Rachman's only chance (IMO)

[snap the jab]

I think that although Vitali will probably win, the outcome is less obvious than alot of people think...

1. VK is gonna come in rusty, after his long layoff
2. Rahman has been on a roll lately, and must realize that this is his last big shot, and so will be on 110 percent
3. Rahman is not as good as VK but he is a solid, world-class fighter with 1 punch ko power.

should be a very interesting fight

[GasPed]

Rock should come out and take it to him, no one has brought the fight to Klitchko, not even Lewis.

That's not true - Sanders tried for the first couple of rounds, and even landed a couple shots, but it wasn't enough.

Rock has a better jab than Sanders, but I don't know if he does anything else better. His plan to beat Vitali is the same as how he beat Lewis - take the fight to him with his aggressive jab, and hope like hell he can land the right hand. But if Vitali fights smart, I don't really see how he can lose.

[TheEvilSaint]

rahman's lucky one punch days are over and have been over since his 2nd fight with lewis.

rahman's only chance to beat vitali is to pull a gun out of his trunks and shoot vitali in the foot and then punch vitali in the head.

even then, i doubt rahman will suceed at that.

[Torino]

Perhaps Rahman is a better boxer than Sanders, but he doesn't have his punch or his chin. The fact is, Sanders is respected inside boxing circles by people who have seen him fight and train. He is one of boxing's most feared punchers in the last few years, for both the quickness of his straight left, and for the weight he puts into it.

I used to talk to a boxer, Mike Middleton, who sparred with many of the top guys and fought Audley Harrison and Dokiwari. He told me that Sanders hit every bit as hard as David Tua, except he was also the quickest heavyweight he had ever been in there with. He also runs the 100 yard dash in 10 seconds, and can hit a golfball 300 yards. He's a natural athlete, regardless of his bodytype.

The truth is the average fan doesn't know Sanders, and only sees his fat gut and his age. They thought he was an old stiff when in fact very few world class heavyweights were ever lining up to fight him. He is not a household name like David Tua or Lennox Lewis but is incredibly dangerous to even a skilled boxer because of his unusual handspeed, fight ending power, and southpaw stance. The worst kind of guy to fight. He looks like ****, nobody knows about him, but that doesn't mean he can't knock your head clean off.

So I maintain that Rahman, despite possessing a more formidable arsenal of boxing skills, will offer much less than Sanders did against Vitali. He won't hurt him like Corrie did, and he sure as well won't be as competitive late in the right. The truth is that Rahman doesn't have half the talent of Sanders.

I agree with your assessment of Sanders and Rahman. The bottom line is, no one wanted to fight Sanders. Sanders "bait then attack" style combined with that devastating straight left could end the fight against any opponent, but he couldn't keep it up for more that a few rounds.

In regards to Vitali/Rahman. Some believe that Rahmans best chance is to rush Vitali, they may be right and he may get in that lucky punch, but I think Vitali has the smarts, jab and underrated elusiveness to neutralize that approach.

Some believe that Rahman should fight behind the jab. Although Rahman does have good reach and a good jab, I think Vitali's skilled use of his height should neutralize this approach.

I think Rahmans best chance is to do what no one has been able to do yet, try to fight Vitali inside and force the fight to the ropes. Rahman would have to be willing to eat a lot of punches to make that happen. Having said that, Vitali has proven to be very elusive to this approach as well.

[!!Captain]

I dont agree. vit is a good counter puncher and he could catch the rock coming in. it would be smarter for the rock to try to take it into the later rounds where vit could tire or eventually cut

I agree with you on Vitali being a good counter puncher, but if Rahman waits for the later rounds he will loose the fight because Vitali is going to pick him apart by the eight's round. I say that Vitali wins by TKO in 8 unless he catches Rahman early. If Vitali wasn't so careful in his last couple of fights, I would say he would KO Rahman by no later than third round.

[N P]

I agree with you on Vitali being a good counter puncher, but if Rahman waits for the later rounds he will loose the fight because Vitali is going to pick him apart by the eight's round. I say that Vitali wins by TKO in 8 unless he catches Rahman early. If Vitali wasn't so careful in his last couple of fights, I would say he would KO Rahman by no later than third round.

yesh, i think Vit is going to be careful this time too

[Hitman932]

Vitali is out for blood this time. he hates rahman, and its been brewing for awhile. as soon as vitali sees his spot he is going to terminate with extreme prejudice.

[S0UTHPAW]

There is alot of talk about Rahman rushing after Vitali, but I would not be surprised to see Vit go after Rahman hard from the first bell like against Lewis and Johnson.
1. Vitali does not like Rahman.
2. Vitali is rusty and may worry about a long fight.
3. Rahman showed he could not take Barrett's shots well.
4. If it does not work well for Vitali he can just shut down in the mid rounds to rest and know that Rahman will be comfortably inhabbiting his shell.
5. Did I mention Vitali does not like Rahman.

I think Vit going after Rock will screw with Rock's head and give Vitali a good chance at a early knockout. Even without a quick knockout, Rahman will take several rounds to get out of his jab - move - jab - hug mode giving Vit a good lead on the cards.

[Mike_R]

i'm sure vitali has watched every second of every round fought between lewis and rahman- being that lewis is their most reputable common opponent. the 'lucky punch' just isn't going to happen in my opinion. lewis' mistakes are on tape and on the record and vitali has seen them and knows exactly what to do and what not to do. vitali is a very smart individual, and i think he'll be as ready as he needs to be to beat rahman. he has all of the tools neccesary to obliterate rahman- and then some.
but again- the reason i love this sport- nobody really knows whats going to happen. i liked the comment about this being rahman's last big shot- because that is just so utterly true. and maybe rahman's got some secret stuff deep down that will just bloom out of nowhere and we'll see a whole other fighter in there aside from the rahman we're all used to.

or maybe all of this drama between him and don king will mess him up- and he'll just get destroyed in even worse fashion than anyone expects. he's going to need everything he has to offer and more to take this fight from vitali. i'm really looking forward to this though

[Zab Super Judah]

Rahman has a better shot than most think.

yeah vitali is heavyly favored but rahman has a good jab and size and power. He should be able to cause SOMe problems at the least