If that 2 round slaughter from March 2003 instead had TODAY'S Wlad Klitschko taking on the Sanders of that night, how do you think it would've unfolded? Would Sanders still tap Wlad's chin and drop him? Would Wlad still go into panic-mode? Is it a clash of styles really where Sanders' lead power left, handspeed and hitting power would always give Wlad trouble?
After the trouble he had with Thompson and Peter and being gunshy against Ibragimov, I don't think he'd beat Sanders 'handily'. Although I would favour him because he is a consistently good fighter. Just has quite a few flaws which can be exposed by the right guy.
Sanders wouldn't do it again with Wlad's new style. Wlad holds too much now. He would just grab Sanders and hold on for dear life, probably survive and win by KO when fat Sanders gasses.
I think he'd be a lot more patient and wait for Sanders' notoriously bad stamina to kick into gear in the middle rounds.
Hard to say because those KO losses in 2003 and 2004 helped make Wlad the fighter he is today. Are we assuming the Sanders fight didn't happen with no KO loss to replace?
It wasn't probable when it happened and it wouldn't be probable today, but it would still be very possible. Corrie Sanders punched extremely hard and didn't fluke early ko's, he went for them. With Wlad's chin and Sanders' style and punch, it doesn't really matter if it would be less likely to happen, it would be likely enough.
Wladimir is mentally weak, even Freddie Roach said this when he trained them. Knowing Sanders KO'd him, he would fold like a beach chair. Cupey
With his new Emmanuel Steward hit and hold style of boxing, he'd beat Sanders easily. Wlad's instincts as a "fighter" are nearly gone: Steward's mission is almost complete. Wlad no longer trades with opponents. Therefore, he wouldn't be hit tagged by Sanders, and he'd KO him with a massive hit and hold. Or should I say hit and drop.
Yes that highly effective hit and hold style worked wonders against that bum Peter. Wlad is still the same fighter to Sanders he was 5 years ago.
It'd be the same outcome. You put Wlad in with a fighter today that had what Corrie had and he'd do the same thing today. A guy who could match Wlad's height, power, and had an even better chin? Wlad hasn't improved that much, just his match making has.
Don't give Steward any credit for Wlad's success. Wlad's style is Vitali's old style and if it isn't Sdunek that deserves credit for it, it's someone before Fritz or Vitali himself. Not Manny.
you can call Peter a bum but when he faced Wlad he was better than Sanders. Plus, Wlad was still a work in process when it came to the hit and hold style by the time he faced Peter. And he beat Peter afterall, let's not forget. Imagine if he hadn't employed the hit and hold against Peter. He'd have been knocked out for sure.
I disagree. Wlad used to have a great style. He used his jab, planted his feet, and destroyed his opponents with that huge right hand of his. Now he flails around, holds, grapples and wrestles until he can find an opening on his smaller opponent. I used to like Wlad's style. Now I find it unwatchable. It's the decline of Wlad's style that I attribute to Steward. And Wlad's style is nothing like Vitali. Vitali actually knows how to box and for how tall he is is amazingly effective at shortening his right hand in close, making it a deadly weapon. And unlike Wlad, he knows how to fight tall.
How so? Sanders at 6'4 was bigger, stronger, faster and had more 1 punch power than Peter and was more experienced, along with a southpaw style.
yeah. you're probably right. i forgot how fast Sanders' hands were for a heavy-weight. And the guy really did hit hard.
It was his height and reach, not to mention the power, handspeed, and his lead left style that caused problems for opponents. Too bad he crapped most of his career away by often coming in out of shape. The guy was actually leaning on the ropes with his hands down and inhaling deeply after only 1:15 seconds into round 1 against Vitali, before either had even landed a decent punch.:laughing:
i think one of the reasons he managed to have such good hand-speed is that he didn't seem like he hit the weights too much - his arms were pretty skinny for a guy his height and he didn't have a hulking chest, etc. i think those things actually helped his cause. but he was never in a fight in which he wasn't gassed by the 5th round. it's amazing he accomplished what he did given his obvious lack of commitment to training. imagine if he did some cardio before his fights? he could've been a real force. as it stands, he shocked the world once and that's about all there is to say about him. but i do think he hurt Vitali at least once before running out of gas (in the first round ::),
He put in good work in training for the Wlad fight. He even had Ross Purrity sparring with him (since he beat Wlad). Lennox even called and gave him advice. I think Lennox was promoting him at the time. It was probably the most focused he had ever been.
Since the fight, there has been nothing to suggest it would be any different.....Wlad has carried on, beating on slow guys from distance the same way he had done before Sanders took him out. To be fair, the opposition is so poor at heavyweight that there hasn't been anyone providing the same test gthat Sanders did for Wlad to prove himself against. The closest thing to that will be David Haye....and thats why i give him a great shot vs Wlad.....he's not quite as tall as Sanders, and is not a southpaw.....but he has the speed, skill and power
That's incorrect. Wlad was much more aggressive before that fight. I do agree that any of Wlad's opponents since that fight has been any similar to Sanders so we don't know for sure. Sanders would definitely always be a danger for Wlad, and in first two rounds or so to most heavyweights. However since the Brewster fight Wlad has rarely moved his right hand out of his cheek and thus he might be able to avoid Sanders' left hand too
Wlad's old style was more watchable, but his new style is harder to beat. And it is Vitali's old style. And Vitali's safer style is why I always thought he was better than Wlad. So the decline of Wlad's style is actually the adoption of Vitali's old style. And that isn't something Manny should be credited or discredited for unless you want to give him props for recognizing its effectiveness for Wlad.
i disagree. Wlad fights off the back foot more than he used to, but that doesn't make his style the same as or even similar to Vitali's. Vitalis hardly ever holds. And he throws a lot more punches than Wlad. And he throws a lot of them at very odd angles. As effective as he is, he's very unorthodox. But the bottom line is, Vitali's punches are more accurate than Wlad's, he throws more of them, doesn't grapple hardly at all whereas Wlad is constantly holding, and somehow, some way, his chin is about 10 times better than Wlad's. Steward didn't change Wlad into Vitali. He changed him into a hit and hold fighter who is barely watchable. It works for him because he has one punch knock-out power. So basically, all he has to do is hold his opponent until he gets a good opening and then in most cases, the fight is over. I'm not impressed by Wlad at all. I thought he was spectacular before he got knocked out by Sanders. But my opinion has changed. And it's not because he got knocked out. It's because he turned into a boring fighter that I have no interest in watching. I think people will be amazed at how boring Saturday's fight is going to be. There 10 exciting seconds the entire fight and that's when Wlad has managed to wrestle Rahman just right so that he can land one of his bombs.
Wlad´s new style is not Vitali ´s old style. All Wladimir has changed is the pacing and aggressiveness. He rarely throws combinations anymore or right hands early. His clinching attempts are still pretty poor. Therefore I think Sanders would still pose huge problems for Wladimir. Vitali on the other hand does rarely clinch, he does everything with his feeling for distance, his unorthodox footwork and by fighting tall.
Watch Vitali's first 20 fights. All he ever did was throw jabs and hooks and make sure he didn't get hit. Then, after winning every second of every round, he'd begin throwing rights. And the fights would end after, usually sooner than later. That is what Wlad does now.
The Klitschkos actually moulded their style after Lewis. You can see the similarities. Vitali even admitted so I remember some years back.
i never remember him being 'much more' aggressive.....i remember Wlad-McCline, and i'd forgive you if you have since erased that from your memory....i dread to think the new level of boredom that could be reached if this apparently much less agressive Wlad fought that McCline
