Comments Thread For: Measured Against All Time: The Klitschko Brothers Pt. 2: Vitali

[crold1]

his resume sucks mah balls

I could have guessed this one.

[ShoulderRoll]

What was the banned substance that Vitali Klitschko tested positive for in 1996?

[K Man]

Without doubt, Vitali would be among the Top-5 historic greatest if he continued with the Byrd fight with including the controversial Lewis loss on his resume.

[crold1]

What was the banned substance that Vitali Klitschko tested positive for in 1996?

Believe he claimed a steroid to heal from a leg injury in his book. Not sure which.

[paulf]

Good read, cheers to the writer.

Vitali's main problem was that he was Wladimir's brother. Wlad ended up with the gold medal and the majority of the glory when it came to heavyweight fights.

Take either brother out of the picture and the era is very different. Because they served as a two-headed monster, often avenging the other's losses, we never really got to see what either of them were truly capable of, especially Vitali; despite vitually everyone agreeing he'd be a top heavyweight in any era, his resume is absolutely laughable.

[alexjust]

I don't think Wlad (whom I respect immensely) would have taken that uppercut from Lewis, which Vitali took like a brick wall takes a mosquito. Wladimir summized their differences perfectly when he said that Vitali was born a fighter when Wladimir was made into one. Wlad is a good school, good grades guy, Vitali is a street kid you don't want to mess with if you run into him. And this is what, to me, their differences are. Where Vitali might have come slightly shorter than Wlad in skills department, he compensated with an unshakable fighter mentality and a chin a bull would be envious of. And because of that I'd rate Vitali higher than Wlad in terms of ability to hang in there with the likes of prime top 5 ATG HW. Wladimir would be more likely to be blown out in a dog fight, but not Vitali. He might not have had enough skill to outpoint a prime Ali, but I'm confident neither Ali, nor Tyson nor any ATG, would have knocked him out and if they did outpoint Vitali, it would have been a quite close decision and they would have to earn every cent of their paycheck.

[aboutfkntime]

I love MAAT... both Klitschko articles were superb

unbelievably, Cliff is actually getting better at this

like most of us thought... Vitali was potentially better, but Vladimir achieved more... not a huge fan, but Vladimir is an all-time great... I still see Vitali stacking up better against all comers

I just wish fans would examine how Cliff forms his conclusions

a fighters entire career must be examined... but sometimes ticking certain boxes will boil down to examining key fights, and often those key fights can be measured against generational peers to form a definitive conclusion as to how the fighter stacks up against history... also, a fighters development is often taken into consideration... as-is timing, etc... all that stuff is WAAAAAY beyond most fans, so stay humble guys lol

I strongly recommend the other MAAT articles, fantastic stuff, I just read the Hopkins update

Thanks Cliff !!

[crold1]

I love MAAT... both Klitschko articles were superb

unbelievably, Cliff is actually getting better at this

like most of us thought... Vitali was potentially better, but Vladimir achieved more... not a huge fan, but Vladimir is an all-time great... I still see Vitali stacking up better against all comers

I just wish fans would examine how Cliff forms his conclusions

a fighters entire career must be examined... but sometimes ticking certain boxes will boil down to examining key fights, and often those key fights can be measured against generational peers to form a definitive conclusion as to how the fighter stacks up against history... also, a fighters development is often taken into consideration... as-is timing, etc... all that stuff is WAAAAAY beyond most fans, so stay humble guys lol

I strongly recommend the other MAAT articles, fantastic stuff, I just read the Hopkins update

Thanks Cliff !!

I enjoy writing these. Glad you like reading

[Monty Fisto]

Vitali was an excellent fighter. Achieved less than Wlad, but was tougher and better to watch. The Klitchkos are often described as boring, but I thought Vitali had a viewer-friendly style. His most impressive attribute was his ring generalship -- his command of space and distance, and his quick reactions allowed him to use that as his defence, and I liked how he could come back from pressure with shots from all angles. Didn't need any time to think about what he was doing; could instinctively just attack and move out of harm's way. Great chin, good engine and discipline. That discipline allowed him to take such a huge break and then hold a belt into his 40s.

I remember when he fought Lennox Lewis feeling like this was the changing of the guard, even though Lewis got the win. Shame he had the injuries, but still had an impressive career and agree with the article that he would likely hold his own in any era.

[DreamFighter]

his best win is shot corrie sanders, so hes on par with someone who could beat a 40 year old failed contender (who never got near a title shot) in terms of one on one ability.
His strengths are staying power in long run, and stellar tag team management.