Why do people call Wlad "weak-chinned" when he's proven otherwise?

[sunny31]

Im sure we'll see how strong Wlad's chin is when he fight Haye.

Exactly...I can't see haye not landing big at some point in the fight, unless wlad takes him out real early. I just think haye is wrong for wlad and he'l be taken out, his chin is poor in my opinion. He is just very good at protecting it nowadays, but ultimately when you face top fighters even the best defensive fighters have to be able to take stick, because haye is too fast you can't avoid all his punches he doesn't just throw straight, he comes in at crazy angles, unpredictable punches, wide hooks, it's extremely difficult for a straight up guy like wlad to deal with that kind of attack, he is a thinker and a technician, I believe his chin will fail him. Wlad needs to take him out before he gets taken out himself.

[BigStereotype]

lol at George Foreman's word is gospel. According to him, Iran Barkley KO'd James Toney. He's an entertaining commentator and a great champion but that doesn't make him particularly insightful.

[Squirrel]

Are we talking about the same George Foreman that thought Trinidad was beating Hopkins?

[The Gambler1981]

Of course it's a weakness, but it's not an enormous Achilles heel like so many like to think. Wlad has a window for error here that Haye doesn't possess.

Yea it is, it is his biggest weakness as a fighter. Name a bigger weakness he has~

I wasn't talking about the Haye fight at all I was talking in general. If you want to talk that fight the margin for error Wlad has has everything to do with how he fights and the physical advantages that add to that~.

If it comes to battle of who has the better chin Wlad already fucked up~

[Jimbo16031992]

The weakness of Wlad's chin is exaggerated, it's not good or bad imo, the way Steward has worked on Klitschko's balance now means even if you manage to hit him cleanly he's far less likely to go down, as balance and stamina were the main reason for a lot of those knockdowns.

Let's admire Vitali's chin though - the guy's a beast!

[xAUGUSTUSx]

Peter has above average power at best, he has never displayed awesome power, he just got highly overrated for knocking down glass chin Wlad.

Peter has serious power you really don't know what you are talking about.

[nomadman]

Yea it is, it is his biggest weakness as a fighter. Name a bigger weakness he has~

I can't, because I already know it's his biggest weakness. But that doesn't make it a gaping insurmountable flaw, merely the most obvious point a fighter would do well to target if he wishes to improve his margins of success. My main thrust in this argument is to combat the idea that Wlad's chin is absolute garbage, nothing more. People, too many people, talk as if the merest tap on his jawline will send him slumping to the ground in an unconscious heap, and that simply doesn't square with reality at all. There are enough fights on video to show that Wlad's tolerance for punishment is more than adequate to cope with the majority of what his opponents bring; had it been any less and he wouldn't be champion today, no matter his skills or any perceived weakness of the division.

I wasn't talking about the Haye fight at all I was talking in general. If you want to talk that fight the margin for error Wlad has has everything to do with how he fights and the physical advantages that add to that~.

Of course the way you fight and the way your opponent fights widens or narrows that window of defeat, but my main point was that I think Wlad can afford to take a heavy hit or two, whereas Haye cannot.

Which is why the below comment...

If it comes to battle of who has the better chin Wlad already fucked up~

...strikes me as somewhat odd.

[nomadman]

The weakness of Wlad's chin is exaggerated, it's not good or bad imo, the way Steward has worked on Klitschko's balance now means even if you manage to hit him cleanly he's far less likely to go down, as balance and stamina were the main reason for a lot of those knockdowns.

Let's admire Vitali's chin though - the guy's a beast!

Let's admire Lennox's chin while we're at it. He took some bombs himself.

(that's another fighter who was accused of having a glass jaw during his reign, though his chin is clearly better than Wlad's)