This weekend, July 2nd, we will finally have a Heaveyweight bout of serious significance and hype surrounding it. Universally recognized #1 IBF, WBO, IBO, Ring Magazine Heavyweight Champion, Wladimir Klitschko, will take on WBA Champion David Haye in a major unification bout. This fight has ALL of the ingredients to be an explosive affair. There is a genuine dislike between these 2 men, ever since Haye showed up to a press conference wearing a t-shirt depicting him holding the severed heads of both Wladimir and Vitali Klitshcko. This act rubbed the Brothers Klitschko in all the wrong ways, and they have made it a mission to shut up the big mouthed Brit once and for all.
Wladimir himself is a curious case though, some hold him in high regard with the greatest of all time, others say he would be nothing but a journeyman in boxing's glory days. Granted, the heavyweight landscape is not full of Ali's, Foreman's, Holmes's, or Marciano's right now, but the way in which Wlad and his older brother have dominated the division cannot be looked past. Wlad himself even admits that he is not the cold blooded pugilist his brother is. In a statement to Freddie Roach, when Roach told him "You are an amazing athlete", Wlad responded with "Yes, but I wish I was an amazing fighter." But for not being an "amazing fighter" he has been able to compile a record of 53-3 during his career.
This statement by Klitschko was never more evident to me than during his KO loss to Corrie Sanders back in 2003, and his loss to Lamon Brewster in 2004. The going got tough, and early, for the 6'6'' Ukrainian against Sanders. Sanders knew his best shot to beat, the then more robotic Olympic Champion, was to come out firing, and come out quick. Which is exactly what he did. Down once in the 1st round, and twice in the 2nd, Klitschko had an unforgettable look of confusion on his face during this aggressive onslaught, that put major doubt into the minds of many about him. He then rattled off a pair of confidence boosters and lost again to the hard punching Lamon Brewster. This fight was an oddity in itself, with speculations of food poisoning prior to the fight. Wlad came out in the 5th round mouth open, hands down, totally exhausted already, which made no sense for a fighter of such good fitness. He was then labeled a glass jawed fraud by the public and media.
Since the defeat to Brewster Wlad has revenged that loss and rattled off 13 straight victories(including wins over Chris Byrd, undefeated Calvin Brock, Ruslan Chagaev, and former champ Hasim Rahman), under the tutelage of world renowned and Hall of Fame trainer Emmanuel Steward. The mos impressive in my opinion was when he erased all of those previous demons against big punching Samuel Peter in historic Boardwalk Hall. The Nigerian Nightmare had Wlad in some serious trouble, dropping him 3 times in the fight, but Wlad pulled himself off the canvas to put on a boxing clinic and rocked Peter a few times on his own, and walk away with a decision.
I believe that fight spoke volumes about his desire to be champion again, and also was a testament to what an amazing coach Steward is (who excels with coaching long rangy fighters such as Lennox Lewis, and Tommy Hearns). Now Wlad systematically takes his opponents apart, dissecting them with his jab, and once they close the gap, he pops them with straight rights and "45" rights. It is a formula that works, and works well, of his 53 wins 49 of them are by KO or TKO.
It is a curious case that a man, who admittedly says he is not a fighter, has had 2 crushing KO losses to lesser competition, is somehow still labeled glass jawed, overrated, too safe, and boring; all the while became the Heavyweight Champion of the World.
David Haye has the power, he the has speed, he has the youth, and the attitude to make it interesting. But in my opinion when the smoke has cleared Saturday, David Haye will have a new name, "#50".
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