The Klitschko brothers are great? Prove it!
The Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko are both at the top of the heavyweight division and smash every opponent that steps in the ring against them…….So why am I questioning their greatness? If you took all the superstars out of the NBA like Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard, etc, good and mediocre players would then look like they are great, right? Because the heavyweight division is no different!
Most fans of the Klitschko’s, that I’ve communicated with, seem to believe they are great because they are dominating the division and hold all major belts, but how would these two have ranked if they were thrown into the middle of the division when it was still thriving? They both came on the scene in 1996 when the heavyweights were still the weight class to watch, but by the time they started to fight true contenders, the division was on a down slope.
Wladimir, the youngest and some say the better of the two, won his first 24 fights and then loss to Ross Puritty in 1998 by 11th round TKO. He then fought another 16 and then lost to Corrie Sanders in 2003 by 2nd round TKO. Three fights later in 2004 he then lost by TKO in the 5th round to Lamon Brewster. He has not lost since then, but the heavyweight division started decreasing in top fighters around 2001 or 2002, and he was still being TKO’d past then. You can argue that he was still improving and that he peaked after that last TKO, but others can argue that he has faced less than great fighters.
Vitali Klitscho, which I believe is the better fighter of the two, won his first 27 fights before losing to Chris Byrd in 2000……He quit on his stool after the 9th round. 6 fights later in 2003 he fought his best fight when he went up against the last real Heavyweight Champ Lennox Lewis. Vitali lost by 6th round TKO due to a cut over his eye, but he was slightly up on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage. Vitali showed that he can compete in there with a great fighter, but he lost and who’s to say that he would not have been just good competition and nothing more?
I am not saying that the Klitschko’s are not great fighters, I am saying I cannot say that they are because it’s hard to measure them in the division they are in now. This is no fault of their own, but the fact of the matter is there is nothing in the division but a lot of tomato cans and brief up and comers that try their best to ignite a spark, but get pummeled like all the rest. It’s sad to say, but the best fights that could be made in the division are fights not involving the twin giants.
I grew up watching the heavyweight division, so it’s a terrible sight to see but I am still optimistic that something will happen to once again raise the division back to its rightful place as the top PPV seller. Until then, I cannot call the Klitschkos great, and I do not know if they will ever be able to prove their greatness to the majority of the fans, but if they really want to make an explosion that would cause a ripple in time they could fight each other. Yeah I know… I won’t hold my breath.