Vitali Klitschko, the WBC Heavyweight champion of the world, has been busy since returning from retirement. After forcing Samuel Peter to quit on his stool back in October 2008, Vitali has beaten Juan Carlos Gomez, the nightmare Christobal Arreola and just three month later Kevin the Kingpin Johnson. The champ has taken care of business all in the space of nine month.
These guys are all top ten contenders and good fighters, however the sad truth is that they are not great fighters or worthy future champions. So let us not get distracted by the quality of the opposition and just applaud the workrate of Viatli.
Yes that’s right I said it. I am pro-Vitali on this one. The reason why boxing is not getting the mainstream support and coverage it once was, is simple. Lack of regular name fights. It does not need two big names to sell a fight, just one. If fighters with name and brand recognition fight once a year then do not expect to be doing yourself or your fans any favours.
Before these fights I believed that the younger of the Klitschko’s, Wladimir, would be the better champion of the two. Being the more active fighter I was sure that the years away from the ring and the injuries that have blighted Vitali’s career would be too much. Four fights in fourteen months have shown that the Ukranians are savvy and know exactly what is needed to get back in to the ring.
We all knew the outcome of all these fights. Have a look and you will see the predictions on this site. Chris Arreola is out of shape and does not put the effort required in training camp to be able to take on a champion. The fight was made at short notice to take advantage of Arreola’s condition and to show that Vitali was not ‘ducking’ the young challenger.
Kevin Johnson is nothing special and is the American Matt Skelton, no disrepect to Matt but he is not going to be lifting the world heavyweight title any time soon. The Johnson fight was a tune up, lets not pretend anything more. The only people watching are in Europe where we dont need to pay for the fights. American networks (wont say any names to upset people) have been hyping Johnson, Arreola and Chambers because they do not have anyone else.
“Johnson’s biggest win in his career is over Bruce Seldon, a guy Riddick Bowe knocked out in a round 17 years earlier,” explained Haye. “Johnson somehow had a life and death war with a 41-year-old Seldon before stopping him at the halfway mark.
“Unfortunately, Johnson is untested, unproven and talks better than he fights.
“Unlike Arreola, it’s doubtful Johnson will even have a proper ‘go’ and make the fight exciting. He’s known to be very cautious and dull. I hope he puts on a show for the Swiss fans, but I wouldn’t count on it.”
The reason why Vitali took these fights is clear, he knew he would win. We all knew he would win. There are three fighters who are the only real fights open to Vitali; Heavyweight Champion of the world David Haye, Alexander Povetkin and Wladimir Klitschko. We know which fight we want to see.
“I want to knock out both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, and I don’t care what order they fall in,” admitted Haye.
“Vitali is nearly 40 years of age now and the clock is ticking if he wants to form any sort of legacy. There are probably one million dudes in America called Kevin Johnson, and beating one of them doesn’t make you an all-time great heavyweight.
“Vitali’s greatest performance to date is a loss to Lennox Lewis. That’s his most memorable fight and the one result on his record that will be remembered in the history books.
“The Klitschkos don’t care about being great fighters, whereas I do. They may be big in Switzerland, but so are yodellers, and nobody wants to watch them fight.”
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Full credit to Vitali, as since his comeback, he has fought regularly and against good opposition. I’m not a fan of the Klitschko’s but Vitali must be applauded for behaving like a true Heavyweight Champion. Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis all fought regularly at their peaks and it’s what a champion should do.
It is a shame that everyone is not fighting regular. It is even
more of a shame that 2010 may be Vitali’s last year boxing.