Sounds like Byrd got the old Klitschko fucking when it came to the contract demands, ESPECIALLY seeing as how he had to fight Wlad in his very next fight after being Vitali, and yet Wlad was able to take an interim fight and whatnot, leaving Byrd on the bench unable to fight a tuneup or anything. That's kinda shady, if ya ask me. Chris Byrd was on On The Ropes boxing radio show, and he had some interesting comments about his fight with Vitali and being contractually obligated to fight Wladimir next. Seems they did that to him, like they were wanting to do to David Haye. Entire interview recap and audio by clicking here.
What's the difference when/why/where he fought Wlad? He fought him twice got his ass kicked. Nothing ever would have changed that.
So this is the latest. Two dominant KO's in their last fights, the "Boring" tag is a bad fit, dig up old Tyrdy, who went 1-2 against the brothers....::......
I don't think he's bitching. He was asked his views, and he told them. His points about Vitali are interesting because both Klitschko brothers have shown that they really don't like body blows. As for the Wlad issue, I find it very interesting because it was the Klitschkos who eventually refused to do any business with Don King because of the way he locks fighters into absurd deals that eventually keep them sitting for extended periods. Byrd didn't make astronomical money, but he did make decent money as a heavyweight. Not allowing him to capitalize after his biggest victory (regardless of how it was earned) and also his first world title is a pretty shitty situation, and he's conveying that. I don't see it as a big deal. And at the end of the day, Byrd is very close with the Klitschko brothers. They helped him get out of his contract with Don King and make the Wlad rematch. After Byrd was knocked out, the first person to give Wlad a hug is Byrd's own son. And to top it all off, Byrd gave Wlad his props for whupping him.
Byrd wasn't exactly getting a whole lot of interest at that time in his career after the Ibeabuchi knockout, hence whey he'd take that fight - as a substitute - with those kind of attachments.
"One thing I learned from the fight was don’t go into a fight with injuries. That’s one thing I should have learned. I had separated cartilage a week and a half before the fight ... but there was no excuse he beat me. It was a devastating loss but it was a learning experience " I don't want to make excuses but ... (insert excuse) :boohoo:
i like byrd and always have, but could he have gotten a better pay day not fighting wladimir in his next fight? the wbo belt meant shit back then and it's not like he would've gotten a shot vs. either lewis or tyson.
Well the thing with Byrd was he had a couple knocks against him. 1. he wasn't a very fun fighter to watch, as he was a defensive guy. His power didn't affect the big guys, so he had to rely on speed. 2. King was fucking him repeatedly by leaving him on the shelf and not paying his contracted minimums. So Byrd was never really afforded the luxury of choosing his fights that much. That said, he never ducked anyone, and fought anyone. There was supposed to be a fight with Ruiz, and it SHOULD have been made since King repped both of them, but King was dicking Byrd over and it never happened.
I don't know what Byrd's payday was for his defense against Wlad. I do vividly remember that he wanted to make an optional defense on the same card as Wlad-Barrett (Byrd's fight and Wlad's fight would be the co features), but the German promoters wouldn't let Byrd fight anyone other than their fighters because they didn't want to lose control of the WBO title. The Wlad-Barrett fight was then moved to the undercard of Lewis-Botha. Wlad was actually in line to fight Lennox Lewis. Wlad was highly rated at the time by the WBC. I believe that's also right around the time Wlad and Lewis squared off in a "fake' fight for the film "Ocean's Eleven" ... because most people thought that fight was going to take place by the time the film came out. The German promoters really had to talk Wlad into fighting Byrd, because he didn't want to go after the WBO belt. Like others have said, the WBO belt didn't have a lot of prestige at the time. A fight with Lewis would've been much bigger. So Byrd was kind of stuck. Vitali was injured and couldn't fight. Wlad didn't really want to fight for Byrd's belt. And the German promoters would only let him fight one or the other. I think Byrd was just frustrated because he finally won a title and he couldn't do what he wanted to do. Sort of a "be careful what you wish for because you just might get it" situations.
