “no effect” you mean froze him, stood him up, made him clinch & stop throwing then you are right. Posted September 24, 2012 7:35 pmJetfighterWell put Swedish Boxing Fan. RIP Corrie Sanders the Southpaw Sniper Posted September 24, 2012 6:46 pmBeer Party MovementWladimir tried to get a rematch with Sanders, but with Sanders age, and givin the cruel beating Vitali gave him he pretty much retired, only to fight some easy unranked fighters. Posted September 24, 2012 6:35 pmBeer Party MovementSwedish Boxing Fan: i didnt see Lennox wobble Vitali at all, he took a big uppecut from lennox but with no effect. And the cuts well thats another case, its wasnt a big punch that cut Vitali. Posted September 24, 2012 6:31 pmGannicusI enjoyed the few fights I saw Sanders in, I really did cause he gave the K brothers a lil hell. He blasted W Klit out and gave V Klit a pretty good fight untill he tired. Anyway, I really like how he protected his daughter-that almost made me cry when I heard that. People always talk about how they would give their life to a love one but Sanders was really about that-he will be miss-this really makes me sad-no good for nothing thugs can take innocent lives like it’s nothing. I don’t understand how anyone can open fire on unarmed people-RIP Corrie Sanders and I pray your family is able to move on from this Posted September 24, 2012 4:40 pmSwedish Boxing FanSo Vitali Klitschko now says Corrie Sanders was his toughest opponent? Was it not Lennox Lewis like you said before, when he hurt and wobbled you sevral times and open 2 deep cuts? So you have changed your mind? Well I have no oppinion on that one, it was youst a thod and the Vitali-Sanders fight was a tough one the firsts rounds and was a couragefull fight. It doesen’t matter if it was Lewis or Sanders. Corrie Sanders was a tough and strong heavyweight and was truly worth being a world champion. Rest In Peace champ. Posted September 24, 2012 4:30 pmhavickWatching Sanders demolish Vlad was a shock and a great fight to watch. But I don’t like watching Vitali v. Sanders after round 4 or so. Sanders was brutalized and the fight should’ve been stopped earlier than it was. Posted September 24, 2012 4:06 pmPigManToo bad Corrie could not have gotten his hands on the three thugs who were robbers, and Knocked their asses out. leftyhad a rematch with wladimir happened, Corrie would have just blasted him again. Hell, he almost blasted Vitali in either 1st or 2nd round of their fight. “A Sanders left, there’s nothing like it in boxing” – Larry Merchant Posted September 24, 2012 3:01 pmDragoSanders had concrete for hands and was freakish fast for a HW. He put a proto-Wlad down and went toe to toe with Vitali, and he wasn’t even that big. Too bad Wlad haters will go all the way down dimishing him just to try and make a point. He never lived to hil full potencial, but the man was for real. Posted September 24, 2012 2:16 pmCurlyQ.HowardMy advice for anybody who hasn’t seen a Corrie Sanders fight yet: Watch every one you can find! Posted September 24, 2012 2:14 pmKeilungA fast, skilled, tough, and brave competitor. It’s a terrible loss. Prayers to his family. Rest in Peace. You’ll not be forgotten Corrie! Posted September 24, 2012 2:01 pmmikeSanders was a real hero and showed it protecting his daughter. But just to set the record straight, Wladimir didn’t avoid a rematch with Sanders. In fact the WBO mandated a rematch, and Wladimir wanted it, but Corrie wanted to take the WBC belt so he dropped the WBO belt and went on the challenge Vitali for the WBC belt. It was Corrie who preferred fighting Vitali rather than his brother. No doubt Sander’s courage made him want to get the recognized WBC belt and fight the other brother rather than go for a rematch with Wladimir. Posted September 24, 2012 1:57 pmboxingfanGreat fighter!!! He’s a hero for putting himself in front of the bullet to protect his daughter. God bless Posted September 24, 2012 1:43 pm |
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Vitali Klitschko: Corrie Sanders was my toughest fight