- In the beginning Klitschko was mainly being supported by white supremacists, the rest was hating on him. - The Klitschko sceptics called him "unproven". They said he used a substance against Byrd - Everybody dropped him when he lost to Saunders en Brewster - Now he is on the map again. His fanbase has grown and now he has fans from all colors and ideoligies. Very strange development of his career.
Not really. People tend to give props to those who are down in their careers, improve and come back stronger. That's what this sport is all about! :clap:
I think it's safe to say Wladimir Klitschko is a scumbag, like his brother. As far as heavyweight division is concerned, he's also the weakest beltholder. Heck, take Ruslan Chagaev, for example. He's barely had 20 fight, yet he's already defeated 2 champions and is going for unification bout. For comparison, when the Ukranian pussy had 20 fights, he was only getting ready to get crushed by Ross Purrity. Wlad has been, is and will always be, a joke.
Yeah, but Chagaev is 28...Klitschko was an Olympic gold medalist and a professional boxer before his 21st birthday...and won his first title when he was 24 and became a two-time champion by 30.
Ummmm.....two-time champion? I'm sorry, but WBO need not apply. Thank you. And, of course, the original point that Chagaev defeated TWICE as many champions in less than 25 fights as both Quitkos COMBINED in 90 fights still stands.
that's weird. i'm in the camp of those who thought he was good "before." now i think he sucks. he used to fight and beat the shit out of his opponents. now he fights like a woman.
:dunno:What the heck are you talking about, Double L? The guy's been stopping almost everbody he's been fighting. There's a science to what he does if you look closely. It's the fact that he couldn't clinch for sh*t which is why he was having problems before. When he got hurt, he'd throw off balance punches hoping for hope. Go to a boxing camp and see what they tell you to do when you're hurt. They sure don't say "Swing for the fences" the way Wlad did against Sanders when he got rocked. Maybe people think Wlad's clinching is excessive but you can't argue with 40+ jabs thrown per round. His clinching is not any different from what Lewis was doing. I see him standing his ground more and initiating a clinch which is alot smarter than backstepping with his right hand down and leaving himself open for a left hook which is what he did in the early days.
Wlad will go down higher in history than his brother. His achievements will be better, if they aren't already right now.
If the WBO doesn´t count, how is it that according to you Chagaev has a unification bout in October. :dunno:
It doesn't count when Quitkoes are concerned. When it concerns Chagaev, why NOT count it? Simple logic, my friend, simple logic. Anyhoo, Chagaev is still King of the Hill, as far as heavyweights are concerned. The guy BEAT Johnny Ruiz, something that no heavyweight has done SINCE David Tua KOed him (Roy was not heavyweight, Toney was caught doing steroids, Johnny wuz robbed against Valuev, and Holyfield lost all 3 fights to Ruiz). Heck, one of the guys demolished by Ruiz (Rahman) scared Quitko into retirement, while Ruiz' leftover Kirk Johnson is one of the biggest name on Quitkoes resume. That's how valuable Chagaev's destruction of Ruiz is.
I wouldn't say that, more so than Wlad finally earned everyone's respect. It may sound like the same thing repackaged, but one suggests that he always deserved our respect, which i don;t believe is true. I have to give credit where credit is due. Prior to the Peter fight two years ago, I had a conversation with Frank Lotierzo, a former fighter who's written for a number of websites (including a couple of pieces for FB). He correctly predicted that if Wlad got by Peter, he would potentially run the tables at heavyweight. I wanted to laugh and say he was full of it, that it's chinny-chin-chin Wlad we're talking about. But after pausing and thinking about it, I couldn't come up with a single heavyweight I'd pick to beat him. I still can't.
