Tag: Wladimir Klitschko

Klitschko’s retiring will revitalize heavyweight division


Brothers of Destruction
Brothers of Destruction

The moment the dominant giants known as the Klitschko brothers retire from the sport of boxing is the day the heavyweight division begins its march back towards relevance.

I don’t mean that negatively towards the brothers Klitschko, I mean it as a compliment. They have been dominant for so long (Wladimir hasn’t lost since 2004, Vitali since 2003) that they are all anyone can think of at the mere mention of the heavyweight division. They have crushed all competition and they have beaten anyone and everyone that has stepped into the ring with them over the last 8 years.

The moment that both brothers are retired, I think, will be the beginning spark that is needed to bring the division back into being relevant.

Remove the Klitschko’s and you now have a very level playing field with multiple challengers for the right to be called the best  heavyweight in boxing.

It may seem bleak thinking about the division without the two, but it’s really just a beginning. A beginning of a new era where there is no dominant figure, where there’s basically a level playing field.

Assuming Vitali retires later this year and Wladimir sometime in 2014 there will still be a good group of fighters available to pair up and have exciting fights.

Seth Mitchell, Johnathon Banks, Tyson Fury, Alexander Povetkin, Kubrat Pulev, David Haye, Chris Arreola, etcetera all will clamor for their piece of the heavyweight crown.

After the Klitschko’s are gone it goes from a division of two to a division of many.

David Haye…a mere footnote


False advertising.

All the talk preceding this fight from David Haye would have led you to think he really was going to try.

You would have thought there would have at least been some sort of effort.

Not only was there a serious lack of effort (as shown by his landing one singular punch in round 10. One punch.

I honestly and truthfully thought Haye would come out and be aggressive, if not right from the get go then at least work himself towards it. It never happened. Haye’s performance was literally the opposite of all his talk. It was one of the most uninspired performances I have ever seen.

My card read like this;

Rd 1, 10-9 Wlad
Rd 2, 10-9 Wlad
Rd 3, 10-9 Haye
Rd 4, 10-9 Wlad
Rd 5, 10-9 Wlad
Rd 6, 10-9 Wlad
Rd 7, 9-9 Wlad (Wlad won the round, but was penalized 1 point for pushing Haye to the canvas)
Rd 8, 10-9 Wlad
Rd 9, 10-9 Wlad
Rd 10, 10-9 Wlad
Rd 11, 10-8 Wlad (Haye ‘fell’ again and ref Gino Rodriguez called it a knock down)
Rd 12, 10-9 Wlad 

118-108 for Wladimir Klitschko

David Haye won one round on my card. It was really one of only two times in the entire fight when he actually showed any form of aggression.

Haye also decided early on that he was going to start flopping all over the ring. Of all the times he was “pushed” to the canvas there were about two times when it was Wladimir’s fault. All the rest were the result of some sort of strange strategy, or at least that was how it seemed to me.

While it’s true that Wladimir jabbed the bejeezus out of Haye and yes, that does make for a boring fight by itself, but if Haye could have at least put the peddle to the floor (aka did what he has run his mouth for two years about) and forced Klitschko to fire back and open himself up. It just seemed as if he was unwilling to exchange with the large Ukrainian.

Lastly, the fact that David Haye said he couldn’t throw his right hand because he had a broken pinky toe is completely ludicrous. When Wladimir questioned his “injury” by asking, “Do you have a medical statement?” Haye responded by showing him his toe, with Wladimir responding, “It’s a bee sting!”

The fight itself was a D+. Extremely boring and I’m sure if I had watched the replay at 9:45 I would have fallen asleep.

On the brighter side of things we do have “Super” Zab Judah vs. Amir “King” Khan coming up soon, July 23!

Wladimir Klitschko vs. David Haye; War!


I have waited for this for 2+ years.

I have watched and listened as David Haye has tried with every last ounce of his being to get into Wladimir Klitschko’s head.

He’s worn a graphic t-shirt with the decapitated heads of the Klitschko brothers. He’s refused to shake Wladimir’s hand. He’s said he was going to beat Wladimir and then destroy his brother, Vitali. He’s done everything he can think of to rattle a man that seems to be unrattleable (I’m fairly sure that isn’t a word).

Today was the last presser before the fight this Saturday, July 2. There was a stare down that went like this… Continue reading “Wladimir Klitschko vs. David Haye; War!” →

2 years later, we finally (maybe) have Klitschko-Haye


It’s been two years.

That is how it’s taken for this heavyweight title fight to actually come to fruition. Two years of Wladimir Klitschko saying, “I’m ready to fight” and two years of David “The Ducker” Haye saying, “I am ready to fight too!, except my back hurts and if we do fight it has to be in the UK and if we do fight I deserve a 60/40 split…”

Well now it seems that the fight is actually going to happen. Like for real this time. As opposed to 2009 when he was supposed to fight Wladimir, but backed out because of a back ‘injury’ that he never actually provided any medical documentation for, then later in 2009 when he was suppose to fight Vitali, but just before the fight was to be signed Haye backed out and signed to fight Russian behemoth Nikolay Valuev (whom he had been secretly negotiating with).

All the while Haye has been talking smack. Now it’s time for his hands to cash the checks his mouth hopes he can sign.

Also, per ESPN’s Dan Rafael;

One interesting twist: Boente [Wladimir Klitschko’s manager] said the contract with Haye says he could fight Wladimir or Vitali.

The priority is Wladimir facing Haye, Boente said. However, if Wladimir is still injured, Vitali could step in, contingent on Vitali winning his March 19 defense against Odlanier Solis.

“Knock on wood, nothing happens. Vitali has to win his fight in two weeks against Solis, which is a very tough fight,” Boente said. “If he comes out of that fight, he is also a possibility. In the contract it says Vitali or Wladimir.”

That being said, I’m sure my pick will reside with whichever Klitschko brother he faces.

There is still no venue chosen (probably Germany where the Klitschko brothers are basically God), no exact date set (either June 25 or July 2), and no American television network signed to show the bout. HBO and Showtime are obviously two options for the fight to land on, but according to Boente, “It could also be on pay-per-view in the U.S. if we can’t find an agreement.”

I have heard all this before from these Haye-Klitschko negotiations, hell, we’ve been this close to a Klitschko-Haye fight on a couple other occasions even. I am excited for the fight, just as I was in 2009 (twice).

As for now, though, I am holding back hope. When I will truly be happy for this fight is when I hear one of their respective entrance songs as they walk down to the ring.

The Klitschko’s, David Haye, Donaire-Montiel, more…


– Thankfully the Klitschko brothers have moved on from David Haye for a little while. Not that I didn’t want one (or both) of them to get a crack at the big-mouthed Brit, but it’s all a bit much now.

Wladimir called Haye a “liar” and has met with, and most likely will fight, Tomasz Adamek in September. At the very least Adamek will be fighting a Klitschko per Kathy Duva;

“If for some reason Wladimir can’t fight in September, Vitali will be the opponent. The September date is the key because that is when the new stadium will open. This is a very big deal in all of Europe because the Wroclaw stadium, which is located on the border of Poland and Germany and not too far from Ukraine, is one of four currently being built to accommodate the 2012 European Soccer Championships.”

– While Wladimir lines up his, possible, fight with Adamek, brother Vitali has signed a contract to face Odlanier Solis on March 19 in Germany.

– Per Dan Rafael’s twitter account;

I agree with Rafael wholeheartedly here. This is a ridiculous fight and to say I’m excited for it is a tremendous understatement. Fernando Montiel facing Nonito Donaire is an all action fight. Probably will be a lot of blood too. Blood always makes a match more exciting!

– The WBC has, rightfully, ordered a rematch between light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal and former champion Bernard Hopkins.

Per WBC president Jose Sulaiman;

“The WBC board of governors has voted in favor of ordering the immediate rematch between WBC champion Jean Pascal and emeritus champion Bernard Hopkins for the WBC light heavyweight championship of the world,” WBC president Jose Sulaiman wrote to the camps. “The winner of this fight has the obligation to fight Chad Dawson immediately without any intervening contest.”

Klitschko brothers to Haye: “Take your pick.”


On the website for the German newspaper, Bild, the Klitschko brothers were quoted saying,

“We promise that in 2011 the fight against Haye comes. We want this fight at all costs! He may choose, against whom he wants us to step into the ring to lose his world title.”

This is exactly what I want to hear.

Now, all I want is for this fight to get signed. It doesn’t matter which brother he gets into the ring with to me. I think the more exciting fight would be with Wladimir, if for no other reason than he tends to let his hands go more often than Vitali does.

That’s not a knock on Vitali though, he would be equally effective, in my opinion, against David “The Ducker” Haye.

I’m ready for this.

What I need now, is for David Haye to actually back up his big mouth and actually step into the ring this time.

I don’t like Floyd Mayweather Jr as a person and I hate how he runs his mouth, but as a boxer he has earned the right to speak freely because he has backed up his words nearly every single time. David Haye I don’t like as a person and I, also, hate how he runs his mouth, but he has yet to back up any of his tough talk.

It’s time to now. Lets get this fight signed as soon as possible.

Bizarro Boxing


This is where the sport of boxing usually resides.

Boxing can be a real world of strange occurrences and weirdo people.

I have two examples of recent happenings that make you shake your head in amazement. Even though I know boxing shouldn’t amaze me anymore, it does.

Example 1;

On December 21 it was announced that Shane Mosley would be taking on Manny Pacquiao on May 7,
2011.

You heard me right. Bob Arum of Top Rank (Pacquiao’s promoter) decided that the best fight available for Manny Pacquiao was against a man who fought to a draw with Sergio Mora, “‘The Contender’ guy” as Freddie Roach put it.

If this fight was signed before Sugar Shane got utterly dismantled at the hands of Floyd Mayweather Jr. than I would be all for it because at that point I thought Shane really did have something left in the tank. After the Mayweather debacle and his mind-boggling draw with Mora, I don’t think that any longer.

Without getting to in-depth (I’m sure I’ll have a breakdown of this fight sometime before the fight in 2011), I don’t think Mosley has a chance of standing upright past the 7th round. Continue reading “Bizarro Boxing” →

Steward: “You are going to see a much more aggressive Wladimir.”


You did it now Mr. Dereck Chisora.

You should have just let a sleeping giant lie. You should have just kept your mouth shut and took your chances against a just normally motivated Wladimir, but you couldn’t do it.

Oh how bold some young fighters can be these days. Chisora, 26, he of the mere 14-0 (9 KO’s) record, needs to zip those lips. Not for my sake though, I love that he is running his mouth. It will make for a much more dangerous and exciting fight, in my opinion. But because of his mouth he is in for mounds of punishment.

Has he seen any of Wladimir’s fights? This man is completely capable of putting you in the hospital for an extended stay.

Mr. Chisora says Wladimir has only fought “taxi drivers”? Maybe so, but his taxi drivers have been more like limo drivers compared to what Chisora’s fought.

Klitschko has dominated this entire division and fought and defeated nearly every top contender, with the exception of his brother, Vitali, for reasons we can all guess.

Klitschko has taken on the likes of Chris Byrd, Sam Peter, Jameel McCline, Eddie Chambers, Sultan Ibragimov, Tony Thompson, et al.

Chisora’s notable opponent? Danny Williams.

That’s it. That’s the list. That was also just this past May.

I, for obvious reasons, love Klitschko in this fight. Too strong, too big, too talented to lose to someone that has logged a mere 63 rounds in his entire career.

Prediction:
Wladimir Klitschko by KO in the fifth round.

David Haye, The Great Ducker


David Haye is a fraud, a fake, a phony, a liar and a punk.

Rough? Perhaps.

Deserved? Definitely.

David Haye took on Audley Harrison this past Saturday (Nov. 13) in the first all British heavyweight title fight in 13 years. Great, just great. Yet another fight no one could possibly care about for David Haye. Well, with the exception of England…maybe.

After his 3rd round KO of a nondescript Harrison, Haye had the nerve to call out the Klitschko brothers, again. He has done this for 2+ years. He even had a fight signed to fight Wladimir, the younger Klitschko, and pulled out just two weeks before the scheduled date.

Then he tried to bad mouth Vitali, the older Klitschko, into a match and it worked. Vitali responded and wanted to fight and was ready to set up a deal only to have Haye duck the fight before anything could get accomplished.

Wladimir Klitschko (left) & David "The Ducker" Haye (right)

Another fight was on its way to being signed with Haye taking on Wladimir and Wladimir even conceding a 50-50 revenue split. Yes, that’s as ludicrous as it sounds and yet the ducker of all duckers backed out, once again.

It’s a joke, it’s a really, really bad joke.

David Haye is pulling off the worst, most blatant case of ducking a fight that I have ever seen. It has to be in the top 10 all-time.

I have never seen a case of one boxer (in this case Haye) talk so much trash and yet every opportunity they get to make a fight with the person they are talking all this trash about (the Klitschko brothers) and get a chance to back up their words only to punk out.

But not just punk out once. It’s been over and over and over again.

David Haye, for the love of God, please, please make a fight with either of the Klitschko brothers. Take one of these chances that they keep throwing at you and serving you up on a silver platter and do your best to back up your big mouth.

I mean you should fight one of them if for no other reason than seeing one of the great Klitschko brothers literally punch your face off.

It would be immensely enjoyed by me and many, many other fight fans.