Comments Thread For: Klitschko Beats Down Overmatched Leapai in Five

[yoz]

Ok - I had a similar opinion to you, but to be fair...ok, he could have got him out of there in 2 or 3 rounds less - but why? Had that happened, Leapai would be trashed even more, because people would say he was not only an unskilled bum, but also one with no chin. What Wlad produced was an aggressive and dominant boxing clinic v a sadly overmatched opponent who should never have been there - blame the WBO! But I enjoyed Wlad going out on him with a variety of punches, and great aggression. If he fought everyone like that, he would be a lot more popular. Went a bit Vitali-mode today.

Anyway, i'm not complaining for a KO5. The HW champ doesn't fight every day...we should try to enjoy this kind of skilled aggression while we can, before the division turns into a heap of unfit, slow, unskilled brawlers. Early stoppages won't do much good or difference to Wlad's career anymore. I like watching a boxing clinic of power shots, and Wlad showing his aggressive nature. So, in a way, it was good he carried him for a bit, and knew when and how to end it.

Good post ^^^

[MDPopescu]

Ok - I had a similar opinion to you, but to be fair...ok, he could have got him out of there in 2 or 3 rounds less - but why? Had that happened, Leapai would be trashed even more, because people would say he was not only an unskilled bum, but also one with no chin. What Wlad produced was an aggressive and dominant boxing clinic v a sadly overmatched opponent who should never have been there - blame the WBO! But I enjoyed Wlad going out on him with a variety of punches, and great aggression. If he fought everyone like that, he would be a lot more popular. Went a bit Vitali-mode today.

Anyway, i'm not complaining for a KO5. The HW champ doesn't fight every day...we should try to enjoy this kind of skilled aggression while we can, before the division turns into a heap of unfit, slow, unskilled brawlers. Early stoppages won't do much good or difference to Wlad's career anymore. I like watching a boxing clinic of power shots, and Wlad showing his aggressive nature. So, in a way, it was good he carried him for a bit, and knew when and how to end it.

Wlad has to sell some advertising there, on the German TV... He needs the breaks between rounds...

[Foreign Soil]

Just watched it. Leapai showed the agility of current day's Foreman. His version of bob n weave was like doing standing situps because doing situps the right way is just too much trouble. Wlad put him away like a fatty dinner.

[joe strong]

I was laughing the whole time. I didn't watch it on espn. I watched boxing nation. I think leapai landed 3 punches & 1 of them actually made wlad stumble. he wasn't hurt but he ended it right after that. I was laughing pretty hard how pathetic this fight was...I hope we get pulev next...

[LA_2_Vegas]

Leapai was overmatched but it was a decent showing by Wlad. Leapai's only chance was to go out there windmilling but Wlad prevented that from the opening round on. His footwork was great. Only taking 10 punches in 5 rounds of any boxing match is pretty crazy no matter who it's against

[BoxingFan82]

Wlad has beaten seven opponents in title fights that were 6'5" or taller. He dominated all of them. I am not saying that they were all world beaters.

Yes, the words "world" and "beater" don't belong in any sentence that contains names like Mariusz Wach and Tony Thompson.

But all of them were ranked higher than anyone that Wilder has beaten. So in my opinion when Wilder begins to fight fighters that are at least ranked in the top 20 in the world he is the one that has everything to prove.

Nobody reasonable is going to claim that Wilder doesn't have anything to prove. As I wrote before, he absolutely does.

But just looking at records and dismissing fighters out of hand is a lazy way to evaluate fighters. Everybody knows there are fighters with supposedly impressive records (cough, Canelo, cough) that look a lot less impressive when you investigate them critically. Wilder is still developing, and the questions about his skill are legitimate. We haven't seen his chin tested.

But look at the other side of the coin: Wilder has athleticism and physical attributes that are uncommon for the division. A 6'7" fighter with a great frame who comes in at a consistent weight every fight (under 230 pounds no less) and has knockout power in both hands? That's very intriguing, is it not?

Even if you assume that 31 of the fighters Wilder has knocked out in 31 fights were bums, this type of knockout streak is not something the average heavyweight fighter pulls off, especially in a division where "all it takes is one punch" means that even the most technically skilled fighters (like Wladimir) could potentially be knocked out by a lesser opponent every time they enter the ring.

Again, styles make fights. If Wilder can handle his business later this year, I'd rather see Wladimir face Wilder than another Leapai because I think a fighter like Wilder has the potential to present a real stylistic challenge for Wladimir.

[NachoMan]

You're misanalyzing the situation. It wasn't the stamina, it was the fact that he couldn't get into his punching range and unload his arsenal of punches. Why couldn't he do it? Straight punches, jab, jab, left, left, with moderate footwork and movement.

Great job from Wlad. It's not about pleasing the fans anymore, it's about racking up title defenses. Pulev and Fury are next, which nobody should complain about.

When the hell has it EVER been about pleasing the fans for Wlad? Give me a break. It's not Wlad's fault that he's got nobody but bums to fight, but at least blast these fools out inside of one round. If a 5'10, 220 dude (Iron Mike) could do it, then why can't a 7ft tall 260lb dude manage the same? Because he has **** for skills and even less for balls. Enough of this ****. This is the worst HW champion of all time.

[Someone88]

Leapai showed a lot of heart, great win for Wladimir! It was nice to see the class shown as well!

[Greg House]

I was laughing the whole time. I didn't watch it on espn. I watched boxing nation. I think leapai landed 3 punches & 1 of them actually made wlad stumble. he wasn't hurt but he ended it right after that. I was laughing pretty hard how pathetic this fight was...I hope we get pulev next...

No. If you watch the fight again you'll see that Wlad did that because Leapai stepped on his foot.

It was a good performance from Wlad. Dominated every round and got the KO. It's impressive how hard he hits, I've watched Leapai take a lot of punches to the chin from a lot of boxers but he kept moving forward like nothing. Here you could see that Wlad was hurting him every time he was landing in his face. After the first knockdown in the fifth round, when he was getting up you could see in his face that he just couldn't handle that kind of power and it was only a matter of time.

[Ravens Fan]

Yes, the words "world" and "beater" don't belong in any sentence that contains names like Mariusz Wach and Tony Thompson.

Nobody reasonable is going to claim that Wilder doesn't have anything to prove. As I wrote before, he absolutely does.

But just looking at records and dismissing fighters out of hand is a lazy way to evaluate fighters. Everybody knows there are fighters with supposedly impressive records (cough, Canelo, cough) that look a lot less impressive when you investigate them critically. Wilder is still developing, and the questions about his skill are legitimate. We haven't seen his chin tested.

But look at the other side of the coin: Wilder has athleticism and physical attributes that are uncommon for the division. A 6'7" fighter with a great frame who comes in at a consistent weight every fight (under 230 pounds no less) and has knockout power in both hands? That's very intriguing, is it not?

Even if you assume that 31 of the fighters Wilder has knocked out in 31 fights were bums, this type of knockout streak is not something the average heavyweight fighter pulls off, especially in a division where "all it takes is one punch" means that even the most technically skilled fighters (like Wladimir) could potentially be knocked out by a lesser opponent every time they enter the ring.

Again, styles make fights. If Wilder can handle his business later this year, I'd rather see Wladimir face Wilder than another Leapai because I think a fighter like Wilder has the potential to present a real stylistic challenge for Wladimir.

Tony Thompson is far better than anyone Wilder has fought and I will put it bluntly I am not impressed with Wilder. And why? Because he hasn't fought anyone in the top 30 and his 31 opponents have a combined record of 312 losses and were stopped 187 times within the distance. In other words he is beating guys that made a living by losing and most of the time they were getting knocked out in the process. For all we know Wilder may pull a David Lemieux when he finally steps up and fights anything that resembles a decent fighter.

You also talk about Wilder's athleticism and I have to ask when did you even get a chance to see it when he averages less than two rounds per fight? We have no idea what kind stamina he has or if he has a chin. Hell, I'll even go as far to say that his power is even in question until he starts knocking out something that resembles a in his prime elite fighter. You also said something about his great frame. Well, I guess you can only see him from the waist up. Because I swear my ex-wife has bigger legs then Wilder and she is only 5' tall and weighs 105 pounds.

In closing I will say that the fact that Wilder is so highly ranked by Ring ****zine proves, in my opinion, that they also make mistakes. I also believe that Bryant Jennings is actually a better fighter and in the end he may have a much better career. With that said if in the end I am wrong about Wilder I will be the first one to come on the forum to say so. It will not be the first time and I seriously doubt if it will be the last time that I would be wrong about the sport that I love.