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At the moment, he is not a Hall of Famer. His fight against Ruslan Chagaev was only his first real title fight of his career, and only the second one that a Klitschko was apart of. Wladimir is easly the closest thing to a Hall of Fame heavyweight from his era, but it's not a lock yet. I say if he defends his title 3 times against top opposition I say he's in given all the other little things he ha accomplished. And the fact that he has faced the top of the division of late and has looked good against them means that we should expect nothing but him headed to the hall. However, he isn't there yet. But it took his 56th career fight before he fought for the heavyweight crown actually doesn't bode well for him. Finally ending the longest title drought in the history of the heavyweights was a HUGE accomplishment for his legacy and his long time standing as a titlist helps too. People can ***** and moan about his boring style all they want, they have a right to. The truth is fighters are entertainers and get paid according to their popularity. But in terms of fighting legacy, entertaining means a lot, but results mean more. So regardless if you approve of his style or not is moot. If Wlad is able to keep control of this division and his crown for the next 18 to 24 months, then I feel he is in the hall. As for Vitali, no. Plain and simple, 1 title fight in which he lost to Lewis, and too many injuries in his career cost him too much.
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He is already, no doubt about it....Comment
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ofcourse he is. even though this era for HWs is painfully weak, u cant deny wlad ruled it. and having ruled the HW division u deserve to be a HOFer. dont by any means mistake him for an ATG though.Comment
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to be a HOFer u need to leave a imprint on boxing history, wlad has done that. has he the resume to be called an ATG? no. hes been in a talentless division for years, a ATG HW wouldve cleaned it up quicker and ruled with more dominance. and just looking at him in the ring i dont see the same skills as the ATG heavys have. a ATG wouldnt have gon 12 with sultan, or been dropped 3 times by bum ass peter etc..Comment
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Yep, Better question.....Unless he fights and beat his own brother then i doubt it happens for him because no-one is on the same level has Wlad and Vitali, Unless the arreola's...Haye's...Povetkin's etc somehow beat everyone else and build up a name then it would be difficult for him to be ATG.
If he beat Haye,arreola or povetkin now what are people going to say the next day??? Oh he was suppose to etc. The era of HW that we have at the moment doesnt give him a proper chance for him to cement his ATG status imo.Comment
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I see your getting a lot of replies to this post as well. For him to be an ATG, he would have to be someone else, period. I have said several times, Wlad and Vitali are two very good heavyweights in an era of mediocre ones. You put either one them back in the 90's and their records and legacies would be different, obviouslty their record not as glossy, but their legacies would be better. Wlad wouldn't get away with this current style he has (Yes Lennox used it to a degree, but Lennox fought on the inside, took more risks, and was a much better all around fighter) and Wlad would be forced to be more offensive. Remember how he was moving on up the ranks before the Sanders fight? Man I loved Wlad then, he was a ***ing terror, but he wasn't as disciplined and of course it meant that his was more vulnerable to his opponents. Let's be honest here, the quality of the heavyweights in the 90's was better than it is now, as far as skills, power, etc. But the telling point, is that those heavyweights had a hell of a lot more heart then and they brought the fights. Not saying the Klitschkos don't have heart, but most of their opponents lack it and thus they haven't been tested like they would've in the 90's and coupled with the better talent, it menat that every top heavyweight was susceptible to losing any given night. Plus, guys like Rid**** Bowe (not post Holyfield Bowe thought), Ike Ibeabuchi (only two good wins, but goddamn they were impressive), Andrew Golota (when he wasn't punching Bowe in the nuts, he was doing a nice job of busting up his face), even Ray Mercer who was a tough son of a ***** who gave Lennox a great fight and destroyed Tommy Morrison and Francesco Damiani with his power. Don't forget a prime Holyfield and even a past his prime Tyson was still dangerous. Thats just a few, yes both Klitschkos could log wins over some of these guys, but they would lose too. We would respect them more because I know they would've fought harder, because they would've been forced to. Also, I know they wouldn't be the top of the division and would be two very good heavyweights, in an era of very good heavyweights with a few greats mixed in. There is nothing to be ashamed of in that, but neither man possess the entire skillset to have suceeded against the top of that time. They both have power, Wlad still has a suspect chin, neither can fight off the ropes or on the inside at all. Wlad is a master defensive fighter when he utilizes his heighth and Vitali is awkward to deal with. But Wlad only threw a jab and straight right against Chagaev (Masterful performance though) and has shown to be limited offensively now, while Vitali was limited defensively. Both had stamina issues.Comment
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be in an entertaining fight?Comment
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I think that, had Wlad jumped on the guy and within a couple of rounds, knocked him cukoo, then there'd probably be just as much controversy about the size disadvantage. That said, Wlad has learned to use his size (height, mostly) to his advantage, but has yet to do it in a way that is overly devastating to his opponents. He simply keeps them outside with the jab and waits for a hole for the right, or a hook. Can be boring, but efficient, nevertheless. I think that when (or if) Wlad grows more comfortable with the way he's fighting now, he'll become much more aggressive, and the exciting days of his younger, more brazen style will come back to the ring. Until then, he's not HOF material. I've seen just as distinct size mis-matches in lower weight classes. While the weight's are relatively close the day before, I've seen a full foot in height difference in middleweight. And in my opinion, height/reach is a much bigger advantage than weight. In other words, I pretty much agree with about everything you said.
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