Vitali Klitschko or Wladimir Klitschko?

[Someone88]

What have any of those three done in the heavyweight division that would make someone elevate Wlad's status higher than what it is at the moment? Their combined best win is a fat, overweight and inactive Kevin Johnson on a 12 round decision.

It's not Wlad's fault per se, there's just no one out there yet who you can say "that guy looks like the next champion and he has a shot at Wlad" to. Nobody looks good. Wlad is head and shoulders above everyone else - there's no one that comes close to having the dedication or skill it requires to be a champion. Only Wlad.

That's how it is right now - maybe in 3-5 years time we'll have guys like the Fury's, Joshua, Jennings, Wilder causing some serious noise. At this moment they aren't.

Wlad is fringe top 10 at the moment. Lewis is established top 10. That's the difference.

Quality > quantity any day of the week. Great fighters have mixed the two and that's how you become great. Unfortunately , you don't decide the era you fight in.

Your points are valid I agree with most of what you said, I just think sometimes quality is subjective. Great fighters have mixed the two you are right, in Wladimir's case he has to focus on quantity. With quality as you said he can't do much about that.

[Someone88]

I agree Lewis is the better all-round fighter as he does more things better that Wlad, mostly inside game.

What I am not sure who is more effective. Wlad's style, although not always easy on eye, is extremely effective. There is no fighter who can defend against that jab, left hook and the straight right.

I know this is not the most popular opinion, but I believe that prime Vitali gives more problems to Wlad than prime Lennox.

However I also believe that Lennox beats Vitali more times in 10 fights, and Vitali beats Wlad more times in 10 fights. Wlad vs Lennox is pretty much even IMO. No matter how many fights I rewatched of these two fighters I have no idea who would get to whom quicker. I can see it going to distance quite easy as well.

He is extremely effective. I must give him that. The one thing I admire Wlad for more than anything else - is his ability to stay active and his determination to fight the best in the division. Now, that's not an easy feat considering his age and even when Manny was his trainer he would sigh at the thought of Wlad fighting Mormeck for example. I remember him saying that it was a weak fight and Wlad felt the same way, but there was no one else out there who would fight.

That's got to be frustrating, so I really do admire that aspect of his career. Not many could do that.

I think so too. Prime Vitali was a different kind of fighter than Lennox was. Not as technical and wasn't afraid to get stuck in like Lennox was sometimes. Wlad would have problems against that kind of fighter, and against Lennox it would probably be a snoozefest with both fighters not willing to engage.

It's a hard one between Lennox and Vitali. Pretty evenly matched in my opinion. I would give the edge to Lennox, but wouldn't be surprised if Vitali should beat him.

Good points made by both of you.

[Boxing Goat]

Wladimir is by far the better boxer and has the better resume by a country mile.

I like Vitali but he is so overrated based on his stats against absolute duds.

Is that a dud in your avitar?

[andrewa1]

It's actually the opposite of what the conventional wisdom on these forum boards hold (although most non forum boarder experts etc have it closer to the truth). Depending on how long Wlad's career lasts, this could change, but right now, Vitali has the better legacy, but I'm not convinced he would beat Wlad H2H prime for prime. Legacy and all time, non H2H ranking is NOT based solely on number of high level opponents faced as many here seem to assume, its about performance against the very best of the opposition and performance in all matchups. Vitali beat the two best post Lewis, non K HW's, Sanders and Peter, both of who beat or nearly beat Wlad, and he did it in dominant fashion. Moreover, while outside of that, his opposition was slightly weaker and less diverse than Wlad's, he was nevertheless more dominant in those wins. All told, it amounts to a top 10 all time HW status for Vitali, and just outside the top 10 for Wlad. Apart from legacy, Vitali is also the more dominant, complete fighter, who would beat more types of fighters more handily than Wlad. All that said, Vitali's weakness is that his style is less suited to very tall, reachy, powerful HW's, per Lewis and to a lesser extent Sanders. Wlad would be the best test of that weakness outside Lewis. I think it could go either way, if Vitali survived the fight on his feet(he's got the greatest chin all time among top HW's, but anyone can be knocked out and this would be his greatest test) and without being stopped on injury, then he'd win any decision. Of course, its also very possible he'd ko his weaker chinned brother.

[LacedUp]

It's actually the opposite of what the conventional wisdom on these forum boards hold (although most non forum boarder experts etc have it closer to the truth). Depending on how long Wlad's career lasts, this could change, but right now, Vitali has the better legacy, but I'm not convinced he would beat Wlad H2H prime for prime. Legacy and all time, non H2H ranking is NOT based solely on number of high level opponents faced as many here seem to assume, its about performance against the very best of the opposition and performance in all matchups. Vitali beat the two best post Lewis, non K HW's, Sanders and Peter, both of who beat or nearly beat Wlad, and he did it in dominant fashion. Moreover, while outside of that, his opposition was slightly weaker and less diverse than Wlad's, he was nevertheless more dominant in those wins. All told, it amounts to a top 10 all time HW status for Vitali, and just outside the top 10 for Wlad. Apart from legacy, Vitali is also the more dominant, complete fighter, who would beat more types of fighters more handily than Wlad. All that said, Vitali's weakness is that his style is less suited to very tall, reachy, powerful HW's, per Lewis and to a lesser extent Sanders. Wlad would be the best test of that weakness outside Lewis. I think it could go either way, if Vitali survived the fight on his feet(he's got the greatest chin all time among top HW's, but anyone can be knocked out and this would be his greatest test) and without being stopped on injury, then he'd win any decision. Of course, its also very possible he'd ko his weaker chinned brother.

Did Sam Peter nearly beat Wlad?

[andrewa1]

Did Sam Peter nearly beat Wlad?

Yes. Its really a shame, I've seen enough of your posts to see you have more ability to be rational than most K haters, you just choose to be a complete moron.

[Axl Rose]

Vitali.Never been down, never been out. never been behind on points. an all-time great

[LacedUp]

Yes. Its really a shame, I've seen enough of your posts to see you have more ability to be rational than most K haters, you just choose to be a complete moron.

Yes I have.

But Sam Peter never came close to beating Wladimir. He scored a couple of flash knockdowns, but was beaten to a pulp in every round of the fight (almost).

[JAB5239]

I'm interested in hearing why you think Wlad is by far the better boxer? IMO, they are both black belts.

Im interested in your top 20 list and how you can rank Vits 15th....how about posting it?

[FrankSucketts]

I Wlad retired after Leapai he'd be ranked above Lennox by anyone with a brain. Lennox got flat backed by Rahman a three fights before he retired, ostensibly in his "prime", and got chased out of the sport by Vitali.