Vitali Klitschko is now age 42

[yoz]

There's no point speculating. Davey blew his chance. In 10 years time, no one will remember him

[Dolor]

There's no point speculating. Davey blew his chance. In 10 years time, no one will remember him

I wouldn't be so sure. once vitali retires, the WBC belt will be vacant. wlad will try to get it, and so will haye, so wlad vs. haye II is quite realistic. and with every year that passes, haye's chances increase, because wlad will also get slower. and contrary to vitali, wlad has no chin to compensate for a decrease in speed.

p.s. I have zero respect for haye as a person.

[yoz]

I wouldn't be so sure. once vitali retires, the WBC belt will be vacant. wlad will try to get it, and so will haye, so wlad vs. haye II is quite realistic. and with every year that passes, haye's chances increase, because wlad will also get slower. and contrary to vitali, wlad has no chin to compensate for a decrease in speed.

p.s. I have zero respect for haye as a person.

Does Haye not age, then? Will he not get slower? Also, Haye's chin isn't anything to write home about.

Wladimir's power > Haye's power.

[LacedUp]

I'm surprised Haye still has fans on this forum; his HW run has been a joke.

The so-called 'saviour' of boxing avoided Vitali like the plague for years, then, as soon as he spotted some vulnerabilities in the Chisora fight, started calling him out again. Haye had his chance; he blew it. Time to move on.

Mate, Vitali's run as a 'champion' since 2008 is not anything to write home about either. For all the Harrison's and Barrett's Haye has fought, Vitali has a Briggs or a Charr to match.

[Dolor]

Does Haye not age, then? Will he not get slower? Also, Haye's chin isn't anything to write home about.

haye does age, but it will show at a later time point, because he is 4.5 years younger. haye at 35/36 will have a physical advantage over wlad at 40.

Wladimir's power > Haye's power.

probably, but it's very close.

[yoz]

Mate, Vitali's run as a 'champion' since 2008 is not anything to write home about either. For all the Harrison's and Barrett's Haye has fought, Vitali has a Briggs or a Charr to match.

I agree. Vitali will likely be remembered as 'the guy who almost stopped fat Lennox'.

Still, Vitali's HW resume > Haye's HW resume.

[yoz]

haye does age, but it will show at a later time point, because he is 4.5 years younger. haye at 35/36 will have a physical advantage over wlad at 40.

probably, but it's very close.

How can you say that? They have different styles. Wladimir's is tailored for longevity; Haye's is simply speed.

I'd say the longer time passes, the greater the chance Wladimir has of stopping Haye .

[Dolor]

How can you say that? They have different styles. Wladimir's is tailored for longevity; Haye's is simply speed.

I'd say the longer time passes, the greater the chance Wladimir has of stopping Haye .

why did wlad (clearly) beat haye? because wlad threw his jabs much faster and with a higher frequency than haye had expected, leaving haye with little to no chance to close the gap.

once wlad's incredible hand speed is gone, haye will be able to hit him, and I am not sure what the results will be. of course, maybe haye will run into a hook while trying to close in on wlad, but maybe he will land on wlad with one of his power punches.

as I said, I dislike haye, and I would be glad to see haye knocked out cold, but from an objective point of view, haye does have a pretty good chance of beating wlad (<50%, but still) - a better chance than anyone in the divison right now, including vitali (who was my favourite HW fighter for almost a decade).

[ShamrockXpress]

Proved his worth at cruiser? He had two world title fights. An up and down affair with mormeck and the blow out of enzo. He didn't do an evander and clear the division out, he got his titles and ran, just as fights with Cunningham, Wlodarczyk and adamek were becoming interesting.

A fight between vitali circa 2000 and Haye would have been similar to the hide fight. Haye trying to land and being bombed out. The vitali from a few years ago would have walked Haye down and stopped him. Haye doesn't like pressure and vitali was like a heavyweight margarito. The johnson fight he threw around a thousand punches and lets not forget the iron chin. Even now I'd favour vitali, I thought valuev deserved the nod against Haye and no matter how much vitali has slowed he's still quicker, more awkward and hits a lot harder than sugar valuev.

[TBear]

Happy Birthday to Vitali!