1. How many times has Wladimir Klitschko appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated?
2. How many of his fights have been pay per view?
The answer to both of those questions is zero.
Wladimir is a competent, skilled, but dull fighter. Despite complete domination of the heavyweight division for several years, few people who are not boxing fans would even recognize him if he walked into their living room. Muhammad Ali, conversely, was known around the world and was perhaps the most recognized human being alive while he was champion.
Will Wladimir be remembered as one of the greatest world champions ever? He's hardly even remembered now.
I think to hardcore boxing fans he will be debated amongst the best. I believe after he's retired and we've all aged, we'll talk about who the best is and his name will be brought up by a few, but others will just say he and his brother were the Kings of the Heavyweight division in an era where real talent in the Heavyweight division has died. I don't think he nor his brother will be known outside of the real boxing fans though unlike Ali, Tyson, Floyd, Dela Hoya, and Pacquiao. I honestly really don't even hear their names around town EVER, I've only heard them online, but in real life, the only people that are really brought up in conversations are #1 Ali, #2 Tyson, #3 Pacquiao #4 Floyd, #5 Dela Hoya. That's in order of who I hear about most to least. Yes, Pac is ahead of Floyd in convo topics because Pacquiao is brought up when you talk about bullish decisions like the one with Bradley and you also hear him with his KO loss to Marquez most recently, but I've never heard Floyd be brought up without someone bringing up Manny right after. Overall though, I honestly have never heard of the Klitchkos outside of the online talks and the real fans of Boxing.
This is how I see it
Boxing fans - some would say Wladimir and Vitali are one of the best champions, but someone else would always bring up the weakness of the division in this era
Professional reports - Wladimir and Vitali would be listed in all of the lists of greatest champions, but never top 5
General people - They won't even know who they are.
That's what I think.
no i don't i think in 15 years we will realise that wlad was a very good champ much like lennox lewis and larry holmes now gets more credit than when they were fighting but not one of the greatest ever fighters , i would rate wladimir a top 10 heavy weight if he retired today his schooling of david haye was impressive and he is very hard to beat ,i can't think of one heavy weight that i would bet my house on to beat wlad ever would frazier of beat wlad i doubt it , louis would be to small so would marciano, foreman a toss up he would either land early and get the ko or get his head jabbed off then ko'd around the 6th as he had no stamina .tyson i think would get to wladimir very early for the KO but if he didn't it would be a long night for iron mike . bowe would be a great fight 50/50 and i would favour lennox to win.but no fighter would ever have an easy night vs wladimir his size ,styles and ability make him a hard man to beat but not an all time great like robinson or duran
Sure. Just like Ali, Frazier, Robinson etc.. his skills, power, inetlligence are great. I agree with the guy in the other post that said nowadays he is praised like the greatest ever.
The reason he stays on the top for like 9 years now is the bad quality of his opponents, but don't you doubt tyson, ali, anyone as just as great wouldn't stay as long as Klitschko if his opponents were the same quality.
About Haye-Klitschko, guys, can't gree. It was a total crap, they landed only just like 15 punches/round. It was dull and boring.
Wladimir has unified all of the Championships himself. Vitali ONLY holds a Championship because it was their dream to reign together.
Lewis didn't do it, he was WBC Champ. Holyfield collected the other two losing an ear and avenging a loss to Moorer. Then Lewis picked up the 2/3rds. Holyfield didn't do it, nor did Douglas. The last person to do that was Tyson over 25 years ago.
We have a weak division right now? Oh, really?
Here are the top fighters at HW http://boxrec.com/ratings.php?sex=m&divi... It's safe to say that many of these men would be the (or a) HW Champ in just about any other era. Who exactly in their prime did Marciano fight during his short reign? Adamek vs Patterson anybody? You could hit that link, go to Cruiser and say the same thing about man of them too. And if you put them in Ali's era, at MINIMUM, you'd have to say several of the guys would be rugged contenders. Quarry and Shavers and Norton (the only man to be Champ and never win a title fight)?
Look at Wladimir's record and look at Joe Louis' record.
Sure, Louis had a ton of defenses, 25. But what was that little thing he also had? The "Bum of the Month" club? So I suppose you can rack up a bunch of defenses when you fight nobodies. Wladimir fights guys who are his mandatories AND has time to fight people of his choosing to keep busy. Is keeping busy wrong? Is the "Bum of the Month" club wrong? Are they just keeping busy? That is up to individuals. My only point is don't knock Wladimir for something Louis did too.
Another look at Wladimir's and Louis' records.
Wladimir currently is 59-3 (50), and let's face it, probably 60-3 (51) with in a month. Last year, he said he wanted to start and keep fighting 3x per year, as he did in 2012. Vitali is 5 years older and still active, still dominate. IF Wladimir fights even just twice per year and retires at 41, that is 10 more fights. If the division is weak, there is a very real possibility he wins them all.
Joe Louis was 66-3 (52) according to boxrec. Wladimir has almost caught up to him. Is incredibly fresh and dominate. He will surely exceed Louis' record in terms of wins and losses. And his current Championship record is 20-2, if he can't be beaten soon, he'll hit Louis' over all Championship defended record. And if he continues his career for a while, will beat the 25 straight defenses mark (most likely).
Longevity in career and age.
How old was Marciano when he retired? How old was Ali when he was just a punching bag for Berbick and Spinks? How old was Tyson when he was shot? Louis, Dempsey, Frazier, Liston, Patterson, shall I continue? He is only matched by Foreman, Holmes, Lewis, and his brother. In either category. But as I said before, he's still got it. He could go on for as long as he wants to really. He don't drink, smoke, always trains, not injury prone like his brother. If he retires now, he is one of the oldest defending Champions.
His 3 KO losses are not a big deal, nor is his fighting style.
All we need to do is look to Lennox Lewis for this one. We all know about Lewis' losses right? Lewis, if you could tap him in JUST the right way, it's lights out. Wladimir's first KO loss was because he was a young buck who was over confident. Wladimir gassed out, then started catching punches. His last loss was similar, but to a much stronger fighter in Brewster (avenged). Sanders did get him though. It happens though in HW.
His style is TRUE boxing. Have you never heard of hit and not get hit? Well, Wladimir hits and does not get hit. They say Ali was getting hit too much late in his career, when he was younger than Wladimir is currently? So who's style is better? Maybe Ali was faster in his prime. But he beat guys we all know Wladimir would beat. Ali vs Wladimir at the same age in their 30's? Ali never got hit by a guy as huge and muscular as Wladimir.
I can really keep going on, so I'll just say this, he is definitely in ANYBODY's HW Top 10. I respect every Champion I named. I am not talking trash about them. I am just putting things into perspective of yesterday's and today's fighters. Would you laugh if Wladimir signed to fight a prime Billy Conn?
His brother Vitali was better, Wlad was good, but not great and one of the best in one of the heavyweights's weakest era's. Only time will tell how history remembers him, but his glass jaw will haunt him forever. He and his brother are both fist ballot hall of famers, but claiming they are among the greatest heavyweights in history is a stretch, there have been many better than them.
Ill add a number four to your list of critiques that should completely NULL AND VOID Wlad from ever being considered a greatest of all time.
4: He was KNOCKED FLAT by a full time bartender who took the fight on short notice (Corrie Sanders).
Why was he? Cause they were equal height and size. If Wlad was six foot one we wouldnt even be having this discussion...he would be someone you flip a quarter to, to go pick up your car.
No, competition to weak and embarrassing losses. Style too one dimensional, overrated by fanbase who don't know much about boxing. Good, but not particularly unique or special by any stretch of the imagination
Praise of wlad:
1)Brought stability at the top..not like in the 90s..when the world championship was being passed around like a volleyball.
2)Has schooled most of his opponents and not since 2004 has he ever looked in danger in a fight.
3)His 12 round schooling of David Haye is considered one of the best performances by a world champ.
Criticism of Wlad:
1)His 'safety first' boxing style has taken the glamour out of boxing's glamour division.
2)His few appearances in the US has meant that very poor quality fighters are entering the sport...
3)His 3 KO defeats to rather little known fighters will leave a big mark on his career...making people think he has a suspect chin.
After reading this do you think that Wladimir Klitschko will be remembered as one of the greatest fighters and champions??
