Was Manny Steward irresponsible?

[TheGreatA]

I considered that, but I think the difference was that Tyson was truly ready to be taken out and also Manny feared that he still had enough power to be dangerous if he was left around for too long.

Ibragimov was also staggering like a drunk in those later rounds but Wladimir just didn't go for the kill (he did try to put him out with single shots but not with combinations). I guess he wanted to take a night off or something, but it was the wrong night to take off IMO.

He may have had some flashbacks back to the first fight with Brewster where he tried to impress and exhausted himself for it but that's only speculation of course.

This fight is meaningless in terms of marketability the same people who watched wladimir will continue to do so

The whole fight's purpose was to show off the best heavyweight in the world to Americans who haven't been interested in the HW division since Tyson, Holyfield and Bowe.
This fight would've brought him LOTS of new fans if he had destroyed Ibragimov.

He will get those fans eventually if he keeps winning but this could've made a real impact on the American fans and HBO.
The whole crowd booing him and Ibragimov (which was classless I admit) was NOT what Wladimir was looking for.

[LondonRingRules]

Eighteen years later people are still roasting Lou Duva for telling Meldrick Taylor that he needed a KO over Chavez when all he had to do was go the distance.

** Figure that was Lou's experience going against a King fighter. With the beating Taylor took, Lou knew it wasn't a lock for Taylor on the cards.

Agreed, Manny is compromised by working for HBO, but as a trainer maybe he's also concerned with the marketablity factor. Probably he thinks Wlad could get a KO if he only let loose in a fight he dominated.

Thought that Wlad should have 1 if not 2 KDs. Might have put him in a different frame of mind if thus credited. Very technical fight on the order of Spinks/Holmes 1 or Lewis/Holy 1 with Spinks and Lewis using the jab for offense and defense. I do think Sultan was wobbled when knocked into the ropes though, an uncalled KD.

Consider that Wlad as well as Vitali have won approx 90% of the rounds they have contested, and what little controversy from this fight is much ado over nothing overall.

Wlad should do a Ray Austin over Thompson next and then prepare for whatever the big challenge is, Peter, Maskaev, Valuev probably.

[Derranged]

Hell no. Manny Steward told Wladimir what everyone else was thinking.

And as for the danger, I think it was painfully obvious that Ibragimov was way overmatched and had no answer for anything Wladimir did. He couldnt do ****. It was clear that there wasnt much danger at all. Wladimir had complete control over the fight and more or less hit Ibragimov at will. Wlad could've stopped him easily within 7. It looks bad that he didnt stop him because it was an obvious mismatch.

[dalliance13]

Boxing isn't just about records. We all know that. It's also about who you beat and how you beat them. With someone like Wladimir coming in a 5 to 1 favorite, with his physical advantages, with the Heavyweight division being the mess it is and Wlad being the divisions primary hope, Klitschko needed a strong outing for his marketability, for his legacy, and for the division as a whole.

Steward was absolutely right to urge him to step it up and go for the KO.

[moin126]

Manny steward IRREPLACEBLE
You must not know about me
You must not know about me
I can have another you by tomorrow
So don't you ever for a second get to thinking you're irreplaceable

[Derranged]

Boxing isn't just about records. We all know that. It's also about who you beat and how you beat them. With someone like Wladimir coming in a 5 to 1 favorite, with his physical advantages, with the Heavyweight division being the mess it is and Wlad being the divisions primary hope, Klitschko needed a strong outing for his marketability, for his legacy, and for the division as a whole.

Steward was absolutely right to urge him to step it up and go for the KO.

Couldnt agree more, not to mention that it was a unification bout, first one in almost 10 years.

[hello2007]

i think manny is overrated as a trainer