Exactly how good is Vitali?

[Hydro]

What has been his career high so far?

beating the 40 year old great golfer corrie sanders.

or maybe beating up the whale kirk "i almost got stopped by john ruiz before i got dq'd" johnson

vitali had some talent, but nowhere near the resume to be a top 15-20 HW all-time.

[Banderivets]

I believe he could have been an ATG if there were opponenets that he could prove himself against.

I dont see a healthy Vitali being stopped. He has a granite chin, and I dont think he will ever get KOed. Ever. The **** he took from Lewis few heavy's in the history if the division could.

He is akward and never been outboxed, even by a skilled Byrd.

He's heavy handed.

He will never be an ATG because there is no one to prove himself against.

But I genuinly believe that he does/had the skills to be an ATG.

Someguys might say Wlad wouldnt stand a chance against Ali's era. But Vitali could be a top heavy in any era, because he cant be knocked out, and he has great boxing skills and power.

[Mike Tyson77]

He will never be an ATG because there is no one to prove himself against.

The name Lennox Lewis ring a bell.

[Banderivets]

The name Lennox Lewis ring a bell.

Oh well you know, Lewis was out of shape, had a bad night, and still won against Klitschko who gave his best...and who would knock klitschko out if the fight continued................................I herd it all.

[Mike Tyson77]

Oh well you know, Lewis was out of shape, had a bad night, and still won against Klitschko who gave his best...and who would knock klitschko out if the fight continued................................I herd it all.

He still showed a champions heart against Lennox. Vitali's face was about to fall off and he still wanted to fight!!!!!!

[Welter_Skelter]

GOD!! this gets ****ing tiring...
The HW disvison today is no worse or better than it ever was..
All thats changed is.. Too many Titles and TOO much DON KING
try telling me.. George Chuvalo who was top 10 in the 70's is any better than ANY heavyweight today.. How about Ron Lyle or Chuck Wepener
Or Jimmy Young..come on! these guys were all top 10 and they are ****ing stiffs
The HW divison is healthy BOXING is not..

[Hydro]

Oh well you know, Lewis was out of shape, had a bad night, and still won against Klitschko who gave his best...and who would knock klitschko out if the fight continued................................I herd it all.

That part is true.

The rest is speculatory.

[mECHsLAVE]

GOD!! this gets ****ing tiring...
The HW disvison today is no worse or better than it ever was..
All thats changed is.. Too many Titles and TOO much DON KING
try telling me.. George Chuvalo who was top 10 in the 70's is any better than ANY heavyweight today.. How about Ron Lyle or Chuck Wepener
Or Jimmy Young..come on! these guys were all top 10 and they are ****ing stiffs
The HW divison is healthy BOXING is not..

Exactly true. Wlad is usually ranked #1 now, and with his height and jab, he'd give any HW of any era serious problems. It's way too easy to say Frazier would KO all the HW's today in one night, and blah blah. In actuality, Frazier would have a heckuva time with several of today's top HW's. Boxing isn't as glamorized as it once was, so in our minds, the older glamorized, legendary fighters were so much better, but it's not true. Look at the guys Joe Louis defended against- they weren't all Max Schmelling's believe me. Or some of the guys Holmes, Tyson, etc fought. Rather than just being sheep and repeating "The HW division sucks" because you've heard it said so much, think about the fighters in different eras specifically matched up against today's HW's. You'd get some interesting fights. And no fighter from any era is going to beat both Klitschkos in one night. LOL

The problem is the belts being so scattered for so long, and then the rankings and contenders get diluted with too many fighters and no clarity. And of course, fighters are not household names and don't fight for free on 33% of the available television channels (ie. 1 in 3 lol) like they did in the 70's. There's 200000 channels to choose from, and too many heavyweights "champs" to choose from, and nobody has become that dominant fighter that people want to see. Less % of people watching and talking about fighters and it makes them "worse" in a historical perspective. Think about it. :-)

[leff]

vitali is the kind of fighter that doesn't really jump out as being a talented fighter. that's what gets in most fighters head when they watch him. that's why many fighters, and critics as well, haven't really thought of him as a major threat or great boxer.

however, once they have actually fought vitali, the tune changes immediately.

a trained eye will show that he has an innumerable amount of skills. it's the broken rhythm that he usually works with that seems to make people underestimate him. that same broken rhythm, however, has never been matched or figured out by any boxer he's fought so far.

bottom line, you really have to have a trained eye, and throw your previous knowledge and expectations of what great boxing looks like to appreciate or understand the man's skills.

having a martial arts backround as klitschko does, i notice things that people with boxing training alone will not notice and i fully appreciate what he can do when he's fully prepared and healthy.

vk comes from kickboxing i wouldnt define that as a martial art

[.Mik.]

Exactly true. Wlad is usually ranked #1 now, and with his height and jab, he'd give any HW of any era serious problems. It's way too easy to say Frazier would KO all the HW's today in one night, and blah blah. In actuality, Frazier would have a heckuva time with several of today's top HW's. Boxing isn't as glamorized as it once was, so in our minds, the older glamorized, legendary fighters were so much better, but it's not true. Look at the guys Joe Louis defended against- they weren't all Max Schmelling's believe me. Or some of the guys Holmes, Tyson, etc fought. Rather than just being sheep and repeating "The HW division sucks" because you've heard it said so much, think about the fighters in different eras specifically matched up against today's HW's. You'd get some interesting fights. And no fighter from any era is going to beat both Klitschkos in one night. LOL

I'm not so sure about that really (not the last comment obviously). When you look at George Foreman's infamous comeback, the HW division was in a similar stage of uncertainty as it is now, ie that there are still some good top fighters, but there was no strength in depth. And a far over the hill Foreman managed to cut his way towards the top of the division even winning a title. I wouldnt bet against that Foreman being able to pick up a title or two in the current heavyweight climate either...and Foreman wasnt even the best of his peak generation really.