If an average fighter like Brewster and a journeyman like Purrity could stop Wlad, I don't see any reason why Jones wouldn't at least be competitive. I don't think Jones would win, due more to Wlad's physical advantages than any advantage in skill, but I can see Jones giving a decent account of himself as he usually did.
I don't know if Jones would have been able to walk through the battering those two took. e: remembered this wrong. Anyhow to me it is difficult to see a 6 feet, 190 lbs guy with Jones' style to be competitive here, good fighter as though he was. I don't know if he had any advantage over Wlad
I see Jones being a lot quicker than Wlad and with better handspeed. Those are two advantages right there. Again...I don't see Jones winning, mostly due Wlad's considerable size advantage, but I could see Jones doing ok for a while.
I didn't even try to hide that. Most people see the idea of Wlad beating Ali lauhgable, but many would agree that Wlad against some of Ali's early opponents would seem like mismatches. You rarely think it that way.
And how much trouble do you think Ali would have against the likes of average at best heavies like Purrity and Brewster? Not much, if any in my opinion. Would Ali totally freeze up and get waxed in 2 by Corrie Sanders? Doubtful. I think Wlad is a good fighter, but I am uncertain as to his true worth due to his mediocre competition.
Ali would have no problem what so ever against those three, it is about styles more than anything. Brewster and Puritty were far too slow, Sanders had stamina for about three rounds. Ali would have laughed at them all. On the other hand I think Wlad has the style and size to trouble Ali a great deal and get rid of Jones pretty easily. Btw. Ali also defeated Jones mainly because of his physical advantage: he was the bigger and faster guy´.
It's not just about styles. Ali is simply a much better fighter than Purrity, Brewster and Sanders. And he defeated Jones because he was the better boxer, it wasn't just about Ali's size advantage. Besides..Ali barely weighed over 200 pounds at that point in his career. So it wasn't like there was a 50 lb weight differnce between the two fighters. Ali took Jones a little lightly and Jones ended up giving him a more difficult fight than expected. But unlike Wlad..Ali passed that difficult test and didn't fall apart as Wlad has on 3 different occasions. Wlad looks especially gifted next to the non-talents he has been facing, but against a fighter as quick as Ali...it would be a different story.
It is true Ali is vastly better than those three, what I meant as that because of styles he wouldn't even struggle with them even though he too was sometimes jolted by lesser guys. What I don't really get is that why the edge in speed is an acceptable physical advantage while the edge in weight is not? According to text books Jones did have a better technique than Ali, but still Ali is the better boxer (which I'd agree on). Wlad might not be as quick of his feet as Jones (I'd say his hands are as fast) but they are fast for a guy of his size, so in that sense Wlad is also the better boxer than Jones if we agree on that Wlad beats him. My opinion is this: Wlad has not given the best performances of his career against aggressive guys with good chins and stamina. Ali was not at his best against quick-fisted guys (even though he rarely lost). And since Wlad's combination is speed&reach is something I could see troubling Ali, I think the styles play in Wlad's favor. I wouldn't make him the favorite to win, but I see it as near-even match-up
Wladimir is fast.....but he would still look very slow compare to ALI... Wladimir is very big, fast and aggressive...but to be competitive vs. ALI he would have to be very, very aggressive. It won't be a typical Wladimir fight where he can set his own pace and control the action with a jab. Ali won't allow that to happen and those hurtful punches that Wlad is use to dropping on guys..jab/right won't be landing on ALI ofthen. what happens in round 7..8..9..10 when Ali is still there throwing punches back? ALI will have Wladimir huffin and puffin and frustrated by round 7-8...
Yep. Then Wlad starts to run out of gas and we all know what happens then...he eventually falls apart and gets stopped.
I think this is more about the fact that today's Heavyweights are gigantic men with average skills and no desire sure Wlad should be able to beat a Joe Frazier because he outweighs him by 50 pounds and is a half foot taller... how is that a big accomplishment? it doesnt detract one iota from the simple truth: Joe Frazier was a far superior fighter to Klitchsko or any other big giant schmuck currently on the scene... giving these guys props for being 40 pounds and a half foot taller than the heavyweights of just 20 years ago makes no sense at all They SHOULD win matchups like these, it should be expected... but it doesnt make them GREATER than the men they are mythically defeating
The paradox is that fighters now are seen as crap when in fact they would beat most greats of the past. Even though that does not make them greater, I think the criticizm should have its bounds too
well they kind of ARE crap, UGBK They beat the greats of the past because they are twice the size of them, not because they are better fighters I'm pretty sure a middle of the road Cruiserwieght would murder Juan Manuel Marquez--- doesnt make him any good
But what in fact is good in boxing? Is it enough if you win, or do you have to win in a certain way, with certain attributes? Because as you know, it is easier to look good (be quick, have good balance, body coordination and technique) when you have a smaller frame. Ali won most of his opponents with nature-given talent: speed, reflexes, incredible athleticsm, reach etc. In fact, he did plenty of things 'wrong' as we know. Nikolai Valouev also wins his fights with nature given talent: height, reach and size. Why is it that certain kind of gifts are more acceptable for making a fighter great?
Good post. One of my biggest issues with Wlad is that for all his hugeness and supposed skill set, he has managed to get stopped by three nothing special fighters. I mean really...Wlad getting stopped by Ross Purrity is like Ali getting stopped by Scrap Iron Johnson in the middle of the 60's. How much of a hit would Ali's all time status take if he had stoppage losses to Johnson, Mac Foster and Ron Stander littering his resume during his prime years? Joe Louis often gets criticized for fighting his "Bum of the Month Club", but at least he didn't lose to his mediocre opposition. Despite his being a supposedly physically superior fighter, Wlad now has to fight in a overly cautious manner against overmatched opposition in order to avoid being betrayed by his questionable stamina and shaky chin. Of course it's smart of him to do so, but because of it he doesn't really fit the bill for me as a great fighter. Luckily for Wlad, his current mediocre competition has (so far) been unable to take advantage of his flaws. All I really can say for Wlad is that is better than his competition...which isn't saying a whole lot.
what is good is heart, desire, the ability to overcome, the ability to adjust... I dont think there is a heavyweight in the world equipped with an abundance of any ONE of those attributes right now Wlad isnt terrible, but he isnt very good either... luckily for him, you couldnt name a single really good heavyweight fighter on Earth right now... they just dont exist Wlad is able to get by with decent skills and a cautious approach because there isnt anyone any good out there to make him work And BWJ makes a great point, Wlad has been stopped by three completely ordinary fighters... that is pathetic... you cant be great and have losses to Purrity, Sanders and Brewster on your record you might be able to be "good" or "very good" if you had a loss to maybe ONE of those guys, but all three? and hes the heavyweight champion of the world? that is a clear indication of how utterly abyssmal the world's Heavyweights are
But then you are also discriminating against the guys who are big, but crap. Joe Frazier is a more talented fighter than Wlad, but talent is something he was born with, he couldn't help it. Just like Wlad was born with his size, he couldn't help it. You see what I mean? Exactly.
