Max Kellerman is a total tool and Wlad handled him brilliantly

[////]

he's not a clincher! it was just that one fight! this is just good old fashioned leaning.

yes followed by the KO of the year

[beez721]

yes followed by the KO of the year

that left hook was brutal

[BennyST]

besides the povetkin fiasco his clinching has not been to the point of dq worthy

Maybe, maybe not. But it has certainly, and very consistently, been to the point that he should be warned, and have points deducted, which would then stop the damn clinching. It's absurdly excessive.

It ruins fights and is illegal for a good reason. It stops opponents being able to fight properly and fight their fight fairly.

[BennyST]

wlads ko ratio being maong the highest in heavyweight history kind of offsets his clinching

the povetkin fight was atrocious but its dishonest to act like that was representative of the rest of his career

It doesn't offset anything. First off, it's the biggest cause for his KOs. It illegally tires his opponents out and makes them spend half the fight wrestling instead of punching. Second, it's illegal. It's against the rules. It's stops the opponent from being able to fairly implement his own fight plan.

If someone came in and just landed low blows until the opponent was spending half his time trying to block low blows until they got KOd, would you call that fair and say "well, he got the KO, so it offsets the fouls that allowed the KO to happen"?

Low blows, head butts and clinching are against the rules because they unfairly advantage the fighter that uses them and creates an uneven fight with one guy at a disadvantage.

[cupocity303]

Maybe, maybe not. But it has certainly, and very consistently, been to the point that he should be warned, and have points deducted, which would then stop the damn clinching. It's absurdly excessive.

It ruins fights and is illegal for a good reason. It stops opponents being able to fight properly and fight their fight fairly.

The only thing that is excessive is the people bringing up his clinching. This wasn't a point of conversation a few years ago.

The talking points a few years ago were that he was too cautious and let fights go on for far longer then he should have. The criticism was that he should've KO'd his opponents in the first 2 rounds a la Mike Tyson style instead of dragging it out.

And yes the Povetkin fight exacerbated the holding/clinching narrative.

[Fury4daWIN]

The only thing that is excessive is the people bringing up his clinching. This wasn't a point of conversation a few years ago.

The talking points a few years ago were that he was too cautious and let fights go on for far longer then he should have. The criticism was that he should've KO'd his opponents in the first 2 rounds a la Mike Tyson style instead of dragging it out.

And yes the Povetkin fight exacerbated the holding/clinching narrative.

His clinching has been apparent since the first Peter fight. The Povetkin fight simply made it apparent to everyone just what a huge part of his game it's been for years and to what egregious lengths Wlad was prepared to stink up the joint to get the win.

[Fury4daWIN]

besides the povetkin fiasco his clinching has not been to the point of dq worthy

It has certainly been worthy of points deductions however.

[Fury4daWIN]

really? he just clinched 100 times against jennings. you don't think 100 fouls is dq worthy? he clinched 45 times against pulev in 4 and a half rounds. seems to me that he clinches a lot in almost every fight. its just his style to cheat. the saddest part is that fans have become conditioned to it and now accept it. fans don't even realize what's happening right in front of their eyes. the cheating has become normal to them.

This is a good point. It's why the Povetkin fight was so retroactively damaging. It was an eye opening moment for many who'd become conditioned to accepting the unacceptable, myself included.

[M Bison]

Wladimir is an illusion?
Well that's the only illusion I know that seems to be knocking a lot of people out cold lol.
Promotion rivals will always do this **** though, they're happy if it's their guy but will make excuses if it isn't, no idea what fight Roy was watching to think a rematch was needed lol.

[Fury4daWIN]

Wladimir is an illusion?
Well that's the only illusion I know that seems to be knocking a lot of people out cold lol.
Promotion rivals will always do this **** though, they're happy if it's their guy but will make excuses if it isn't, no idea what fight Roy was watching to think a rematch was needed lol.

It's his degree of dominance that's an illusion, not the wins themselves. He's not nearly as far above the competition as people have thought, when the rules of the sport are actually enforced.