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

[hollister]

He's fighting everyone he can fight, what the **** do you want? I'll bet you could SHOW him how to do it better than you could TELL him how, why don't you?

[Prostitroop]

Hey neils I'll just stick to the basic and logical reason on this one . . . for me irregardless of how many loses or K.O.s a fighter has on his records . . . . if he wins a belt then that makes him a champion. And should be regarded as one.

Agreed! Best post/reply ever submitted on this thread/topic. Simple and understandable.

One more thing...

Vitali Klitschko OWNS!!!!

[hollister]

Can't argue with that, lol

[vB Martin]

I had Big K winning the fight, too, but I also saw a very good chance for him to lose it. The last thing in the fight, right before the stoppage in the corner was Lewis hitting Big K so hard he stumbled along the ring ropes all the way across the ring.

That wasn't a good sign for Big K.

[neils7147933]

Hey neils I'll just stick to the basic and logical reason on this one . . . for me irregardless of how many loses or K.O.s a fighter has on his records . . . . if he wins a belt then that makes him a champion. And should be regarded as one.

I don't disagree that he doesn't deserve to be a champion. He won the vacant WBC title bout to win the belt.

What I wonder is, why do 80 some percent perceive him to be the true heavyweight champion, as the HBO poll showed? I think he's got The Ring belt, too. Byrd's resume is better and includes a win over Vitali. Ruiz lost to a light heavy, but his overall competition is better than V. Klitschko's as well.

[semjasa]

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.

At last someone speaks the truth. Vitali is a big guy who beat a few no named little guys, rofl, I guess he is just the lamers big white hope, rather the white hype, he will be exposed when he fights a decent fighter........

[neils7147933]

ok now post the "impressive" records or record of the guy you belive is the tru champ
go ahead include lewis his opponents werent all that impressive
and are you dumb u dont factor in losses after they fought a guy
that only helps to make him look good
most fighters arent the same after losin much less being ko'd which is more often the case with Vit

Why not factor in the losses after they fight a guy? So you're saying that if Rydell Booker loses when he fights another guy with a name we can credit James Toney with being the guy who derailed his career? Most people who get fights with contenders have sparkling records through 20 or so fights. That's what gets them there. Losing once they fight someone decent exposes them for being overrated, as was apparently the case with Timo Hoffmann and Ed Mahone.

[neils7147933]

ok now post the "impressive" records or record of the guy you belive is the tru champ
go ahead include lewis his opponents werent all that impressive
and are you dumb u dont factor in losses after they fought a guy
that only helps to make him look good
most fighters arent the same after losin much less being ko'd which is more often the case with Vit

The post was about Vitali's weak opponent record, not any other heavyweight champs' but I will go ahead and list the 2 guys I would say are more credible champions than Vitali's last 10 opponents along with his and you can see who has the stronger pedigree. I understand that Byrd's fights with his last 2 were controversial decisions, but the fact remains that he still holds the belt with wins on paper so they count. I would say John Ruiz is the true heavyweight champ in my eyes, but that's only because the rest of the division is just so damn bad. I would rank Byrd ahead of Klitschko too. This doesn't mean I think those 2 guys would beat Vitali (necessarily - though I think Ruiz would), it just means that they have better cause to call themselves the "Recognized" champion.

CHRIS BYRD LAST 10 WINS AND DRAW

Andrew Golota (draw; retains belt)
Fres Oquendo
Evander Holyfield
Jeff Pegues
David Tua
Maurice Harris
David Vedder
Vitali Klitschko
David Na'il
Val Smith

JOHN RUIZ LAST 10 WINS AND DRAW

Fres Oquendo
Hasim Rahman
Kirk Johnson
Evander Holyfield (draw; retains belt)
Evander Holyfield
Thomas Williams
Fernely Feliz
Mario Cawley
Jerry Ballard
Tony Tucker

VITALI KLITSCHKO LAST 10 WINS

Corrie Sanders
Kirk Johnson
Larry Donald
Vaughn Bean
Ross Purrity
Orlin Norris
Timo Hoffmann
Obed Sullivan
Ed Mahone
Herbie Hide

Klitschko's opponents are obviously a distant third.

[Neuraxis]

That doesn't take into effect how those fights were won, or how good the fighter is doing now.

Last 10 Win Lists are Pointless:

DaVarryl Williamson
Danell Nicholson
Fabio Eduardo Moli
Jameel McCline
Ray Mercer
Francois Botha
Charles Shufford
Derrick Jefferson
Chris Byrd
Monte Barrett

[Mrpresident]

I think that undisputed stauts is really confered to a fighter by the public and the media. Regardless of who holds the Ring Belt or any alphabet soup belt for that matter. The reality is that Vitali has had all of his fights including is title winning preformance on non PPV and he is a seemingly likable guy, who is big and gave Lewis a hard time. Thats why he is getting as much attention as he is which is still not that much.