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Interesting question this.
Vitali is a 6'8 SuperHeavyweight who out weighted his opponent by 35+ Pounds, his opponent was a former MiddleWeight and seriously lacked any sort of punching power. Vitali was also winning on the cards.
That being said: Here is a few key points.
Chris Byrd starting in the middle rounds was actually clowning Vitali and forcing him to miss 90% of his punches. Byrd was also landing at a much higher rate and was visibly hurting Vitali as he got Vitali going backwards from that point on out. After the fight, Vitali himself admits that he 'was not sure if he was winning the fight'.
I feel that Byrd's pressure and defensive abilities were frustrating Vitali and he was actually in a much closer fight than some people initially realized.
After the fight, Vitali's home crowd booed him and it was sad. Vitali also pretended he didn't speak English when Larry Merchant was dominating him in the interview. That's understandable since it's the first time in history a champion quit against some one 9 inches shorter.
Victor Ortiz had his jaw noticeably broken. I think one more hit would have damaged him for life.
Vitali's 'shoulder pain' is just words. There is really no evidence that he was 'hurt' because of it. He probably just quit due to lack of heart.
Vitali is a 6'8 SuperHeavyweight who out weighted his opponent by 35+ Pounds, his opponent was a former MiddleWeight and seriously lacked any sort of punching power. Vitali was also winning on the cards.
That being said: Here is a few key points.
Chris Byrd starting in the middle rounds was actually clowning Vitali and forcing him to miss 90% of his punches. Byrd was also landing at a much higher rate and was visibly hurting Vitali as he got Vitali going backwards from that point on out. After the fight, Vitali himself admits that he 'was not sure if he was winning the fight'.
I feel that Byrd's pressure and defensive abilities were frustrating Vitali and he was actually in a much closer fight than some people initially realized.
After the fight, Vitali's home crowd booed him and it was sad. Vitali also pretended he didn't speak English when Larry Merchant was dominating him in the interview. That's understandable since it's the first time in history a champion quit against some one 9 inches shorter.
Victor Ortiz had his jaw noticeably broken. I think one more hit would have damaged him for life.
Vitali's 'shoulder pain' is just words. There is really no evidence that he was 'hurt' because of it. He probably just quit due to lack of heart.
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