Vitali says his brother is comparable to Muhammad Ali
No one can accuse the Klitschkos of lacking confidence; if you ask Vitaly Klitschko, his brother is on par with the greatest of all time.
Russian media source, Moscow Komsomolets, recently contacted Vitaly, the WBC world heavyweight champion, to interview him about his brother Wladimir’s recent knock out of Samuel Peter. Wladimir Klitschko successfully defended his WBO/IBF/IBO/Ring Magazine heavyweight titles in the bout, which took place in Frankfurt, Germany. Vitali stated to MK that he felt his brother’s achievements were on par with those of Muhammad Ali.
“(Samuel) Peter was much better than he was five years ago but Wladimir is also different from himself of the past,” Klitschko said. “He [Peter] was in great shape, he didn’t get tired, and he was aggressive. Wladimir was hit by almost no punches at all, he got no injuries and now he feels himself pretty well. All in all, my brother proved he was in different league than the Nigerian. Samuel had no chance at all, at least in his pre-fight shape."
The bout was the second between Klitschko and Peter. In 2005, the two met in Atlantic City, with Peter flooring Klitschko three times in the fight. He lost in a close decision.
Vitali Klitschko continued, “There was a highlight reel on TV moments before the fight, which compared my brother with the living legend Muhammad Ali. I consider Wladimir’s achievements comparable with those of Ali. The only difference is that Wladimir hasn’t had worthy challengers to his throne […] Ali had Smoking Joe Frazier, Big George Foreman and several more stalwarts, who were skillful enough to give him troubles in the ring. Wladimir hasn’t any of these sorts in front of him. There’s no boxer in the world that can cause him major problems. But comparing their technique, their ring strategies and their dominance, you can have a point that Wladimir Klitschko is on the same level with the legend."
Many may have difficulty with the comparison, even granted Wladimir Klitschko’s success in the heavyweight division. Klitschko has not lost a bout since 2004, and has defended his titles since 2005. He has beaten the likes of Hasam Rahman, Lamon Brewster, Chris Byrd, Ray Mercer and Jameel McCline.
Yet while all of those guys were considered top challengers for Klitschko's title, not one of them possesses the appeal or credit generally accredited to Ali's opponents. The heavyweight division today suffers from a woeful lack of depth and talent to it. Ali fought "Smoking" Joe Frazier three times, George Foreman, George Chuvalo, Sonny Liston, and Floyd Patterson among others.
It is expected that Klitschko will fight again on December 11, against a top-ten heavyweight. He is not expected to enter talks with either WBA titlist David Haye or number six rated heavyweight Alexander Povetkin, with whom he was originally supposed to fight in September. Many consider his toughest available opponent to be Tomasz Adamek, though Klitschko would be the heavy favourite.
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