Klitschko Hammered

Lee · 03-09-2003, 08:13 PM

A fairly huge upset with Corrie Sanders belting out Wladimir last night. I still say Corrie is fairly limited and Klitschko is a far superior fighter technically, but last night demonstrates my favorite part of the fight game....especially in the Heavyweight division. On any given night a puncher can get that one shot in and change the complexion of the bout. It appeared last night that after Wlad got caught he never got his head back and his reactions were significantly slower...He was just unable to avoid the bombs that I am sure he saw coming. This really throws a wrench into the overall division picture and really gives Lewis the excuse he needs to fight a rematch with Tyson for big Money. It also has to give him a boost of confidence if/when he does meet Wlad because he will undoubtedly test his Chin and it now appears that he may not hold up the Lewis' best stuff. I am sure Sanders will now clamor for a match with Lewis but I see Lennox picking him apart easily...thoughts??

Lee

03-09-2003, 08:57 PM

I agree that one of the reasons boxing is such a great sport is that you never know for sure who is going to win. The favorite might not be feeling well, physically or mentally, the underdog might fight the fight of his life or simply get lucky.

Lately there have been some major upsets. Forrest over Mosely, Mayorga over Forrest and now Sanders over Wlad. In many ways the Sanders win is the most amazing. After all, Sanders is 37 and never was all that great when he was in his prime, whereas Wlad has compiled an excellent record against some pretty good fighters.

I hope Wlad can come back from this devastating loss.

Jim Trunzo · 03-10-2003, 07:59 AM

My guess is that Klitschko will return to the drawing board, regroup and come back. I'm not so sure it was "just a lucky punch". Of course, a clean shot from a legitimate hitter (which Sanders is, in spite of his overall mediocrity) can hurt anyone; however, I think that Klitschko's chin may be more suspect than we wanted to believe. What impressed me was Klitschko's resolve. He didn't quit.

Bee · 03-10-2003, 08:45 AM

So will Klitschko's ratings be changed after that fight?

sabotai · 03-10-2003, 12:50 PM

I agree Jim. He got knocked down 4 times and kept getting back up. Had it been most other fighters, they might have stayed down on the first punch.

Also, I'm not sure if anyone else caught this, but on the first knock down, there looked to be head-to-head contact. I'm not sure if that wasn't what caused the end of the fight. They were in close, Sanders hit with the left hook, and it appeared to me that the punch sent Wlad's head into Sanders' head and that caused the cut. (Watching the replay, it didn't seem liek Sanders hit Wlad anywhere near the cut occured).

Braindead · 03-10-2003, 02:48 PM

Klitscho's great flaw is that everyone he has ever faught has been affraid of him. Even in his last fight against one of the biggest and best young American Heavyweights McCline. McCline refused to stand in there and fight Klitscho because of his reputation and got beat badly for it. Finally someone was willing to stand in and fight Klitscho, and he did not know how to react. Even after getting knocked out he just continued to come forward on the offenive instead of regrouping. Thus he took a pretty good beating. He'll Learn from this loss, and I would bet the house that he destorys Sanders in a rematch. That said I think he drops way out of the big time heavyweight picture for a while.

jas80s · 03-10-2003, 03:50 PM

My thought as I watched the fight was that Klitschko looked decidedly uncomfortable fighting a lefty. I knew that this was not the first time he had been in with a lefty, but he was clearly having trouble seeing Sanders' left coming. I did a little research on boxrec.com. This was only the fourth time that Wlad had fought a lefty. Let's face it, the HW ranks are not littered with southpaws so that did not strike me as an incredibly low number, however, I did notice a couple of other things. First, the lefties Wlad had fought were pretty small (6'0" - 6'2') with little in the way of reach (73-74). Sanders on the other hand is 6'4" with a 77 inch reach. Moreover, two of the lefties he had fought were light hitters as well. Obviously, Chris Byrd and the other was Najee Shaheed (spelling could be wrong) who boasts only 8 KO's amongst his 18 victories. My point is, I think Sanders, while not necessarily being a huge step up in terms of flat out boxing ability, was a significant step up (risk) in terms of being different than anyone Wlad had ever seen previously (A tall, powerful lefty). One quick point, I am not suggesting I saw this coming at all. This is all merely hindsight analysis of the fight.

I too think that Klitschko can rebound from this loss, however, I see a problem in him that will never go away. He's a chess player. He wants to think in there, not react. I think he will always be susceptible to a fighter who presses him and stays active. Even, amongst his impressive victories, I noticed that when his opponent threw punches Wlad would sort of freeze and just cover and wait. He's an awesome offensive fighter, but he does need his opponent to stop before he seems comfortable throwing. Any thoughts?

PittPanther · 03-10-2003, 05:35 PM

Klitschko is very marketable, and the heavyweight division is as thin as it has ever been. Sure he will be back.

But who cares?

I'd like to see the following matchups:
Tyson vs. Jones
Mayweather Jr. vs. De La Hoya
Hopkins vs. De La Hoya

Now that's what I'm talking about!

Pretecf · 03-10-2003, 06:18 PM

Interesting, my take is a bit different. I believe George Foreman said it best. I do not believe that Klitschko entered the ring loose and ready to go. He was not blocking punches and setting himself to throw his before the fight was over. His best bet is to get back in the ring (once the bells in his head quit ringing) but this time make certain he warms up prior to the opening bell.

Nothing in the past of either of these fighters indicates that this was anything but a shocking result. I suspect that the rematch will see a sweaty Klitschko quickly pounding out a revenge victory.

cubedrum · 03-10-2003, 06:35 PM

I read somewhere that Corrie Sanders had seen a hypnotist/psychiatrist pryor to the fight. I'd say HIS ratings need to be changed more because he's a very different fighter than we see in the game.
Cube

Night2000 · 03-10-2003, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Braindead
Klitscho's great flaw is that everyone he has ever faught has been affraid of him. Even in his last fight against one of the biggest and best young American Heavyweights McCline. McCline refused to stand in there and fight Klitscho because of his reputation and got beat badly for it. Finally someone was willing to stand in and fight Klitscho, and he did not know how to react. Even after getting knocked out he just continued to come forward on the offenive instead of regrouping. Thus he took a pretty good beating. He'll Learn from this loss, and I would bet the house that he destorys Sanders in a rematch. That said I think he drops way out of the big time heavyweight picture for a while.

I agree with BrainDead, most of the fighter's Klitschko faced were afraid of him. They kept their distance and were afraid to exchange with him. Let's give Corrie Sanders some credit. He didn't run and he wasn't afraid to mix it up with him. When he caught Klitschko and he went down. Sanders went right after him, which it seems some fighters these days have forgotten how to finish a guy. Well Sanders didn't forget and Klitschko went down too many times. It's like he couldn't even see that left. Klitschko said Sanders has very fast hands. I don't think their that fast. Obviously Klitschko will learn from this, but no matter how much he learns or trains. He will always have a weak chin. People wanted to know the answer to that, and Sanders gave it to them. On this night Sanders was the better man, and I don't think that should be taken away from him. Perhaps his brother Vitaly has a better chin, he appears to have a thicker jawline.
I have a theory that most to all super tall guys that are 6'5 and over basically have weak chins. Lennox Lewis, W. Klitschko, Jess Williard, Primo Carnera, Lew Savarese, Gerry Cooney. There are more I can't think of them at the moment.

Teraxx · 03-10-2003, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by PittPanther
Klitschko is very marketable, and the heavyweight division is as thin as it has ever been. Sure he will be back.

But who cares?

I'd like to see the following matchups:
Tyson vs. Jones
Mayweather Jr. vs. De La Hoya
Hopkins vs. De La Hoya

Now that's what I'm talking about!

Jones would tattoo the OTHER side of Tyson's face.
Floyd and Oscar would be a one-sided bitch slap fest (Pretty Boy cannot hang)
De La Hoya vs. Hopkins is the only 1 of these 3 that would be competitive.

'Dr. KO' Klitschko will return and wasn't rdy for LL anyway. Watch Tua go through everyone, Lewis retires, and Tuaman gets the belts.

Eyalc · 03-11-2003, 09:00 AM

To me it's the same story that recycles in boxing. Some fighters never get tested because their opponents are always afraid of them. When they get tested, their flaws are exposed:

There's tons of other examples - Douglas vs Tyson, Holyfield vs Tyson, Ali vs Foreman, Hopkins vs Trinidad, can't think of his name (the guy who beat up on Hamed), Forest vs Mosely, blah, blah, blah.

These Klitscho (sp?) guys have *never* been in there with someone who can *punch*. They've been in there with guys who tried to beat them with a decision. They're too big and fast for that. But when someone tries to knock their head off, what do we find out? Their flaw - glass jaw. (And yes, I'm saying "they" because they've both been known to not react well to a good punch.

Don't take anything away from Sanders. He knocked him out - plain and simple. And if he hits him again like that in the rematch it'll be the same story.

Lewis would eat Klitscho (sp?) alive - period. Lewis is faster, and I'm sure he hits *alot* harder than Sanders, and he's meaner.

Eyalc · 03-11-2003, 09:04 AM

Oh, and yes, Jones would pick Tyson apart. That's a fight that Tyson doesn't (and shouldn't) want to take. I wouldn't if I were him. Tyson's not big enough to beat Jones. Gotta have size like Lewis to have a chance.

Bronx Bomber 15 · 03-11-2003, 09:04 AM

Hey Guys, interesting thread. Just a word about Wlad: I'm not surprised at the result of this bout. Not to say I saw it coming, I figured Wlad would blow Sanders out of the water. The one bout that made me question Wlads chin was the Ray Mercer bout. If you watch the bout closely (I mean real close), you'll see that the clean (or somewhat clean) punches that Ray landed had a bit of an effect on Wlad. Not to say he was ever in real "trouble", but he was affected, only Ray was unable to follow up and land any real clean combinations. Since that bout, I've always had issues with Wlads chin.
I do agree that he'll rebound and become a better fighter. Lennox was KO'd by Oliver McCall and you see what he came back to accomplish, so Wlad definitely still has a shot to be a good Champion since he is a skilled and smart fighter. I agree he would win a rematch.

Oscar would school Floyd easily and he's too sharp for Hopkins, but they would be good bouts.
Jones out boxes Tyson easily, but if Mike lands one clean shot...fight over.

Braindead · 03-11-2003, 04:15 PM

Another thing I find interesting about this fight. Although Klitscho(parden my spelling) did get knocked down four times it only appeared to me that the first knock down(coupled with a head butt) was the only one that really hurt him. For the others he just didn't seem to have his legs under him, and had he fought defensively may have recovered. He very quickly got up after each knockdown. Saying that, the style he was fighting he may have been knocked down 10 more times after that, but still I don't think he has as bad of a glass jaw as people are making him out to be.(Just a note I may be writing this out of horrible denile, becasue I was one of those people who believed Klischo was the great white hope who was gonning to save Heavyweight boxing)

Bee · 03-11-2003, 05:55 PM

I don't think he has a glass jaw, but I also don't think he can take a big time punch either. The biggest damage IMO is he's lost a lot of his intimidation advantage over other fighters. That's going to be the biggest thing he has to overcome now IMO.

03-09-2003, 08:13 PM	#1
Lee Global Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: The Scorched Desert Posts: 4,653	Klitschko Hammered A fairly huge upset with Corrie Sanders belting out Wladimir last night. I still say Corrie is fairly limited and Klitschko is a far superior fighter technically, but last night demonstrates my favorite part of the fight game....especially in the Heavyweight division. On any given night a puncher can get that one shot in and change the complexion of the bout. It appeared last night that after Wlad got caught he never got his head back and his reactions were significantly slower...He was just unable to avoid the bombs that I am sure he saw coming. This really throws a wrench into the overall division picture and really gives Lewis the excuse he needs to fight a rematch with Tyson for big Money. It also has to give him a boost of confidence if/when he does meet Wlad because he will undoubtedly test his Chin and it now appears that he may not hold up the Lewis' best stuff. I am sure Sanders will now clamor for a match with Lewis but I see Lennox picking him apart easily...thoughts?? Lee

03-10-2003, 05:35 PM	#8
PittPanther All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 1,235	Klitschko is very marketable, and the heavyweight division is as thin as it has ever been. Sure he will be back. But who cares? I'd like to see the following matchups: Tyson vs. Jones Mayweather Jr. vs. De La Hoya Hopkins vs. De La Hoya Now that's what I'm talking about! __________________ Commitment Teamwork Pride Hail to Pitt!

03-10-2003, 06:18 PM	#9
Pretecf Minors (Single A) Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: New Jersey Posts: 62	Interesting, my take is a bit different. I believe George Foreman said it best. I do not believe that Klitschko entered the ring loose and ready to go. He was not blocking punches and setting himself to throw his before the fight was over. His best bet is to get back in the ring (once the bells in his head quit ringing) but this time make certain he warms up prior to the opening bell. Nothing in the past of either of these fighters indicates that this was anything but a shocking result. I suspect that the rematch will see a sweaty Klitschko quickly pounding out a revenge victory. __________________ ENJOY THE CARNAGE

03-10-2003, 06:35 PM	#10
cubedrum All Star Reserve Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 952	I read somewhere that Corrie Sanders had seen a hypnotist/psychiatrist pryor to the fight. I'd say HIS ratings need to be changed more because he's a very different fighter than we see in the game. Cube __________________ "If you build a man a fire, he stays warm for one day. If you set a man on fire, he stays warm for the rest of his life" - Edgar Frog

03-11-2003, 09:04 AM	#15
Bronx Bomber 15 All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: A house in the wooded mountains Posts: 939	Hey Guys, interesting thread. Just a word about Wlad: I'm not surprised at the result of this bout. Not to say I saw it coming, I figured Wlad would blow Sanders out of the water. The one bout that made me question Wlads chin was the Ray Mercer bout. If you watch the bout closely (I mean real close), you'll see that the clean (or somewhat clean) punches that Ray landed had a bit of an effect on Wlad. Not to say he was ever in real "trouble", but he was affected, only Ray was unable to follow up and land any real clean combinations. Since that bout, I've always had issues with Wlads chin. I do agree that he'll rebound and become a better fighter. Lennox was KO'd by Oliver McCall and you see what he came back to accomplish, so Wlad definitely still has a shot to be a good Champion since he is a skilled and smart fighter. I agree he would win a rematch. Oscar would school Floyd easily and he's too sharp for Hopkins, but they would be good bouts. Jones out boxes Tyson easily, but if Mike lands one clean shot...fight over. __________________ Fightsimsplus.com Fightsims Facebook Page Fightsims on X

03-09-2003, 08:57 PM	#2
60'sfan Guest Posts: n/a	I agree that one of the reasons boxing is such a great sport is that you never know for sure who is going to win. The favorite might not be feeling well, physically or mentally, the underdog might fight the fight of his life or simply get lucky. Lately there have been some major upsets. Forrest over Mosely, Mayorga over Forrest and now Sanders over Wlad. In many ways the Sanders win is the most amazing. After all, Sanders is 37 and never was all that great when he was in his prime, whereas Wlad has compiled an excellent record against some pretty good fighters. I hope Wlad can come back from this devastating loss.

03-10-2003, 07:59 AM	#3
Jim Trunzo OOTP Developments Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Leechburg, PA Posts: 739	My guess is that Klitschko will return to the drawing board, regroup and come back. I'm not so sure it was "just a lucky punch". Of course, a clean shot from a legitimate hitter (which Sanders is, in spite of his overall mediocrity) can hurt anyone; however, I think that Klitschko's chin may be more suspect than we wanted to believe. What impressed me was Klitschko's resolve. He didn't quit.

03-10-2003, 08:45 AM	#4
Bee Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 147	So will Klitschko's ratings be changed after that fight?

03-10-2003, 12:50 PM	#5
sabotai All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: South Jersey Posts: 841	I agree Jim. He got knocked down 4 times and kept getting back up. Had it been most other fighters, they might have stayed down on the first punch. Also, I'm not sure if anyone else caught this, but on the first knock down, there looked to be head-to-head contact. I'm not sure if that wasn't what caused the end of the fight. They were in close, Sanders hit with the left hook, and it appeared to me that the punch sent Wlad's head into Sanders' head and that caused the cut. (Watching the replay, it didn't seem liek Sanders hit Wlad anywhere near the cut occured).

03-10-2003, 02:48 PM	#6
Braindead Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 32	Klitscho's great flaw is that everyone he has ever faught has been affraid of him. Even in his last fight against one of the biggest and best young American Heavyweights McCline. McCline refused to stand in there and fight Klitscho because of his reputation and got beat badly for it. Finally someone was willing to stand in and fight Klitscho, and he did not know how to react. Even after getting knocked out he just continued to come forward on the offenive instead of regrouping. Thus he took a pretty good beating. He'll Learn from this loss, and I would bet the house that he destorys Sanders in a rematch. That said I think he drops way out of the big time heavyweight picture for a while.

03-10-2003, 03:50 PM	#7
jas80s Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 249	My thought as I watched the fight was that Klitschko looked decidedly uncomfortable fighting a lefty. I knew that this was not the first time he had been in with a lefty, but he was clearly having trouble seeing Sanders' left coming. I did a little research on boxrec.com. This was only the fourth time that Wlad had fought a lefty. Let's face it, the HW ranks are not littered with southpaws so that did not strike me as an incredibly low number, however, I did notice a couple of other things. First, the lefties Wlad had fought were pretty small (6'0" - 6'2') with little in the way of reach (73-74). Sanders on the other hand is 6'4" with a 77 inch reach. Moreover, two of the lefties he had fought were light hitters as well. Obviously, Chris Byrd and the other was Najee Shaheed (spelling could be wrong) who boasts only 8 KO's amongst his 18 victories. My point is, I think Sanders, while not necessarily being a huge step up in terms of flat out boxing ability, was a significant step up (risk) in terms of being different than anyone Wlad had ever seen previously (A tall, powerful lefty). One quick point, I am not suggesting I saw this coming at all. This is all merely hindsight analysis of the fight. I too think that Klitschko can rebound from this loss, however, I see a problem in him that will never go away. He's a chess player. He wants to think in there, not react. I think he will always be susceptible to a fighter who presses him and stays active. Even, amongst his impressive victories, I noticed that when his opponent threw punches Wlad would sort of freeze and just cover and wait. He's an awesome offensive fighter, but he does need his opponent to stop before he seems comfortable throwing. Any thoughts?

03-11-2003, 09:00 AM	#13
Eyalc Bat Boy Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 10	To me it's the same story that recycles in boxing. Some fighters never get tested because their opponents are always afraid of them. When they get tested, their flaws are exposed: There's tons of other examples - Douglas vs Tyson, Holyfield vs Tyson, Ali vs Foreman, Hopkins vs Trinidad, can't think of his name (the guy who beat up on Hamed), Forest vs Mosely, blah, blah, blah. These Klitscho (sp?) guys have never been in there with someone who can punch. They've been in there with guys who tried to beat them with a decision. They're too big and fast for that. But when someone tries to knock their head off, what do we find out? Their flaw - glass jaw. (And yes, I'm saying "they" because they've both been known to not react well to a good punch. Don't take anything away from Sanders. He knocked him out - plain and simple. And if he hits him again like that in the rematch it'll be the same story. Lewis would eat Klitscho (sp?) alive - period. Lewis is faster, and I'm sure he hits alot harder than Sanders, and he's meaner.

03-11-2003, 04:15 PM	#16
Braindead Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 32	Another thing I find interesting about this fight. Although Klitscho(parden my spelling) did get knocked down four times it only appeared to me that the first knock down(coupled with a head butt) was the only one that really hurt him. For the others he just didn't seem to have his legs under him, and had he fought defensively may have recovered. He very quickly got up after each knockdown. Saying that, the style he was fighting he may have been knocked down 10 more times after that, but still I don't think he has as bad of a glass jaw as people are making him out to be.(Just a note I may be writing this out of horrible denile, becasue I was one of those people who believed Klischo was the great white hope who was gonning to save Heavyweight boxing)

03-11-2003, 05:55 PM	#17
Bee Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 147	I don't think he has a glass jaw, but I also don't think he can take a big time punch either. The biggest damage IMO is he's lost a lot of his intimidation advantage over other fighters. That's going to be the biggest thing he has to overcome now IMO.