Vitali's best fights are losses - this is the recognized champ?

[neils7147933]

OK, so why are we all to believe that Vitali Klitschko is the TRUE heavyweight champion of the world? Why are there people on this board that would pick Vitali against any other heavyweight out there.

The guy was up on points when he LOST to former WBC champion Lennox Lewis (who was out-of-shape and on the brink of retirement) and current IBF champion Chris Byrd (who took the fight on a week's notice). He had more points at the time of the stoppages.

But which one of these wins is supposed to impress me? It's easy to see why Wlad was considered better; he has wins over Monte Barrett, Jameel McCline, Chris Byrd, and Ray Mercer.

Here are the last 10 victims of the guy HBO and the Ring magazine want you to believe is the "real champ":

Corrie Sanders - Since November of 2001, this guy has fought just one guy not named Klitschko. The semi-retired overweight golf pro only still had a name because he beat Wladimir, which was a lot more impressive before Brewster did it too. Corrie was KO'd by Hasim Rahman in 2000 and was also KO'd by Nate Tubbs. He has no wins of note other than Wlad.

Kirk Johnson - a 260 lb ball of fat.

Larry Donald - on life support by Don King. Ranked 49 by Boxing Rec. Never beat anyone either.

Vaughn Bean - I only know this guy's name because Holyfield whipped him too. He never beat anyone of note. (see a pattern here?)

Ross Purritty - The dude has 17 losses. Everytime he fights anyone good he loses (he did fight Tommy Morrison to a draw!) He lost to Michael Grant, Hasim Rahman, the Danish Pastry Brian Nielsen, Sanders and Donald, Chris Byrd... This guy's picture is next to "tomato can" in the boxing dictionary. At least he beat Wlad...

Orlin Norris - famous for tripping over Tyson's foot and breaking his ankle. Also lost to Henry Akinwande, Andrew Golota, that pesky Danish Pastry, Tony Tucker, and Bert Cooper

Timo Hoffmann - this guy was undefeated when he fought Vitali. Since then he's lost to Michael Sprott and Akinwande. Boxing Rec ranks him 26

Obed Sullivan - Journeyman who made it 11 rounds with Vitali. David Tua knocked him out in 51 seconds. Fres Oquendo also TKO'd him.

Ed Mahone - looked like a good prospect coming into the fight. He was undefeated; since then he won a fight over Mario Cawley and has been exposed with three losses to guys with a combined record of 62-15-2, including a KO loss to 8-lossed Terrence Lewis. Appears to be retired after the losing streak.

Herbie Hide - Vitali KO'd him. Wow; Rid**** Bowe dropped this bum 7 times in their fight.

It looks like Vitali is fighting Danny Williams, who was unknown prior to lasting 5 rounds and taking advantage of an injured Tyson and has a loss to Julius Francis on his resume. If Vitali conquers that "hurdle", then who? Maybe DaVarryl Williamson? This cleaning up little brother's unfinished business is getting old.

C'mon, Vit. The Heavyweight Division is in shambles. Fight somebody already. A champion, a former champion, someone who has 20+ wins in THE UNITED STATES, someone who has been in shape since after the Y2K scare.

Then maybe the elder Klitschko will have earned the respect that too many people on this site give the guy. Saying he runs through Rahman, Ruiz, Toney, Tua and Tyson after going through this not-so-distinguished list of opponents seems a bit naive.

[jabsRstiff]

Razor Ruddock really made his name from LOSSES to Mike Tyson.

He turned out to be a bust.

I am always wary of fighters who make it that way....

[spinksjinx]

OK, so why are we all to believe that Vitali Klitschko is the TRUE heavyweight champion of the world? Why are there people on this board that would pick Vitali against any other heavyweight out there.

The guy was up on points when he LOST to former WBC champion Lennox Lewis (who was out-of-shape and on the brink of retirement) and current IBF champion Chris Byrd (who took the fight on a week's notice). He had more points at the time of the stoppages.

But which one of these wins is supposed to impress me? It's easy to see why Wlad was considered better; he has wins over Monte Barrett, Jameel McCline, Chris Byrd, and Ray Mercer.

Here are the last 10 victims of the guy HBO and the Ring magazine want you to believe is the "real champ":

Corrie Sanders - Since November of 2001, this guy has fought just one guy not named Klitschko. The semi-retired overweight golf pro only still had a name because he beat Wladimir, which was a lot more impressive before Brewster did it too. Corrie was KO'd by Hasim Rahman in 2000 and was also KO'd by Nate Tubbs. He has no wins of note other than Wlad.

Kirk Johnson - a 260 lb ball of fat.

Larry Donald - on life support by Don King. Ranked 49 by Boxing Rec. Never beat anyone either.

Vaughn Bean - I only know this guy's name because Holyfield whipped him too. He never beat anyone of note. (see a pattern here?)

Ross Purritty - The dude has 17 losses. Everytime he fights anyone good he loses (he did fight Tommy Morrison to a draw!) He lost to Michael Grant, Hasim Rahman, the Danish Pastry Brian Nielsen, Sanders and Donald, Chris Byrd... This guy's picture is next to "tomato can" in the boxing dictionary. At least he beat Wlad...

Orlin Norris - famous for tripping over Tyson's foot and breaking his ankle. Also lost to Henry Akinwande, Andrew Golota, that pesky Danish Pastry, Tony Tucker, and Bert Cooper

Timo Hoffmann - this guy was undefeated when he fought Vitali. Since then he's lost to Michael Sprott and Akinwande. Boxing Rec ranks him 26

Obed Sullivan - Journeyman who made it 11 rounds with Vitali. David Tua knocked him out in 51 seconds. Fres Oquendo also TKO'd him.

Ed Mahone - looked like a good prospect coming into the fight. He was undefeated; since then he won a fight over Mario Cawley and has been exposed with three losses to guys with a combined record of 62-15-2, including a KO loss to 8-lossed Terrence Lewis. Appears to be retired after the losing streak.

Herbie Hide - Vitali KO'd him. Wow; Rid**** Bowe dropped this bum 7 times in their fight.

It looks like Vitali is fighting Danny Williams, who was unknown prior to lasting 5 rounds and taking advantage of an injured Tyson and has a loss to Julius Francis on his resume. If Vitali conquers that "hurdle", then who? Maybe DaVarryl Williamson? This cleaning up little brother's unfinished business is getting old.

C'mon, Vit. The Heavyweight Division is in shambles. Fight somebody already. A champion, a former champion, someone who has 20+ wins in THE UNITED STATES, someone who has been in shape since after the Y2K scare.

Then maybe the elder Klitschko will have earned the respect that too many people on this site give the guy. Saying he runs through Rahman, Ruiz, Toney, Tua and Tyson after going through this not-so-distinguished list of opponents seems a bit naive.

After the williams fight vitali is forced to fight either or

barrett
beck
toney
rahman
byrd

that is a given that was stressed at the wbc convention.....But barrett/beck is an eliminator and toney will have another eliminator once he heals ups......I could see vitali fighting rahman though

[Nautilus]

OK, so why are we all to believe that Vitali Klitschko is the TRUE heavyweight champion of the world? Why are there people on this board that would pick Vitali against any other heavyweight out there.

The guy was up on points when he LOST to former WBC champion Lennox Lewis (who was out-of-shape and on the brink of retirement) and current IBF champion Chris Byrd (who took the fight on a week's notice). He had more points at the time of the stoppages.

But which one of these wins is supposed to impress me? It's easy to see why Wlad was considered better; he has wins over Monte Barrett, Jameel McCline, Chris Byrd, and Ray Mercer.

Here are the last 10 victims of the guy HBO and the Ring magazine want you to believe is the "real champ":

Corrie Sanders - Since November of 2001, this guy has fought just one guy not named Klitschko. The semi-retired overweight golf pro only still had a name because he beat Wladimir, which was a lot more impressive before Brewster did it too. Corrie was KO'd by Hasim Rahman in 2000 and was also KO'd by Nate Tubbs. He has no wins of note other than Wlad.

Kirk Johnson - a 260 lb ball of fat.

Larry Donald - on life support by Don King. Ranked 49 by Boxing Rec. Never beat anyone either.

Vaughn Bean - I only know this guy's name because Holyfield whipped him too. He never beat anyone of note. (see a pattern here?)

Ross Purritty - The dude has 17 losses. Everytime he fights anyone good he loses (he did fight Tommy Morrison to a draw!) He lost to Michael Grant, Hasim Rahman, the Danish Pastry Brian Nielsen, Sanders and Donald, Chris Byrd... This guy's picture is next to "tomato can" in the boxing dictionary. At least he beat Wlad...

Orlin Norris - famous for tripping over Tyson's foot and breaking his ankle. Also lost to Henry Akinwande, Andrew Golota, that pesky Danish Pastry, Tony Tucker, and Bert Cooper

Timo Hoffmann - this guy was undefeated when he fought Vitali. Since then he's lost to Michael Sprott and Akinwande. Boxing Rec ranks him 26

Obed Sullivan - Journeyman who made it 11 rounds with Vitali. David Tua knocked him out in 51 seconds. Fres Oquendo also TKO'd him.

Ed Mahone - looked like a good prospect coming into the fight. He was undefeated; since then he won a fight over Mario Cawley and has been exposed with three losses to guys with a combined record of 62-15-2, including a KO loss to 8-lossed Terrence Lewis. Appears to be retired after the losing streak.

Herbie Hide - Vitali KO'd him. Wow; Rid**** Bowe dropped this bum 7 times in their fight.

It looks like Vitali is fighting Danny Williams, who was unknown prior to lasting 5 rounds and taking advantage of an injured Tyson and has a loss to Julius Francis on his resume. If Vitali conquers that "hurdle", then who? Maybe DaVarryl Williamson? This cleaning up little brother's unfinished business is getting old.

C'mon, Vit. The Heavyweight Division is in shambles. Fight somebody already. A champion, a former champion, someone who has 20+ wins in THE UNITED STATES, someone who has been in shape since after the Y2K scare.

Then maybe the elder Klitschko will have earned the respect that too many people on this site give the guy. Saying he runs through Rahman, Ruiz, Toney, Tua and Tyson after going through this not-so-distinguished list of opponents seems a bit naive.

Vitai's losses were all paper losses. He has earned his reputation in his fight with Lewis. Lewis did win the fight, but Vitali did not loose the fight. That's how I saw it.

If you have a dif opinion, I'm fine with it. Like you, I would like to see Vitali fight the best, but there are many effective constraints which Vitali is not responsible for.


Nautilus, A Dedicated Mughugger

[GranTorino]

Oh look, another Vitali hater...how original.

[ejk22]

Vitali had two weeks to prepare for Lewis because Johnson went out with injury. I don't know what would have happened had the fight gone on longer than 6 rounds, regardless of whether or not Lewis was out of shape (by eight pounds), nonetheless Lewis had all he could handle with Vitali and to me that is enough to warrant respect for Vitali. Yes I would like to see Vitali fight Byrd again and Golota, but it's not up to Vitali it's up to satan and presently that's not a good sign.

[Explosivo]

I think the originator of this thread has a good point. It is true that this guy is known for fights that hes lost and he is for some reason at the top of the HW division. What a sad state the HW division is in....Look who the top 5 most popular fighters are (IMO)

Vital
Tyson
Wlad
Toney
Holyfield

PATHETIC!!!!

[Torino]

OK, so why are we all to believe that Vitali Klitschko is the TRUE heavyweight champion of the world? Why are there people on this board that would pick Vitali against any other heavyweight out there.

The guy was up on points when he LOST to former WBC champion Lennox Lewis (who was out-of-shape and on the brink of retirement) and current IBF champion Chris Byrd (who took the fight on a week's notice). He had more points at the time of the stoppages.

But which one of these wins is supposed to impress me? It's easy to see why Wlad was considered better; he has wins over Monte Barrett, Jameel McCline, Chris Byrd, and Ray Mercer.

Here are the last 10 victims of the guy HBO and the Ring magazine want you to believe is the "real champ":

Corrie Sanders - Since November of 2001, this guy has fought just one guy not named Klitschko. The semi-retired overweight golf pro only still had a name because he beat Wladimir, which was a lot more impressive before Brewster did it too. Corrie was KO'd by Hasim Rahman in 2000 and was also KO'd by Nate Tubbs. He has no wins of note other than Wlad.

Kirk Johnson - a 260 lb ball of fat.

Larry Donald - on life support by Don King. Ranked 49 by Boxing Rec. Never beat anyone either.

Vaughn Bean - I only know this guy's name because Holyfield whipped him too. He never beat anyone of note. (see a pattern here?)

Ross Purritty - The dude has 17 losses. Everytime he fights anyone good he loses (he did fight Tommy Morrison to a draw!) He lost to Michael Grant, Hasim Rahman, the Danish Pastry Brian Nielsen, Sanders and Donald, Chris Byrd... This guy's picture is next to "tomato can" in the boxing dictionary. At least he beat Wlad...

Orlin Norris - famous for tripping over Tyson's foot and breaking his ankle. Also lost to Henry Akinwande, Andrew Golota, that pesky Danish Pastry, Tony Tucker, and Bert Cooper

Timo Hoffmann - this guy was undefeated when he fought Vitali. Since then he's lost to Michael Sprott and Akinwande. Boxing Rec ranks him 26

Obed Sullivan - Journeyman who made it 11 rounds with Vitali. David Tua knocked him out in 51 seconds. Fres Oquendo also TKO'd him.

Ed Mahone - looked like a good prospect coming into the fight. He was undefeated; since then he won a fight over Mario Cawley and has been exposed with three losses to guys with a combined record of 62-15-2, including a KO loss to 8-lossed Terrence Lewis. Appears to be retired after the losing streak.

Herbie Hide - Vitali KO'd him. Wow; Rid**** Bowe dropped this bum 7 times in their fight.

It looks like Vitali is fighting Danny Williams, who was unknown prior to lasting 5 rounds and taking advantage of an injured Tyson and has a loss to Julius Francis on his resume. If Vitali conquers that "hurdle", then who? Maybe DaVarryl Williamson? This cleaning up little brother's unfinished business is getting old.

C'mon, Vit. The Heavyweight Division is in shambles. Fight somebody already. A champion, a former champion, someone who has 20+ wins in THE UNITED STATES, someone who has been in shape since after the Y2K scare.

Then maybe the elder Klitschko will have earned the respect that too many people on this site give the guy. Saying he runs through Rahman, Ruiz, Toney, Tua and Tyson after going through this not-so-distinguished list of opponents seems a bit naive.

This stuff is never ending.

I don't know what Vitali or Wladimir will ultimately accomplish.
They are however in the same division that made Lewis and others famous.

In regards to neils comments about Lewis and Byrd, the Lewis was "out of shape" thing is just an excuse Lewis fans use for why their fighter was getting beat. In fact, Lewis was only a couple pounds heavier than usual. neils was also implying that Vitali had some kind of advantage with the fight being set only a week in advance, well Vitali took the fight on a weeks notice too and they were already in training for a fight so I don't see the relevance.

The one thing I know for sure is that non Klitschko fans will always find something to complain about. (Lewis out of shape, Johnsons fat, Sanders old, and so on.) They will find something wrong with all his future opponents too. I think the latest is that Williams is not worthy. Hell, if Vitali beats up everyone and retires at 52 years old, they will say he's a wimp for not fighting his brother or find something else to complain about. These people have already made their mind up about the Klitschkos and that will never change. I wouldn't be surprised if one of their favorite fighters got beat up by a Klitschko in the past, fueling their hate.

IMO - The only thing that would help Vitali shut up the haters is (1) if he beat up Lewis some more, but Lewis ran away and "escaped" into retirement before that could happen, Or (2)if he beat up Byrd again but Don King won't let that happen.

I don't know what will happen with either Klitschko, or even if they will win their next fight. IMO - They do deserve some respect for climing to the top of this division. Despite what some people say, they are entertaining and even the haters have to enjoy the 90%+ KO ratio. Or maybe they prefer Byrds "run away" style.

I try to take the negative Klitschko comments with a grain of salt, arguing selectively, with the haters that need a garage door to fit their head into their house.

[MetalVomit]

OK, so why are we all to believe that Vitali Klitschko is the TRUE heavyweight champion of the world? Why are there people on this board that would pick Vitali against any other heavyweight out there.

The guy was up on points when he LOST to former WBC champion Lennox Lewis (who was out-of-shape and on the brink of retirement) and current IBF champion Chris Byrd (who took the fight on a week's notice). He had more points at the time of the stoppages.

But which one of these wins is supposed to impress me? It's easy to see why Wlad was considered better; he has wins over Monte Barrett, Jameel McCline, Chris Byrd, and Ray Mercer.

Here are the last 10 victims of the guy HBO and the Ring magazine want you to believe is the "real champ":

Corrie Sanders - Since November of 2001, this guy has fought just one guy not named Klitschko. The semi-retired overweight golf pro only still had a name because he beat Wladimir, which was a lot more impressive before Brewster did it too. Corrie was KO'd by Hasim Rahman in 2000 and was also KO'd by Nate Tubbs. He has no wins of note other than Wlad.

Kirk Johnson - a 260 lb ball of fat.

Larry Donald - on life support by Don King. Ranked 49 by Boxing Rec. Never beat anyone either.

Vaughn Bean - I only know this guy's name because Holyfield whipped him too. He never beat anyone of note. (see a pattern here?)

Ross Purritty - The dude has 17 losses. Everytime he fights anyone good he loses (he did fight Tommy Morrison to a draw!) He lost to Michael Grant, Hasim Rahman, the Danish Pastry Brian Nielsen, Sanders and Donald, Chris Byrd... This guy's picture is next to "tomato can" in the boxing dictionary. At least he beat Wlad...

Orlin Norris - famous for tripping over Tyson's foot and breaking his ankle. Also lost to Henry Akinwande, Andrew Golota, that pesky Danish Pastry, Tony Tucker, and Bert Cooper

Timo Hoffmann - this guy was undefeated when he fought Vitali. Since then he's lost to Michael Sprott and Akinwande. Boxing Rec ranks him 26

Obed Sullivan - Journeyman who made it 11 rounds with Vitali. David Tua knocked him out in 51 seconds. Fres Oquendo also TKO'd him.

Ed Mahone - looked like a good prospect coming into the fight. He was undefeated; since then he won a fight over Mario Cawley and has been exposed with three losses to guys with a combined record of 62-15-2, including a KO loss to 8-lossed Terrence Lewis. Appears to be retired after the losing streak.

Herbie Hide - Vitali KO'd him. Wow; Rid**** Bowe dropped this bum 7 times in their fight.

It looks like Vitali is fighting Danny Williams, who was unknown prior to lasting 5 rounds and taking advantage of an injured Tyson and has a loss to Julius Francis on his resume. If Vitali conquers that "hurdle", then who? Maybe DaVarryl Williamson? This cleaning up little brother's unfinished business is getting old.

C'mon, Vit. The Heavyweight Division is in shambles. Fight somebody already. A champion, a former champion, someone who has 20+ wins in THE UNITED STATES, someone who has been in shape since after the Y2K scare.

Then maybe the elder Klitschko will have earned the respect that too many people on this site give the guy. Saying he runs through Rahman, Ruiz, Toney, Tua and Tyson after going through this not-so-distinguished list of opponents seems a bit naive.

who should he fight then? its not Vitali's fault the HW division is as shallow as a street puddle.

[techn9ne]

Razor Ruddock really made his name from LOSSES to Mike Tyson.

He turned out to be a bust.

I am always wary of fighters who make it that way....

thats cause he lost both fights mr dumass (ruddock that is)

vitali has never been outboxed or overpowered and should have won both of his losses if it wasnt for his injuriers

get the facts straight!

i refuse to have a debate of wits with an unarmed man!