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A lot of people seem to be fooling themselves with all of this talk about whether Wlad is back or not, especially when the standard of him being back requires that he do something that he was never able to do pre Sanders which is beat someone with good power and a good chin. He lost to the only three opponents he faced, all of which had two things in common. These three opponents, Puritty, Sanders, and Brewster, all had good power and a good chin. Puritty has the best chin of the bunch and he has 30 wins with 27 KO's, Sanders has 40 wins with 30 KO's (all of his decisions except Puritty were pre 1995), and Brewster who has 31 wins and 27 KO's.
A lot of people who insist that Wlad isn’t even close to being back yet, are either A) fooling themselves or B) buying into the pre-Sanders hype created by HBO that Wlad could have beat Lewis. If Wlad would have fought Lewis after he beat McCline and Lewis would have fought him instead of Tyson, Lewis would have beat up on him pretty badly. Like Sanders proved, Wlad’s defense was horrible and he reacted very poorly to being hit with multiple power shots in a row. Let’s examine Wlad’s opponents from Barrett to Castillo, by characterizing how each of his opponents fought him into one of four categories. I think that it’s safe to say which category presents the biggest challenge to Wlad.
Sofhitters: Barrett, Byrd
Scared of Wlad's Power: Shufford, McCline, Moli, TOS, Castillo
Over the hill: Mercer, Botha, Nicholson
Glass Chin, Hard Hitter: Jefferson
Solid Chin, Hard Hitters: Sanders, Brewster
After his loss to Sanders he fought Moli, Nicholson, Brewster, TOS, and Castillo. Moli, was probably the worst post-Sanders opponent Wlad fought was KO'd in 1 by Wlad. Nicholson who while he was over the hill was still able to easily outbox Tua for 5 rounds before Tua KO'd him in the 6th. Nicholson fought somewhat scared against Wlad, constantly clinching him while Wlad outboxed him and TKO'd him in 4th. Wlad looked the closest to the old Wlad against Moli and Nicholson.
After the Nicholson fight, Wlad started working with Emanuel Steward, who felt the need to change a lot of things about Wlad's style and how he fought. Because of this, he looked nothing like the old Wlad, and I really wondered whether Steward was ruining Wlad. Instead of fighting Brewster where he looked hurried and awkward and TOS where he looked unsure of himself and awkward, Wlad should have fought much easier opposition while he was making the switch in style.
Against Castillo, it was clear that Wlad is finally comfortable with Steward's new style. Losing 4+ lbs. and sparring more also seemed to help him out quite a bit as well. Wlad had great footwork, he was able to throw combinations (which he struggled to do against Brewster and which he found impossible to do against TOS), he improved his defense, and he fought like the patient Wlad of the past.
As long as Wlad stays away from the hard hitters with good chins, he will most likely keep on winning. The true test will come when he fights a hard hitter with a good chin. If he doesn't win, it won’t prove that Wlad isn’t back because the old Wlad would have lost every single time to that kind of opponent. If he wins, it will prove that the new Wlad is here.
A lot of people who insist that Wlad isn’t even close to being back yet, are either A) fooling themselves or B) buying into the pre-Sanders hype created by HBO that Wlad could have beat Lewis. If Wlad would have fought Lewis after he beat McCline and Lewis would have fought him instead of Tyson, Lewis would have beat up on him pretty badly. Like Sanders proved, Wlad’s defense was horrible and he reacted very poorly to being hit with multiple power shots in a row. Let’s examine Wlad’s opponents from Barrett to Castillo, by characterizing how each of his opponents fought him into one of four categories. I think that it’s safe to say which category presents the biggest challenge to Wlad.
Sofhitters: Barrett, Byrd
Scared of Wlad's Power: Shufford, McCline, Moli, TOS, Castillo
Over the hill: Mercer, Botha, Nicholson
Glass Chin, Hard Hitter: Jefferson
Solid Chin, Hard Hitters: Sanders, Brewster
After his loss to Sanders he fought Moli, Nicholson, Brewster, TOS, and Castillo. Moli, was probably the worst post-Sanders opponent Wlad fought was KO'd in 1 by Wlad. Nicholson who while he was over the hill was still able to easily outbox Tua for 5 rounds before Tua KO'd him in the 6th. Nicholson fought somewhat scared against Wlad, constantly clinching him while Wlad outboxed him and TKO'd him in 4th. Wlad looked the closest to the old Wlad against Moli and Nicholson.
After the Nicholson fight, Wlad started working with Emanuel Steward, who felt the need to change a lot of things about Wlad's style and how he fought. Because of this, he looked nothing like the old Wlad, and I really wondered whether Steward was ruining Wlad. Instead of fighting Brewster where he looked hurried and awkward and TOS where he looked unsure of himself and awkward, Wlad should have fought much easier opposition while he was making the switch in style.
Against Castillo, it was clear that Wlad is finally comfortable with Steward's new style. Losing 4+ lbs. and sparring more also seemed to help him out quite a bit as well. Wlad had great footwork, he was able to throw combinations (which he struggled to do against Brewster and which he found impossible to do against TOS), he improved his defense, and he fought like the patient Wlad of the past.
As long as Wlad stays away from the hard hitters with good chins, he will most likely keep on winning. The true test will come when he fights a hard hitter with a good chin. If he doesn't win, it won’t prove that Wlad isn’t back because the old Wlad would have lost every single time to that kind of opponent. If he wins, it will prove that the new Wlad is here.
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