Vitali is, without a doubt, a very good heavyweight. He possess strength, durability and skill in abundance and he possesses a large body which, naturally, gives him an advantage as a heavyweight. His stats as a professional are very impressive because, to date, he has only lost two fight in a career that has seen him compete in over 40 fights, with KO ratio of 86% - the second best KO ratio in boxing history next to Rocky Marciano.
However, the Klitschko dominated era of heavyweight boxing has been filled with weak opposition. In Vitali's long career he has only ever fought one all time great - Lennox Lewis - and he lost that battle. Other than Lewis, Vitali has faced nobody who is considered a top ten all time great heavyweight, the next highest level calibre fighter he faced was Chris Byrd or Herbie Hyde - neither of whom were considered amongst the top ten fighters of their era - beating one and losing to the other.
Further, Vitali's legacy takes a hit by his refusal to fight Wladimir Klitschko. This is a mutual decision between both brothers, but by failing meet his most dangerous potential opponent he has instead been seen to feast upon a host of vastly inferior opponents and this, in turn, weakens his place amongst the all time great list.
It is, perhaps, an indication of the lack of depth in the heavyweight division at present that even now in 2012, almost ten years after the fight, Vitali is still defined by his valiant effort against Lennox Lewis and not by the rest of his career.