Let's review Vitalis big wins..

[lefthook31]

Hmmm, I cant think of any. His biggest wins came against fringe contenders and club fighters. He lost to the two biggest names he fought. Lets face it, theres a reason he had to quit in his fights against the top guys he faced, he simply doesnt have the gut or physical makeup to do so. Hes basically a top 5-10 contender at very best, regardless if he has won a vacant title or not.
Please someone tell me how he can ever compare to guys like Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield when his biggest win are against the likes of Kirk Johnson, went on to nothing, Larry Donald, is nothing, Herbie Hide, nothing, Corrie Sanders, decent top 10 rated contender but closer to the ten spot, Vaughn Bean, nothing, and Danny Williams, beat a washed up Tyson, and nothing else. Im friggen flabergasted by the dreamers on this site. :huh :patsch

[andyZOR]

Corrie Sanders

[box03]

What big wins, I didnt think he had any. Comparing him to Tyson or any other great is a joke, he never fought anybody good and won. Lewis fought Vitali type of fight and still won, Vitali had his chances to finish Lewis but he couldnt. Vitali was the best heavywieght for maybe 2 years, he fought nobody better than a c+ in his whole career.

[Thread Stealer]

He had some decent wins over fringe contenders like Donald and Hide. Sanders was highly ranked at the time because of the win over Wlad, but also a part-time golfer and inactive. Whale Johnson was a top 10 contender. Williams was a journeyman/fringe contender who made the end of The Ring's top ten by beating a washed up old Tyson.

My anti-Vitali bias aside, he was a pretty good heavyweight with some decent wins, but nothing to set himself apart from the other HWs of the time period not named Lewis other than APPEARING to be better than the other HWs, but failing to do so.

[TheGreat]

The guy has done far less than Rahman, Ruiz, and Byrd who are mediocre thmeselves, hell RJJ in 1 fight at heavy accomplised about as much as Vitaly his win over Ruiz is better than any of Vitaly's wins. Quite simply he has become along with Ike Ibeabuchi one of the most overrated HWs ever.

[Gabriel R.]

Hmmm, I cant think of any. His biggest wins came against fringe contenders and club fighters. He lost to the two biggest names he fought. Lets face it, theres a reason he had to quit in his fights against the top guys he faced, he simply doesnt have the gut or physical makeup to do so. Hes basically a top 5-10 contender at very best, regardless if he has won a vacant title or not.
Please someone tell me how he can ever compare to guys like Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield when his biggest win are against the likes of Kirk Johnson, went on to nothing, Larry Donald, is nothing, Herbie Hide, nothing, Corrie Sanders, decent top 10 rated contender but closer to the ten spot, Vaughn Bean, nothing, and Danny Williams, beat a washed up Tyson, and nothing else. Im friggen flabergasted by the dreamers on this site. :huh :patsch

His biggest win was his fight vs. Lennox Lewis. There he proved that he plays in the same league like a Lennox Lewis. The wins over Herbie Hide and Corrie Sanders were also big ones.
Herbie Hide was a world champion and the huge favorite over Klitschko at that time.
Against Corrie Sanders, Klitschko simply fought an excellent and also very exciting fight. Based on the story of that fight alone, I consider that win a big one for Vitali.

[brooklyn1550]

Wladimir has a better resume

[box03]

Wladimir has a better resume True but Wlad still has 3 tko losses against practically nobodys on his record.

[lefthook31]

His biggest win was his fight vs. Lennox Lewis. There he proved that he plays in the same league like a Lennox Lewis. The wins over Herbie Hide and Corrie Sanders were also big ones.
Herbie Hide was a world champion and the huge favorite over Klitschko at that time.
Against Corrie Sanders, Klitschko simply fought an excellent and also very exciting fight. Based on the story of that fight alone, I consider that win a big one for Vitali.

The Sanders fight was a sloppy mess, and hardly showcased anyone as top notch. His LOSS to Lewis was more from Lewis fighting a uncharcteristic fight, but one needed to stop Vitali. Not to mention Lewis was old, and hardly at his sharpest. Hide now campaigns as a cruiserweight, and was hardly anything special at the time he fought Klitschko, in fact he was never the same after getting knocked down eight times by Riddick Bowe. Like someone said Sanders was pulled off the golf course to face Wladmir and was able to expose his defaults at that time, but hardly ever a world beater.

[Gabriel R.]

The Sanders fight was a sloppy mess, and hardly showcased anyone as top notch. His LOSS to Lewis was more from Lewis fighting a uncharcteristic fight, but one needed to stop Vitali. Not to mention Lewis was old, and hardly at his sharpest. Hide now campaigns as a cruiserweight, and was hardly anything special at the time he fought Klitschko, in fact he was never the same after getting knocked down eight times by Riddick Bowe. Like someone said Sanders was pulled off the golf course to face Wladmir and was able to expose his defaults at that time, but hardly ever a world beater.

Always nice to experience the huge diversity of perspectives among boxing fans...:good

[lefthook31]

Always nice to experience the huge diversity of perspectives among boxing fans...:good

Well Im trying to back it up with facts. The fighters you mentioned were hardly world beaters, so wins over them were expected really. For instance, wasnt Hide knocked out by a guy with a 3-6 record?

[anut]

I Cant Believe The Nut Lickers Thinkk He Should Be In The Hall Of Fame,......thats Laughable....guys Like 2smartforu Sayin He Would Beat Prime Larry Holmes.....get The Fuk Off Eastside.

[JAM Killer]

Because Lennox Lewis was hated by so many Americans, when Vitali fought a tough fight with an out of shape Lennox, everybody crowned him. But the fact remains that he lost.

Wlad has a better resume and has done more in the sport.

[Mendoza]

[quote=lefthook31] Please someone tell me how he can ever compare to guys like Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield /quote]

Vitlai KO's both Tyson and Hoylfield in the 2,000's.

[JAM Killer]

Vitlai KO's both Tyson and Hoylfield in the 2,000's.

Good job smart guy, put Vitali's prime years with Tyson and Holyfields downfall years.

[lefthook31]

[quote=lefthook31] Please someone tell me how he can ever compare to guys like Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield /quote]

Vitlai KO's both Tyson and Hoylfield in the 2,000's.

2020 maybe in a shuffleboard tournament

[mykolakozak]

Get it straight, Vitali was a stronger boxer than Lennox that night. All 3 judges, the commentators, the crowd and a month ago Emmanual Steward said it too. That is one person that i considered Vitali won, if it wasnt for the fact that his skin doesnt hold up as well as someone elses. But skin dont matter. Watch the fight again, when it was stopped Lennox war barely moving and Vitali was a raging bull with tons of energy left

[Ambition_Def]

You are absolutely right Lefthook31.

Good to see some people around here have some sense in the scope of accomplishments and longevity.

[anut]

Get it straight, Vitali was a stronger boxer than Lennox that night. All 3 judges, the commentators, the crowd and a month ago Emmanual Steward said it too. That is one person that i considered Vitali won, if it wasnt for the fact that his skin doesnt hold up as well as someone elses. But skin dont matter. Watch the fight again, when it was stopped Lennox war barely moving and Vitali was a raging bull with tons of energy left

VITALI IS LUCKY TO BE ALIVE........LENNOX WAS STARTING TO PUT THE REAL HURT ON HIM....LOOK AT HIS FACE HE HAD TOO GO SEE A PLASTIC SURGEON DUMB FUK......ACTUALLY IT WAS LENNOX WHO WAS GETTING STRONGER MY GOOD FRIEND.:smoke:smoke:smoke:smoke:smoke

[jackiebrown]

well the buffalo bills almost won the super bowl 4 times... they had the team and all the people thought they was gonna win or shoulda won ... but guess what? .. in one instance they didnt have a kicker who could "hold up" as well as other teams kickers .. they lost ...

you dont see dan fucking fouts on tv questioning this .. the team lost .. thats it...only in boxing do people say someone shoulda won even though they clearly lost

[ThePlugInBabies]

Get it straight, Vitali was a stronger boxer than Lennox that night. All 3 judges, the commentators, the crowd and a month ago Emmanual Steward said it too. That is one person that i considered Vitali won, if it wasnt for the fact that his skin doesnt hold up as well as someone elses. But skin dont matter. Watch the fight again, when it was stopped Lennox war barely moving and Vitali was a raging bull with tons of energy left

:rofl

from the moment lewis nailed him with that beast of an uppercut, vitali was in trouble, do you not remember the end of the final round when vitali was hanging onto lewis like a drunk?

his biggest win? probably when he won the 'event' against lewis. :roll:

[Grabonator]

Wladimir has a better resume

And i always say Wladimir is better than his brother, right now Wlad is better than Vitali ever was, but most people dont agree with me. i dont get it Wlad is clearyl the better of the two, he has beaten better opponents and you can cleary see that hes more skilled and has better abilities. todays Wlad would never loose against Sanders, he proved that he wouldnt loose aginst Brewster again and Puritty? Steward has done a good job with Wladimir. Hes getting better each time out. If Vitali comes back to face the winner of Maskaev and Peter he will lose.

[Grabonator]

Get it straight, Vitali was a stronger boxer than Lennox that night. All 3 judges, the commentators, the crowd and a month ago Emmanual Steward said it too. That is one person that i considered Vitali won, if it wasnt for the fact that his skin doesnt hold up as well as someone elses. But skin dont matter. Watch the fight again, when it was stopped Lennox war barely moving and Vitali was a raging bull with tons of energy left

Vitali cn be happy that lewis was out of shape, if lewis was in shape it would have been even worse for Vitali.

[codeman99998]

Get it straight, Vitali was a stronger boxer than Lennox that night. All 3 judges, the commentators, the crowd and a month ago Emmanual Steward said it too. That is one person that i considered Vitali won, if it wasnt for the fact that his skin doesnt hold up as well as someone elses. But skin dont matter. Watch the fight again, when it was stopped Lennox war barely moving and Vitali was a raging bull with tons of energy left

You are ABSOLUTELY 100% wrong.

Skin DOES matter, it matters a lot. Can you TRAIN skin? No, but that's just too bad. Boxing is about more than how hard you train or how skilled you are, a lot of it, whether you like it or not, is genetics.

You can't say that Roy Jones WOULD have beat Tarver in their second fight except Jones doesn't have a good jaw, and JAWS don't matter.

You can't say that Tyson WOULD have beaten Lewis if he was taller, and HEIGHT don't matter.

I think Vitali was winning the fight and I WANTED Vitali to win the fight and he lost the fight in the shittiest way possible.

But he did lose the fight fair and square.

[codeman99998]

from the moment lewis nailed him with that beast of an uppercut, vitali was in trouble, do you not remember the end of the final round when vitali was hanging onto lewis like a drunk?


I disagree but it doesn't matter anyways.

If you win rounds 1-11 and get TKOd in round 12, you still lost.

Vitali won more rounds before Lewis, but then he got stopped on cuts, he lost either way. I personally think if he HADN'T been cut he probably would have won, but who really won the fight isn't decided by who was winning the most rounds. It was decided by which fighter the referee thought was capable of continuing, and which wasn't.

[jisi]

And i always say Wladimir is better than his brother, right now Wlad is better than Vitali ever was, but most people dont agree with me. i dont get it Wlad is clearyl the better of the two, he has beaten better opponents and you can cleary see that hes more skilled and has better abilities. todays Wlad would never loose against Sanders, he proved that he wouldnt loose aginst Brewster again and Puritty? Steward has done a good job with Wladimir. Hes getting better each time out. If Vitali comes back to face the winner of Maskaev and Peter he will lose.

I think you are right.

Wladimir getting better because he chances the trainer, working with Emanuel Steward on defence, better movement and become a more complete fighter.

[Mendoza]

Good job smart guy, put Vitali's prime years with Tyson and Holyfields downfall years.

That is how it played out mensa boy. Vitali was supposed to fight Tyson, but Danny Williams ruined the evening. If you really think Tyson, Holyfield, Morrer, et al would have a chance vs a prime Vitali ( 2000-2004 ) then all can say is you're living in the matrix. Vitlai did not make his legacy on shot washed up stars from the 1990's.

[lion]

I Cant Believe The Nut Lickers Thinkk He Should Be In The Hall Of Fame,......thats Laughable....guys Like 2smartforu Sayin He Would Beat Prime Larry Holmes.....get The Fuk Off Eastside.
vitaly is a drugabusing nobody that hasn't beaten anyone to talk about.. his fans are most russian/slav so i can understand that overrate their homeboy..

[lion]

And i always say Wladimir is better than his brother, right now Wlad is better than Vitali ever was, but most people dont agree with me. i dont get it Wlad is clearyl the better of the two, he has beaten better opponents and you can cleary see that hes more skilled and has better abilities. todays Wlad would never loose against Sanders, he proved that he wouldnt loose aginst Brewster again and Puritty? Steward has done a good job with Wladimir. Hes getting better each time out. If Vitali comes back to face the winner of Maskaev and Peter he will lose.i agree with you.. Wlad is much better than Virtaly ever been and his fights are much more better to watch.. he is better for boxing

[lefthook31]

His biggest win was his fight vs. Lennox Lewis. There he proved that he plays in the same league like a Lennox Lewis. The wins over Herbie Hide and Corrie Sanders were also big ones.
Herbie Hide was a world champion and the huge favorite over Klitschko at that time.
Against Corrie Sanders, Klitschko simply fought an excellent and also very exciting fight. Based on the story of that fight alone, I consider that win a big one for Vitali.

His biggest win was his fight with Lennox Lewis??:huh Didnt he lose that fight?

[SugarShane_24]

I can't say Vitaly can compare with the past heavyweight champs before him like Lewis, Holy and Tyson. But he did some things noteworthy for these anemic times at his division.


He stopped Vaughn Bean, Ross Purity, and Larry Donald. None of which had a KO loss on their records despite facing a lot of 90's top heavyweights.

He beat Corrie Sanders much easily than Rahman did. (Although for the record, Rahman's fight was more exciting)

He defended his title stopping Danny Williams who was riding high from a win over Mike TYson.

And some side notes that is also positive:

He was a legitimate beltholder at heavyweight.

He was giving Lewis as good as he got before getting stopped.

He was leading against Byrd before quitting. (A fact a lot of fans ignore is that Vitaly felt he is facing a career threatening injury. Who knows what could've happened if he went on.)

He may not be your ideal heavyweight champion, but at least he made haveyweight worthwhile during his brift stay at the top.

[BewareofDawg]

I can't say Vitaly can compare with the past heavyweight champs before him like Lewis, Holy and Tyson. But he did some things noteworthy for these anemic times at his division.


He stopped Vaughn Bean, Ross Purity, and Larry Donald. None of which had a KO loss on their records despite facing a lot of 90's top heavyweights.

He beat Corrie Sanders much easily than Rahman did. (Although for the record, Rahman's fight was more exciting)

He defended his title stopping Danny Williams who was riding high from a win over Mike TYson.

And some side notes that is also positive:

He was a legitimate beltholder at heavyweight.

He was giving Lewis as good as he got before getting stopped.

He was leading against Byrd before quitting. (A fact a lot of fans ignore is that Vitaly felt he is facing a career threatening injury. Who knows what could've happened if he went on.)

He may not be your ideal heavyweight champion, but at least he made haveyweight worthwhile during his brift stay at the top.
Reason and Logic :deal Nice Post.

[lefthook31]

I can't say Vitaly can compare with the past heavyweight champs before him like Lewis, Holy and Tyson. But he did some things noteworthy for these anemic times at his division.


He stopped Vaughn Bean, Ross Purity, and Larry Donald. None of which had a KO loss on their records despite facing a lot of 90's top heavyweights.

He beat Corrie Sanders much easily than Rahman did. (Although for the record, Rahman's fight was more exciting)

He defended his title stopping Danny Williams who was riding high from a win over Mike TYson.

And some side notes that is also positive:

He was a legitimate beltholder at heavyweight.

He was giving Lewis as good as he got before getting stopped.

He was leading against Byrd before quitting. (A fact a lot of fans ignore is that Vitaly felt he is facing a career threatening injury. Who knows what could've happened if he went on.)

He may not be your ideal heavyweight champion, but at least he made haveyweight worthwhile during his brift stay at the top.

THis is respectible and I put him on the same level as a Frank Bruno at best.

[Thread Stealer]

Vitlai did not make his legacy on shot washed up stars from the 1990's.

No, he made his "legacy" by:

-LOSING to one of the top 2 HWs of the 90s/00s, and LOSING to another one of the better HWs of the time frame
-Beating a guy whose claim to fame was beating an old injured fighter who peaked in 1988
-Beating fringe contenders like Donald and Hide
-Beating out-of-shape contenders in Sanders and Johnson

[elTerrible]

For a short time period he was the best fighter in the division.

He shouldnt have quit the byrd fight and he learned his lesson there. He didnt "quit" the Lewis fight. The ref stopped it and it was a good stoppage. His fucking eye was almost falling out.


His accomplishments in terms of legacy are obviously not alot, he doesnt have the wins, the longevity, ect. to be considered one of the best. I dont think anyone is claiming he is an ATG. For a while it seemed like he would be the next champion. Wlad was struggling and Vitali was obviously a better fighter than the likes of Ruiz, Toney, Byrd. He would have made easy work of them but didnt get the chance to.

[Guru_Too_You]

He had some decent wins over fringe contenders like Donald and Hide. Sanders was highly ranked at the time because of the win over Wlad, but also a part-time golfer and inactive. Whale Johnson was a top 10 contender. Williams was a journeyman/fringe contender who made the end of The Ring's top ten by beating a washed up old Tyson.

My anti-Vitali bias aside, he was a pretty good heavyweight with some decent wins, but nothing to set himself apart from the other HWs of the time period not named Lewis other than APPEARING to be better than the other HWs, but failing to do so.

Perfect assesment.

[Theo]

Decent fighter, but frankly nothing special imo; lewis was way out of shape in when Vitali fought him and getting very old.

i think Vitali would give any heavy in history a good interesting match, but he certianly wasnt a "great fighter", at least he never managed to prove that.

/Theo

[mike464]

That is one person that i considered Vitali won, if it wasnt for the fact that his skin doesnt hold up as well as someone elses. But skin dont matter. Watch the fight again, when it was stopped Lennox war barely moving and Vitali was a raging bull with tons of energy leftVitali took about 20 seconds to even find his corner at the end of the 6th round.

[2ironmt]

I can't say Vitaly can compare with the past heavyweight champs before him like Lewis, Holy and Tyson. But he did some things noteworthy for these anemic times at his division.


He stopped Vaughn Bean, Ross Purity, and Larry Donald. None of which had a KO loss on their records despite facing a lot of 90's top heavyweights.

He beat Corrie Sanders much easily than Rahman did. (Although for the record, Rahman's fight was more exciting)

He defended his title stopping Danny Williams who was riding high from a win over Mike TYson.

And some side notes that is also positive:

He was a legitimate beltholder at heavyweight.

He was giving Lewis as good as he got before getting stopped.

He was leading against Byrd before quitting. (A fact a lot of fans ignore is that Vitaly felt he is facing a career threatening injury. Who knows what could've happened if he went on.)

He may not be your ideal heavyweight champion, but at least he made haveyweight worthwhile during his brift stay at the top. best assessment IMO. more than a few good performances, showing to be the most dominant heavy behind LL in late 90s early 2000s

[TanstA]

True but Wlad still has 3 tko losses against practically nobodys on his record.

Oh, is that right? :patsch

[He Hate Me]

Hmmm, I cant think of any. His biggest wins came against fringe contenders and club fighters. He lost to the two biggest names he fought. Lets face it, theres a reason he had to quit in his fights against the top guys he faced, he simply doesnt have the gut or physical makeup to do so. Hes basically a top 5-10 contender at very best, regardless if he has won a vacant title or not.
Please someone tell me how he can ever compare to guys like Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield when his biggest win are against the likes of Kirk Johnson, went on to nothing, Larry Donald, is nothing, Herbie Hide, nothing, Corrie Sanders, decent top 10 rated contender but closer to the ten spot, Vaughn Bean, nothing, and Danny Williams, beat a washed up Tyson, and nothing else. Im friggen flabergasted by the dreamers on this site. :huh :patsch

With the present state of the hw division I can conclude that you don't like this guy much. Vk is the most talented out of the bunch, not giving him any credit is unlike your previous threads.

[UndisputedUK]

His biggest win was his fight vs. Lennox Lewis. There he proved that he plays in the same league like a Lennox Lewis. The wins over Herbie Hide and Corrie Sanders were also big ones.
Herbie Hide was a world champion and the huge favorite over Klitschko at that time.
Against Corrie Sanders, Klitschko simply fought an excellent and also very exciting fight. Based on the story of that fight alone, I consider that win a big one for Vitali.

Hide was knowwhere near a huge favourite over Vitaly!! :patsch

[ThePlugInBabies]

Vitali's biggest win was getting robbed in the Lewis fight.

And sanders was always dangerous. Now THERE'S a fighter who had true natural talent and had he honed it could have been something special, god his hands were fast!!!!!! He wasn't great but you could not afford to underestimate him, he had the package but not the desie to commit.

Shame he's underated but hey that's life, peeps see what they're told to see.

just how the fuck was he robbed against lewis?

when you've had your face beaten to the point that it is causing potential damage to your eye and half your skin has fallen off, you've lost the fight, no robbery. end of fucking story.

lewis tko6 vitali.

[mykolakozak]

He wasnt robbed but he was winning that fight until the doctor, not lennox, TKOed him.

[lefthook31]

With the present state of the hw division I can conclude that you don't like this guy much. Vk is the most talented out of the bunch, not giving him any credit is unlike your previous threads.

Its not that I dont like him, I dont like the fact that he is so overated on this forum, with some guys comparing him with guys like Lewis Tyson and Holyfield. One guy saying Vitali would beat any version of Tyson. With all that BS talk I wanted to breakdown his record to see how he could even be in the same breathe as those guys and Im still wondering?:huh
As far as him contributing to the current horrible state of the division, he isnt, he has only made comeback announcements only to injure himself and call the fights off.

[hacim419]

:rofl

from the moment lewis nailed him with that beast of an uppercut, vitali was in trouble, do you not remember the end of the final round when vitali was hanging onto lewis like a drunk?

his biggest win? probably when he won the 'event' against lewis. :roll:


Seriously, I can't believe anyone thinks Vitali would have won after he was hanging on Lewis like that, if the doctor wouldn't have stopped it, Lennox would have.

That said, it was an amazing action fight while it lasted and based on the fact that he gave Lewis hell he would have definitely been the number one guy right now if not for the injuries.

[Gabriel R.]

His biggest win was his fight with Lennox Lewis??:huh Didnt he lose that fight?

That's why I said the fight itself was his biggest win, not its result. Klitschko earned my huge recognition with that fight. And obviously he earned many other people's recognition. They became fans of him through that fight. That's what I call a big win.

[standing 8]

The Sanders fight was a sloppy mess, and hardly showcased anyone as top notch. His LOSS to Lewis was more from Lewis fighting a uncharcteristic fight, but one needed to stop Vitali. Not to mention Lewis was old, and hardly at his sharpest. Hide now campaigns as a cruiserweight, and was hardly anything special at the time he fought Klitschko, in fact he was never the same after getting knocked down eight times by Riddick Bowe. Like someone said Sanders was pulled off the golf course to face Wladmir and was able to expose his defaults at that time, but hardly ever a world beater.

If Sanders had actually been in shape for the Klitschko fight it might have turned out differently.

[swedeone]

I Cant Believe The Nut Lickers Thinkk He Should Be In The Hall Of Fame,......thats Laughable....guys Like 2smartforu Sayin He Would Beat Prime Larry Holmes.....get The Fuk Off Eastside.


Owned.

:good

And I agree 1000%. Vialti Klitschko has ZERO "great wins".
That's right... GOOSE EGG. :yep

[bumdujour]

Corrie Sanders

you forgot mario schiesser:lol:

[box03]

Vitali was fun to watch fight but he really did have limited skills, he kinda reminds me of a bigger version of Lamon Brewster.

[El Bombasto]

Well Im trying to back it up with facts. The fighters you mentioned were hardly world beaters, so wins over them were expected really. For instance, wasnt Hide knocked out by a guy with a 3-6 record?

and holyfield was knocked out by a middleweight, so what's your point?

[Danny Ocean]

Vitali was a raging bull with tons of energy left

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

sure son :rofl

[box03]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

sure son :rofl It looks like he was a recipient of a gay bashing.

[mykolakozak]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[mykolakozak]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[mike464]

Hide was knowwhere near a huge favourite over Vitaly!! :patschI'd also like to point out that Hide was never a world champion

[lefthook31]

and holyfield was knocked out by a middleweight, so what's your point?

Right and that win for James Toney was about as meaningful as Klitschkos over Hide. It didnt mean much considering the time it happened.:-(

[Gabriel R.]

I'd also like to point out that Hide was never a world champion

That's a matter of definition. I call a boxing world champion who holds at least one of the following titles: WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO title. (The major belt, of course.)

For the issue with the favourite: I recall British betting offices having Hide a 3:1 to 32:1 favourite over Klitschko.

[El Bombasto]

I'd also like to point out that Hide was never a world champion

hide won the wbo title on 3/19/1994, his first title defense was against bowe, which he lost

hide wont the title again on 6/28/1997, he had two successful title defenses before getting ko'd by vit klit on 6/26/1999

[El Bombasto]

Right and that win for James Toney was about as meaningful as Klitschkos over Hide. It didnt mean much considering the time it happened.:-(

not much more than the fact that holyfield was getting beaten so badly by a former middleweight that his corner had to throw in the towel.

i suppose the fact the evan fields (or did he only use that name to buy steroids?) got completely dominated and embarassed by a fighter (larry donald) who was ko'd by vit klit doesn't mean much either, right?

[TheGreat]

That's a matter of definition. I call a boxing world champion who holds at least one of the following titles: WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO title. (The major belt, of course.)

For the issue with the favourite: I recall British betting offices having Hide a 3:1 to 32:1 favourite over Klitschko.
WBOGUS doesn't count as it isn't recognised by HOF, it has always been a stepping stone title which is why journeymen had access to the title so I would say Hide is no 2 time champ in fact he was never HW champ at all for reasons listed above.

[lefthook31]

I believe the fighter definest he title, not the other way around. Cotto certainly legitimized the WBO title when he held it and defeneded against some tough fighters. Hide on the other hand was basically beaten by every name fighter he faced, and beat noone of any merit when he did hold the title. His entire name was built around defeating Michael Bent, the journeymen who knocked out Tommy Morrison to take his title. Hide beat Bentt, Bowe destroyed Hide and knocked him down 8 times to the eventual KO.

[El Bombasto]

I believe the fighter definest he title, not the other way around. Cotto certainly legitimized the WBO title when he held it and defeneded against some tough fighters. Hide on the other hand was basically beaten by every name fighter he faced, and beat noone of any merit when he did hold the title. His entire name was built around defeating Michael Bent, the journeymen who knocked out Tommy Morrison to take his title. Hide beat Bentt, Bowe destroyed Hide and knocked him down 8 times to the eventual KO.

you're using some pretty circular logic to make your case

[Boro chris]

Get it straight, Vitali was a stronger boxer than Lennox that night. All 3 judges, the commentators, the crowd and a month ago Emmanual Steward said it too. That is one person that i considered Vitali won, if it wasnt for the fact that his skin doesnt hold up as well as someone elses. But skin dont matter. Watch the fight again, when it was stopped Lennox war barely moving and Vitali was a raging bull with tons of energy left

Go and have your coco bitchcakes!

VK is a perfectly decent heavy who's reputation is done much harm by sack swingers like you. VK was hardly great as he came within an inch of being ko'd by an old and shot Lewis.

[Mendoza]

Please someone tell me how he can ever compare to guys like Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield when his biggest win are against the likes of Kirk Johnson, went on to nothing, Larry Donald, is nothing, Herbie Hide, nothing, Corrie Sanders, decent top 10 rated contender but closer to the ten spot, Vaughn Bean, nothing, and Danny Williams, beat a washed up Tyson, and nothing else. Im friggen flabergasted by the dreamers on this site. :huh :patsch

Since Mike Spinks, there has not been a sub 200 pound heavyweight champ that has defended his title. In boxing and sports in gernal size matters as long as it does not limit skills. I do not see any sub 200 pound contenders, and I highly dount a man under 205 will win a championship in the forseeable future.

Vitali is tallest champion in histroy. He is 6'7 1/2, with a listed reach of 80" that I suspect is understated. In shape, Vitaly is 245-250 pounds, which is a fine weight for his height and bui ld. In his era, Vitaly did not beat on small sub 200 pound heavyweights, nor did he choose to pick on older past their prime fighters.

Let's start out by Vitaly the puncher.

VITALI THE PUNCHER: On his way up, the concsusus was that Vitlai hit harder than Wlad! Juding by the fights I have seen early on, this is a true statement. Vitaly started out 27-0 with 27Ko's! Vitaly moved quickly up the ranks. Only one heavyweight champion in history fought less " Bums " . I will define bums in this thread as fighter that were .500 or below when sos and so meet them. Vitaly only fought three three fighters below .500 in his entire career. He blew them, along with a solid colelction of fighters out. Here's a few of the high lights.

Alben Belinski 5-0 prospect, Ko'd in 2. No one beat him faster than Vitaly.

Fransis, a fair jorueyman who beat some name guys was 18-6 when he meet Vitaly. Vitaly Ko'd Fransis in two rounds, and after fighting Tyson said Vitlai hits harder! No one beat Francis faster than Vitaly.

Ryan was 46-3-0 when he meet Vitaly. He wasn't very good, but then again, lots of guys that other champs beat were not that good either. Vitali KO'd him in 5.

Then Vitali Ko'd some other guys like Mario Schiesser *( Euro champ ) 36-3-1, Francesco Spinelli 19-4-0, and Ismael Youla 11-2-0 with shocking ease. Vitali KO'd them faster than any of their combind oppoents. Such is the mark of a puncher.

Hide was up next. Hide for his part was a cotneder with wins over Tucker and Bennt. He was a puncher. It took Riddick Bowe 6 rounds to stop Hide. Bowe later wnet on to say that Hide hit harder than any man he faced. Vitali blew Hide away in two rounds. Impressive show of power. Vitali picked up a world title.

Mahone was up next. Mahone was a tough slugger who had never been stopepd to date. Vitlay made his head do a near 180 degree turn, and knocked him out in three rounds. Again no one stopped Mahone quicker than Vitali did. Notice the pattern yet?

After Mahone Vitali outclassed former contender Sullivan, who might have been robbed of a win vs Rhaman. Vitaly TKO'd Sullivan in nine. He proved his power late. I will get into this point later as it might shock you that some BIG punchers never scored KO's past round 8 ( Lewis, Bowe, Tyson, ect... ) Vitali carries his power well into the later rounds.

* Up next was Byrd. Byrd has a top chin. He was only stopped once. Vitali was preping for someone else. Byrd subbed in on 10 days notice. Vitaly tore his shoulder in round three, but was ahead 88-83, 89-82, and 88-83 on the cards vs a prime Chirs Bryd. Such is an indication of skills. I can only think of one heavyweight fight where a champ or top cotnender beat another champ with a bad injury that required surgery, and that one happend 100 years ago. More on this one later.*

Then Vitlai neeed surgery. He beat a durbale Hoffman and won all 12 rounds. No one has kncoekd Hoffma n out to date.

Then Vitali was matched vs Orlin Norris. Norris was not a bum. He started out as a small heavyweight with key wins over Tucker and McCall. Norris then moved down to cruiser weight and was perhaps the best in division history next to Holyfield. Then he went back up to heavy. Norris was perhaps the smallest heavyweight Vitlai ever faced; keep this in mind if you’re talking about small heavyweight vs Vitali. In a fight that was virtually over after the stare down, Vitaly Ko'd Norris in one round. Norris went the distance with many heavyweights. Such an early blow out is a sign of power.

Up next was a revenge match vs Purtity. Purity is not a top fighter, but he has an all time chin. Many have punched at it. Vitali was stopped Purity late. WOW. Lots of punchers have tried to do this.

Then Vitaly fought Vaughn Bean. Bean is slick, defensive and tough. No man ever Ko'd him except for Vitaly. Bean gave Holyfield and Morrer close fights. Bean won 1 round vs Vitali.

Then Vitali fought Donald. Donald was a tall boxer with excellent mobility and a tough chin. Again, Vitaly is the only man to stop him. Fighters like Bowel, Williams, Valuev, and Johnson could not. As old as Donald is in 2005, he could be champ if given a title fight. Donald won one round vs Vitali.

Then was the Lewis fight* More on this later. Vitlay had Lewis badly shaken up, tired and down on point in a fight that was called off due to a cut. Fighting with a bad cut is not easy. Again, this is an indication of Vitali's skills.

After Lewis Vitaly impressively blew out Kirk Johnson in two! It was a blow out and Johnson's only stoppage loss to date. Impressive again.

After that Vitali wore Sanders down, forcing a TKO stoppage in round 8. Sanders won one round. Sanders chin was not glass. He was only stopped 3 times in 40 fights vs punchers.

In his final fight ( for now ) Vitali easily dismantled Danny Williams. Williams KO'd Tyson faster than Lewis did.

To sum it up, Vitali Ko percentage is 92%!!!!! No heavyweight champ can boast better. In fact very few in histories of other divisons can boast better.. Further more, Vitaly proved his power early (Johnson, Norris, or Hide ) and late ( Williams, Sanders, Donald, Bean, and Purity )

No all punchers carry their power late in the fight, or have the stamina to throw punches as often as Vitaly does. I will list a few names to illustrate my points.

Lewis did not score a stoppage past round 8. Lewis was a big puncher. Tyson did once KO in round ten, but is you could get into round nine he never scored a KO. Bowe is a big puncher. His latest Ko is in round 8 as well.

Conclusion on Vitali’s power. Vitaly had top end power early and late in a fight. This is a mark of greatness. He Ko'd most of his opponents faster than ANY man before him.

VITALI THE BOXER:

What type of boxer was Vitali? Like him or not he dominated everyone on the score cards. After three rounds, he was always in the lead. In fact, in all fights but one, he was always in the lead. Vitaly might have lost the first round to Hide.

On his way up, Vitali easily blitzed his first 26 oppoents with size, skills, and power. A few of these guys were decent journeyman, the type that could uspet other top fighters on any given night.

Let's review:

Since 1999 Hyde fight, Vitali has fought the following fighters:

Hyde: Lost one round, but brutally Ko'd Hyde in round 2.

Mahone: Pitched a shut out vs an undefeated slugger know for his durability in route to a 3rd round TKO.

Sullivan: Won every round vs a name guy who's been in there with a variety of name heavies.

Byrd: Took the fight on 2 weeks notice. Won seven of nine rounds with a torn shoulder. Had to retire due to injury after fig htign 6 rounds with a torn shoulder. Byrd was at his best in 2000. He was an extremely hard fighter to out box. To do as well as Vitaly did vs Byrd with a bad injury that requires surgery is a mark of how good of a boxer Vitaly was.

Hoffman: Won all 12 rounds in his come back vs Hoffman, a big fighter known for durability and clinching. No one has beaten Hoffman so badly.

Norris: Blew out Norris in one. No one has done anything remotely close to Norris. An underrated win.

Purrity. First time in years that Purrity has been Stopped. Vitali was active and did not lose a round in this fight.

Bean: Tko'd Bean in 11. Bean has been in there with good heavies such as Holy and Morrer. Neither man stopped Bean. In fact Bean gave Holyfield and Morrer fits. Vitaly lost one round ( round 9 ) to Bean, and knocked him out.

Donald. Vitali becomes the first man to stop Donald. Vitali lost 1-2 rounds tops.

Lewis: Took the fight on 2 weeks notice. Vitaliy was up 4-2 on all three cards when the fight was stopped on cuts. Vitali did not quit.

Johnson: Vitaly blew Johnson out in two rounds. Johnson went down twice. No one has done anything remotely close to Johnson.

Sanders: Lost the first round, and then won the rest convincingly in route to an 8th round TKO.

D Williams: Won every round, flooring Williams 4 times.

Summary: 7-8 rounds lost to the above men. 95-96 rounds won! ( its even more lopised on the score cards if you factor all of the 10-8 rounds for Vitaly ). I have seen the best champions on tape several times. Even Ali lost more rounds to lesser oppoents. Intersing observation? I think so.

[teekay00]

ok, the fight was scored 58-56 by all 3 judges and Lennox won by stoppage. Ya Kiltschkos eye was gone, did you see the cut on Lewis' nose, a few more jabs to that and his nose would have fallen off lol

If Lennox would have beat vitali , nobody would be arguing it. It would be very evident that Lewis won but it is not. thats why there is an argument. the fight was never finished.

[Gabriel R.]

Mendoza, in some way your post is a pro speech for Vitali, but it also contains facts which need to be said. I agree with your summary.


Summary: 7-8 rounds lost to the above men. 95-96 rounds won! ( its even more lopised on the score cards if you factor all of the 10-8 rounds for Vitaly ). I have seen the best champions on tape several times. Even Ali lost more rounds to lesser oppoents. Intersing observation? I think so.

[El Bombasto]

vitali was/is a great boxer, but he's done nothing to be considered a great champion

[lefthook31]

Since Mike Spinks, there has not been a sub 200 pound heavyweight champ that has defended his title. In boxing and sports in gernal size matters as long as it does not limit skills. I do not see any sub 200 pound contenders, and I highly dount a man under 205 will win a championship in the forseeable future.

Vitali is tallest champion in histroy. He is 6'7 1/2, with a listed reach of 80" that I suspect is understated. In shape, Vitaly is 245-250 pounds, which is a fine weight for his height and bui ld. In his era, Vitaly did not beat on small sub 200 pound heavyweights, nor did he choose to pick on older past their prime fighters.

Let's start out by Vitaly the puncher.

VITALI THE PUNCHER: On his way up, the concsusus was that Vitlai hit harder than Wlad! Juding by the fights I have seen early on, this is a true statement. Vitaly started out 27-0 with 27Ko's! Vitaly moved quickly up the ranks. Only one heavyweight champion in history fought less " Bums " . I will define bums in this thread as fighter that were .500 or below when sos and so meet them. Vitaly only fought three three fighters below .500 in his entire career. He blew them, along with a solid colelction of fighters out. Here's a few of the high lights.

Alben Belinski 5-0 prospect, Ko'd in 2. No one beat him faster than Vitaly.

Fransis, a fair jorueyman who beat some name guys was 18-6 when he meet Vitaly. Vitaly Ko'd Fransis in two rounds, and after fighting Tyson said Vitlai hits harder! No one beat Francis faster than Vitaly.

Ryan was 46-3-0 when he meet Vitaly. He wasn't very good, but then again, lots of guys that other champs beat were not that good either. Vitali KO'd him in 5.

Then Vitali Ko'd some other guys like Mario Schiesser *( Euro champ ) 36-3-1, Francesco Spinelli 19-4-0, and Ismael Youla 11-2-0 with shocking ease. Vitali KO'd them faster than any of their combind oppoents. Such is the mark of a puncher.

Hide was up next. Hide for his part was a cotneder with wins over Tucker and Bennt. He was a puncher. It took Riddick Bowe 6 rounds to stop Hide. Bowe later wnet on to say that Hide hit harder than any man he faced. Vitali blew Hide away in two rounds. Impressive show of power. Vitali picked up a world title.

Mahone was up next. Mahone was a tough slugger who had never been stopepd to date. Vitlay made his head do a near 180 degree turn, and knocked him out in three rounds. Again no one stopped Mahone quicker than Vitali did. Notice the pattern yet?

After Mahone Vitali outclassed former contender Sullivan, who might have been robbed of a win vs Rhaman. Vitaly TKO'd Sullivan in nine. He proved his power late. I will get into this point later as it might shock you that some BIG punchers never scored KO's past round 8 ( Lewis, Bowe, Tyson, ect... ) Vitali carries his power well into the later rounds.

* Up next was Byrd. Byrd has a top chin. He was only stopped once. Vitali was preping for someone else. Byrd subbed in on 10 days notice. Vitaly tore his shoulder in round three, but was ahead 88-83, 89-82, and 88-83 on the cards vs a prime Chirs Bryd. Such is an indication of skills. I can only think of one heavyweight fight where a champ or top cotnender beat another champ with a bad injury that required surgery, and that one happend 100 years ago. More on this one later.*

Then Vitlai neeed surgery. He beat a durbale Hoffman and won all 12 rounds. No one has kncoekd Hoffma n out to date.

Then Vitali was matched vs Orlin Norris. Norris was not a bum. He started out as a small heavyweight with key wins over Tucker and McCall. Norris then moved down to cruiser weight and was perhaps the best in division history next to Holyfield. Then he went back up to heavy. Norris was perhaps the smallest heavyweight Vitlai ever faced; keep this in mind if you’re talking about small heavyweight vs Vitali. In a fight that was virtually over after the stare down, Vitaly Ko'd Norris in one round. Norris went the distance with many heavyweights. Such an early blow out is a sign of power.

Up next was a revenge match vs Purtity. Purity is not a top fighter, but he has an all time chin. Many have punched at it. Vitali was stopped Purity late. WOW. Lots of punchers have tried to do this.

Then Vitaly fought Vaughn Bean. Bean is slick, defensive and tough. No man ever Ko'd him except for Vitaly. Bean gave Holyfield and Morrer close fights. Bean won 1 round vs Vitali.

Then Vitali fought Donald. Donald was a tall boxer with excellent mobility and a tough chin. Again, Vitaly is the only man to stop him. Fighters like Bowel, Williams, Valuev, and Johnson could not. As old as Donald is in 2005, he could be champ if given a title fight. Donald won one round vs Vitali.

Then was the Lewis fight* More on this later. Vitlay had Lewis badly shaken up, tired and down on point in a fight that was called off due to a cut. Fighting with a bad cut is not easy. Again, this is an indication of Vitali's skills.

After Lewis Vitaly impressively blew out Kirk Johnson in two! It was a blow out and Johnson's only stoppage loss to date. Impressive again.

After that Vitali wore Sanders down, forcing a TKO stoppage in round 8. Sanders won one round. Sanders chin was not glass. He was only stopped 3 times in 40 fights vs punchers.

In his final fight ( for now ) Vitali easily dismantled Danny Williams. Williams KO'd Tyson faster than Lewis did.

To sum it up, Vitali Ko percentage is 92%!!!!! No heavyweight champ can boast better. In fact very few in histories of other divisons can boast better.. Further more, Vitaly proved his power early (Johnson, Norris, or Hide ) and late ( Williams, Sanders, Donald, Bean, and Purity )

No all punchers carry their power late in the fight, or have the stamina to throw punches as often as Vitaly does. I will list a few names to illustrate my points.

Lewis did not score a stoppage past round 8. Lewis was a big puncher. Tyson did once KO in round ten, but is you could get into round nine he never scored a KO. Bowe is a big puncher. His latest Ko is in round 8 as well.

Conclusion on Vitali’s power. Vitaly had top end power early and late in a fight. This is a mark of greatness. He Ko'd most of his opponents faster than ANY man before him.

VITALI THE BOXER:

What type of boxer was Vitali? Like him or not he dominated everyone on the score cards. After three rounds, he was always in the lead. In fact, in all fights but one, he was always in the lead. Vitaly might have lost the first round to Hide.

On his way up, Vitali easily blitzed his first 26 oppoents with size, skills, and power. A few of these guys were decent journeyman, the type that could uspet other top fighters on any given night.

Let's review:

Since 1999 Hyde fight, Vitali has fought the following fighters:

Hyde: Lost one round, but brutally Ko'd Hyde in round 2.

Mahone: Pitched a shut out vs an undefeated slugger know for his durability in route to a 3rd round TKO.

Sullivan: Won every round vs a name guy who's been in there with a variety of name heavies.

Byrd: Took the fight on 2 weeks notice. Won seven of nine rounds with a torn shoulder. Had to retire due to injury after fig htign 6 rounds with a torn shoulder. Byrd was at his best in 2000. He was an extremely hard fighter to out box. To do as well as Vitaly did vs Byrd with a bad injury that requires surgery is a mark of how good of a boxer Vitaly was.

Hoffman: Won all 12 rounds in his come back vs Hoffman, a big fighter known for durability and clinching. No one has beaten Hoffman so badly.

Norris: Blew out Norris in one. No one has done anything remotely close to Norris. An underrated win.

Purrity. First time in years that Purrity has been Stopped. Vitali was active and did not lose a round in this fight.

Bean: Tko'd Bean in 11. Bean has been in there with good heavies such as Holy and Morrer. Neither man stopped Bean. In fact Bean gave Holyfield and Morrer fits. Vitaly lost one round ( round 9 ) to Bean, and knocked him out.

Donald. Vitali becomes the first man to stop Donald. Vitali lost 1-2 rounds tops.

Lewis: Took the fight on 2 weeks notice. Vitaliy was up 4-2 on all three cards when the fight was stopped on cuts. Vitali did not quit.

Johnson: Vitaly blew Johnson out in two rounds. Johnson went down twice. No one has done anything remotely close to Johnson.

Sanders: Lost the first round, and then won the rest convincingly in route to an 8th round TKO.

D Williams: Won every round, flooring Williams 4 times.

Summary: 7-8 rounds lost to the above men. 95-96 rounds won! ( its even more lopised on the score cards if you factor all of the 10-8 rounds for Vitaly ). I have seen the best champions on tape several times. Even Ali lost more rounds to lesser oppoents. Intersing observation? I think so.

Glad to see you too, dont know too much about the heavyweights. Valueav was the tallest champion by the way.

[barneyrub]

ok, the fight was scored 58-56 by all 3 judges and Lennox won by stoppage. Ya Kiltschkos eye was gone, did you see the cut on Lewis' nose, a few more jabs to that and his nose would have fallen off lol

If Lennox would have beat vitali , nobody would be arguing it. It would be very evident that Lewis won but it is not. thats why there is an argument. the fight was never finished.56 58 is just one round difference, and vitali got round 1 which was a round that nothin of significance occured in so in that perspective the scoring doesnt show vitali to have a meaningful lead.
Lewis`s nose was cut in rd 6 when it collided with vitali`s forehead, watch the tape. Vitali`s eye was more than gone, the surgeon said it was at risk of severing the nerve that controls the blinking, the opening and shutting of it, when he went to sow it up he struggled to find a remaining piece of skin to put his needle in. There was a cut under the eyebrow, a cut on the eyelid and a cut under the eye, as well as the lips being split open and bleeding profusely into his mouth.
LEWIS DID BEAT VITALI FOR YOUR INFORMATION!

[Mendoza]

Glad to see you too, dont know too much about the heavyweights. Valueav was the tallest champion by the way.


Champ to me is not alphabet, its Ring Magazine or lineal. Vitali was the Ring Magazine champ. You should take the facts of my full post for face value. They are the truth. Whether you will accept them or not is all that remains to be seen.

[Relentless]

when holyfield lost to toney does anyone remember how old he was or are you trying to ignore that so vitaly can look good??

oh by the way it was a really good job vitlay done beating the ruthless brutal danny the legend brixton killer/bomber williams

[TheGrimReaper]

anyone who does not think vitali klitschko is\was a great heavyweight is a fool

[lefthook31]

Champ to me is not alphabet, its Ring Magazine or lineal. Vitali was the Ring Magazine champ. You should take the facts of my full post for face value. They are the truth. Whether you will accept them or not is all that remains to be seen.

i read through some of it, but your blatant overating of garbage fighters made me stop. Think of it this way. All these dynamo fighters that Vitali conquered went onto what or accomplished what in the division? Kirk Johnson is currently a garbage man in Canada. Larry Donald still loses to every name fighter he faces, and guys like Francis, are a bunch of never weres.
The two fighters he faced with any merit were Byrd and lewis both accomplished champs and he lost to both, regardless of what you think might have happened. Thats part of being an elite fighter, actually fighting through and being equipped to face adversity and win.:good

[Relentless]

anyone who does not think vitali klitschko is\was a great heavyweight is a fool

ok cool, i am a fool, because some bitch who knows nothing about boxing says so!

vitlay was a great champion, no one else defended the belt as many times as he has and beating world class opposition in kirk whale johnson and danny the brixton legend bomber/killer williams.

:patsch :patsch :patsch

[lefthook31]

anyone who does not think vitali klitschko is\was a great heavyweight is a fool

Great, no, solid fighter with exception to his frail body, yes.

[DoumB]

on resume, hes no where near the top, on ability alone, he matches a lot of ATG wether u hater like it or not, its the truth.

[mrbassie]

anyone who does not think vitali klitschko is\was a great heavyweight is a fool

Everyone in the world who knows boxing is a fool then. Vitali is a tough guy he's proven that but on the other hand he hasn't really done anything so how can you call him great? Maybe he could have been if he wasn't fighting big fat useless arseholes and calling them title defences but.....

[mrbassie]

on resume, hes no where near the top, on ability alone, he matches a lot of ATG wether u hater like it or not, its the truth.

Oh, but where's the proof?

[Mendoza]

on resume, hes no where near the top, on ability alone, he matches a lot of ATG wether u hater like it or not, its the truth.

The poster known as lefthook31 is a hater. The man in his avatar would not approve.

[Claypole]

Mendoza, I've always thought Vitaly was top notch, but after your efforts to hype him up, I'm now having second thoughts. Bringing up the Byrd loss reminded me of Danny Williams v Mark Potter for the British championship. Danny's shoulder injury was horrific and actually made me feel sick, but he came through it to knock Potter out. Perhaps if Vitaly showed that kind of heart and courage then we might think more of him.
I'm not such a big fan of the man after your post.

[lefthook31]

Let me try to explain it another way. Vitali basically came up as a pro in the late 90's around the same time as fighters like David Tua, Oleg Maskaev, Hasim Rahman, Andrew Golota, John Ruiz, Kirk Johnson, Mike Grant, Lou Savarese, Shannon Briggs, Chris Byrd, Ike Ibeabuchi, and a few other guys. During this time for the most part these guys were all fighting each other, and making their way up through the ranks.
Vitali on the other hand stayed in his country and brought over handpicked guys to fight always avoiding the real tough fighters and the guys with real punching power. Usually a fighter starts stepping up his competition around his 15-20th pro fight to prepare himself for the upper echelon of the division. Vitali for the most part did not. Fighting guys like Obed Sullivan, Louis Monaco, Orlin Norris, and Vaughn Bean are all a step below the competition I mentioned.
The better fighters are not going to just quit or give up like the Julius Francis and Louis Monaco level fighters, they're going to keep fighting until theyre stopped. Look at Brewster for example, he was getting his head handed to him but he fought on and eventually caught up to Wladmir.
Thats what makes a great fighter. All fighters at some point are faced with adversity and the ones who fight through it are the ones that move forward. Lennox Lewis had it with Ray Mercer, Wladmir had it with Sam Peter, and Vitali had it with Lewis. Contrary to what many think on this website, Vitali was starting to fold in the Lewis fight. He hadnt been prepared properly to fight a guy like lewis who wasn't going to give up like many of the others Vitali had faced previously. He was slowing down, and Lewis was landing harder and cleaner towards the end of the fight. Keep in mind too, this wasnt the best Lewis, this was the Lewis who was ready for retirement. So while Vitali was winning, his spirit was being taken away from him as the fight progressed, and thats why Lewis was able to take his face apart.
To me Vitali was a good solid fighter with good potential, but he never fought the caliber of opposition to prepare him for the better level fighters, and when he did step up to the best of what was left of Lewis, he failed. So to call him a great fighter or an established champion is absurd off of two meaningful fights both of which he lost. :smoke

[lefthook31]

The poster known as lefthook31 is a hater. The man in his avatar would not approve.
Hater because I dont agree with you? :-(

[Mendoza]

Hater because I dont agree with you? :-(

Here's the litmus test. Just tell me why Byrd or Lewis never accepted a re-match fight with Vitali. :deal

[Relentless]

same reason they didn't accept rematches from the other fighters they beat.

[PIRA]

Here's the litmus test. Just tell me why Byrd or Lewis never accepted a re-match fight with Vitali. :deal

Because Vitali either failed or quit the litmus test and deserved nothing.

How may attempts does your hero need before he can actually succeed is the hard question to you and one you can't answer.

[TheGreat]

Vitaly is as overrated as Ike Ibeabuchi, his name shouldn't ever be mentioned in the same sentence as Holy, Tyson and Lewis.

[KO Boxing]

:lol: at the thread title. Clearly a gee up, although with a very good point. Despite that, Vitali was the best heavyweight since Lewis and before his brother. What, 5 years? Not the GREATEST longevity, but a good fighter nonetheless.

[mike464]

hide won the wbo title on 3/19/1994, his first title defense was against bowe, which he lost

hide wont the title again on 6/28/1997, he had two successful title defenses before getting ko'd by vit klit on 6/26/1999I said world champion not WBO champion