Klitschko.com - English

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=18777&more=1

You guys should here all the shit Briggs talks during this interview.And how anti Klitschko the interviewers are.
He talks all this shit about how he's ready and able to knock everybody out and that he's not been giving a chance. but recently when he was offered a shot at Eddie chambers he declined because he was not in shape enough even for him.( at 1:43:30 mark )Then about how long it takes the Klitschkos to knock their oppponents out and how boring their fights are. Yet in some of his most recent fights he was behind on points and scored a last second hail-mary shot to knock out Lyakhovich and his fight with Sultan Ibragimov was slower then the one against W Klit. even with Sultan willing to exchange against Briggs unlike when he vs Wlad. Then he added something about the quality of their opponets and when i looked at his rec I couldnt find 1 name after Lewis except for an old Mercer. I couldn't finish the whole thing so dont know what else he said, not that it's important or impactful

You can skip a head in the interview by clicking on the time bar

Vitali Klitschko Files Complaint Against WBC, Doesn't Want To Fight Maskaev - And Who Can Blame Him!

by James Slater -

Usually, if or when a fighter claims he has zero interest in fighting a specific opponent, a number of fans will speak up and claim that there is a serious case of ducking being done on the part of the man who says he gets no motivation or has no urge to fight the guy. However, in the case of WBC heavyweight king Vitali Klitschko, who, it has been revealed by FightNews.com, has filed a complaint with the WBC about his mandated defence against Oleg Maskaev - the overwhelming majority of fans will be totally on Klitschko's side..

This is not a case of fighter-A being fearful of fighter-B - it is a simple case of common sense being practised by "Dr. Iron Fist." Klitschko had to defend his WBC crown against mandatory challenger number-one, Juan Carlos Gomez. He is doing so. But to have to also see off mandatory challenger number-two, Oleg Maskaev, 120-days after the Gomez fight, is something that the 37-year-old sees as unfair and just plain wrong.

In his own words, Klitschko feels that, "the fight with Maskaev won't be interesting for me or for the spectators." You can say that again! No disrespect to Maskaev - a guy who proved he was a decent enough and gutsy enough heavyweight in his day - but just how the 39-year-old former WBC champ is anywhere near close to a fight for the _title_ is absurd. And Vitali Klitschko knows it, hence his complaint.

According to the FightNews article, Vitali, who has lodged his complaint at The International Court of Arbitration for sport, wants to face a much more formidable and fan-acceptable foe after the Gomez fight (which, naturally, he sees himself winning with no real trouble). Also, justifiably, Klitschko wants to face a challenger who will bring him some big bucks.

It will be interesting to see how the WBC responds to Vitali's complaint, but it's fairly safe to say - the most ardent fans of Oleg Maskaev aside - people will agree with what the champ has done. Why should "The Big O" get a crack at his belt when there are a number of other, far more deserving and attractive fighters out there? After all, Maskaev, who was knocked out by the same Sam Peter who looked so poor against Klitschko, has done nothing at all to earn a second world _title_ shot.

Since his 6th-round TKO loss to "The Nigerian Nightmare" back in March of last year, the veteran has fought just once, winning a decision over the 23-11 Robert Hawkins back in September. You tell me, does that make him more worthy of a fight with Klitschko than guys like Chris Arreola, Alexander Dimitrenko or David Haye - all of whom are in the WBC's current top-ten? No way.

Credit must be given to Vitali Klitschko and to his brother Wladmir - they both seem to want to do the right thing and face the best and most attractive opponents out there. They both care about their fans and also their legacy in the sport. As we all surely agree with Vitali, fighting Oleg Maskaev would help neither.

I just read that Ruiz is going to be the mandatory challenger for the winner of Chagaev and Vaulev. Guess its going to be at least another year before we get all the _title_s. I'm not sure but lets hope one of the 3 dont have Don King as their manager so we can get another unification bout.

Disproving “The Heavyweight Era Is Weak” Fallacy

Published by Scoop Malinowski on March 9th, 2009


You hear and read almost everyone connected to boxing say it. Whether it be from the media, the fans, or the boxers, you have heard it over and over and over. “The Heavyweight division is a weak era now.”

But that notion is false. Believe it or not, the heavyweight division today is as strong as ever. Perhaps even stronger than ever. But it’s the perception of the heavyweight division which is flawed. Much of the criticism of the Klitschko Brothers dominance comes from America which is not accustomed with or very comfortable with the fact that two Ukrainian doctors are currently reigning supreme as the dominant rulers of professional boxing’s most important and glamorous division.

We have heard many highly respected voices diminish the Klitschkos, such as Larry Holmes, James Toney, Floyd Mayweather, Teddy Atlas, Don King, even Bert Sugar who has stated that Primo Carnera would knock out Wladimir Klitschko.

The same things were said when Larry Holmes, Joe Louis, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis dominated. “Oh, it’s a weak era.” Joe Louis was said to have beaten a different bum every month. I look at it this way: Joe Louis was so good, so magnificently dominant, that he made most all of his opposition appear to be bums.

Larry Holmes was a similarly high-caliber champion. He was so exceptionally dominant and head and shoulders above all the competition that he made Lorenzo Zanon, Leroy Jones, Mike Weaver, Tex Cobb, Ossie Ocasio, Alfredo Evangelista look vastly inferior. There is no difference from those fighters to Arturo Godoy, Max Baer, Billy Conn, Frans Botha, Henry Cooper, David Tua, Tony Galento, Ron Lyle, Cleveland Williams, Chris Byrd, etc. You catch my drift?

Ray Austin and Tony Thompson and Sultan Ibragimov are the equivalent of Phil Jackson, Marvis Frazier, Zora Folley and Ernie Terrell. The Klitschko Brothers are dominating exactly like Ali, Tyson, Lewis, Louis and Jack Johnson did but in their very own unique ways.

The KO 3 of Cleveland Williams by Ali is often credited as his greatest performance in the ring. 5-1 underdog Williams was 33 years old in that fight. Two years earlier Williams had been shot in his abdominal area, the bullet never removed. Williams underwent four operations and lost almost 60 pounds, before somewhat regaining his strength by the time he challenged Ali. “I died three times on that operating table,” said Williams. So Ali basically beat a dead-man walking. Imagine if the Klitschkos beat such a handicapped challenger?

Lennox Lewis was another great heavyweight champion who was not accepted or appreciated until the end of his career. “They” said Lewis was just the fortunate recipient of having come around when it was a weak era of heavyweights. But after he knocked out Hasim Rahman in the rematch and halted Mike Tyson in Memphis, Lewis began to gain the approval of the sporting public and is now considered to be an all-time great.

Right now, a factor that does still haunt the Klitschko public image in the U.S. is their losses. Wladimir looked far from extraordinary in his defeat to Corrie Sanders and the last round of the match vs. Lamon Brewster. Vitali, despite his warrior heroics vs. Lennox Lewis, is still not forgiven by some for how he retired in the Chris Byrd fight with the torn rotator cuff injury. But both Klitschkos recovered from those devastating losses and actually became much stronger forces. They got up when they were down and overcame massive adversity. They learned from and improved themselves. “A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t,” Jack Dempsey once said.

Few boxing people will remember that Jack Dempsey was knocked out in the first round of his 33rd pro fight by Jim Flynn in Murray, Utah in 1917. Two years later ‘The Manassa Mauler’ was heavyweight champion. Not many recall that Jack Johnson was stopped twice before he became champ, by Klondike Haynes and Joe Choynski. You don’t hear those names ever mentioned. But whenever anyone debates the Klitschkos, it’s automatic you will hear Brewster, Sanders, Purrity, and Byrd’s name enter the discussion at some point. Dempsey and Johnson obviously gained and learned and became much better from their losses, as did the Klitschkos.

Also, the fact that during the Klitschko reign, there has always been a nagging second-rater wearing one of the world _title_ belts who refused to attempt to unify the _title_s with the Klitschkos. So this takes away some from the credibility of the Klitschko’s domination. During Vitali’s first WBC reign it was Byrd and Ruiz, both promoted by Don King. King knew both Byrd and Ruiz would have no chance vs. Vitali and so unification was never seriously negotiated. Now we have the giant Nikolay Valuev who is also being protected by his promoters Sauerland and King from being obliterated by either Klitschko. Valuev’s promoters pretend to the media to have interest in unification, but behind closed doors, block it because they want multiple options on future Klitschko fights. Because they know full well their man Valuev would be slaughtered and their heavyweight meal ticket would be in the waste bin.

On top of that, another factor that also mars the Klitschko Brothers to some degree in America, is that they are not outspoken or highly colorful personalities and their public images in America are interpreted by Joe Sportsfan as rather vanilla and bland. Even when Chris Byrd ducked Wladimir for over a year, Wladimir never spoke badly about Byrd, he just waited for his time and took care of business. Now David Haye, after slandering Wladimir as a lousy champ in the press last year, is refusing repeated chances to sign a contract to get in the ring with Wladimir in June. Haye is clearly reluctant because he knows he failed to psyche out Dr. Steelhammer and totally underestimated Wladimir’s confidence. But you won’t hear Wladimir go to the media and tell the truth about Haye’s backing down, he will likely keep quiet and diplomatically move on to the next challenger.

Boxing is never in a weak era. The best are always the best. Everyone should know boxing is a brutal sport and no one gets to the top by luck or taking shortcuts. If it were so easy Shaq or Ray Lewis would jump right in there and get to the top 10 in a year or two. The problem is that the American heavyweights have been passed by the Easter Europeans who, because of better coaching, a more determined work ethic, are now the superior heavyweight gladiators.

“It’s all about hunger and desire,” said former WBO champ Sultan Ibragimov. “There once was a good deal of great (American) champions because they were hungry and they really wanted to work hard and to give it all for the _title_s. It’s quite different now. Americans have become lazy. They don’t want to try hard for a not so big amount of money. We Russians are much hungrier. That’s the difference.”

But the American public can’t see it that way for whatever reason. Lazily and ignorantly the American boxing fans and media just say, Oh, it’s just a weak era.

I have a question: How come they never say it’s weak era for Tiger Woods, Rafael Nadal, The Williams sisters, Usain Bolt? (send replies to mrbiofile@aol.com).

One last comment to consider. The renowned writer Maya Angelou once wrote about the night Joe Louis defeated Jim Braddock to win the world Heavyweight _title_. “…a night when Joe Louis had proved that we were the strongest people in the world.” It would be interesting to hear Maya Angelou’s fair-minded commentary of the Klitschko Brothers and the current heavyweight division, wouldn’t it?

Before you read this I'd just like to say F Teddy Atlas


Michael Rosenthal’s column appears Wednesdays. He can be reached at theringeditor@yahoo.com

You look at their size and think, “Imposing.” You look at their records and think, “Impressive.” You watch them fight and think, “Effective, but boring.” You look at their opposition and think, “Ugh.”

So what are we to make of the abilities of reigning heavyweight kings Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko of Ukraine?

Well, let’s break it down into three categories and see where we land: pluses, minuses and conclusion.

PLUSES

First, there’s their size.

Vitali, who defends his WBC _title_ on Saturday in Germany, is 6 feet, 7½ inches and fights at around 250 pounds; Wladimir is 6-6½ and around 245. By boxing standards, they’re enormous. And the fact they’re rock solid, the result of hard work, makes them even more imposing.

Chris Byrd, the 6-foot-tall natural cruiserweight who fought them both, still marvels at their stature.

“It’s a major key in their success,” he said. “And not just their size, but the way they use it. They’re talented big guys. You can get a guy who is 6-10 with the longest reach in the world. If he doesn’t know how to use that advantage, it won’t do him any good.

“(The Klitschkos) keep their distance, they use their reach and height. They’re good big men. And, as they say, a good big man beats a good smaller man.”

And with mammoth size sometimes comes mammoth power, which seems to be the case here.

Vitali (36-2, 35 knockouts) has one of the greatest knockout ratios of all time. Wladimir (52-3, 46 KOs) lags behind somewhat but his right hand might be the most potent punch since George Foreman’s first go around in the 1970s.

“Wladimir hits very hard, harder than (Mike) Tyson,” said trainer Freddie Roach, who has worked with both brothers and Tyson.

They also live cleanly and work extremely hard, harder than the vast majority of their opponents, according to Byrd.

Roach offered an anecdote of their running habits to illustrate their dedication to training.

“At one point, they ran 12 800-meter [roughly a half mile] sprints, each under 3 minutes, with a minute rest between each one,” Roach said. “I timed every one and every one was under 3 minutes. I never saw a heavyweight do anything even close to that. They work their asses off. To be able to do that, two 250-pound guys … whew.

“They’re two of the best athletes I’ve ever trained.”

They also know how to box.

The brothers cut their teeth in the old Eastern European amateur boxing machine. Wladimir reportedly had 140 amateur fights (losing only six) and won the super heavyweight gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. Vitali had 210 fights (with 15 losses) and was a kickboxing world champion.

Wladimir also has 55 pro fights, Vitali 38. Add it all up and you get 443 fights. That’s plenty of time to learn the fundamentals and gain a firm grasp of strategy.

They use their size and strength to its full advantage, generally keeping their opponents at a safe distance while using their long, powerful arms to inflict damage. It’s a simple game plan that has worked over and over again in their careers.

“They’re smart fighters,” Byrd said. “I’ve been sparring with Vitali (for the Gomez fight). He’s smarter than I thought, even smarter than I remembered from our fight (in 2000). He thinks things through. So does Wladimir. The big guys know how to fight.”

The most-obvious plus is their consistency. The brothers have a remarkable combined record of 88-5 (81 knockouts).

Television analyst Larry Merchant suggested that Vitali might never have been behind in a professional fight. He was well ahead on points against Byrd when he retired because of a shoulder injury and was leading Lennox Lewis when the fight was stopped because of a cut.

And while Wladimir has been stopped three times against mediocre opponents, raising questions about his chin and toughness, he seems to have gotten past that strange period. He has won 10 in a row under Emanuel Steward’s tutelage.

They’ve also been at the top of the sport for a very long time. Wladimir won his first major _title_ in 2000 and currently holds the IBF and WBO belts. Vitali won his first _title_ in 1999, took off four years because of injuries and then returned with a spectacular KO victory over Sam Peter in October to win the WBC belt.

At the moment, they look almost untouchable.

“Honestly, who’s gonna beat ‘em?” Byrd said.

MINUSES

Trainer and television analyst Teddy Atlas can point to the Klitschkos’ technical flaws.

For example, they stand straight up and often throw only one punch at a time; they look for the big right hand and don’t throw combinations. They also pull straight back when they should go to either side. And they keep their hands down more than they should.

However, Atlas and many others have more of a problem with their _style_ than their technique: Neither of them is inclined to fight aggressively. They stay on the outside, win, collect their paychecks and go home, which often leaves fans unsatisfied after their fights.

“They play it very safe,” Atlas said. “I’m not knocking them for playing it safe if that’s what it takes to get to the promised land if they can get away with it. I just don’t know if they should be acclaimed for it.”

This is a tricky discussion.

Boxing is a sport; some argue that the only _object_ is to win. And the Klitschkos win. Others argue that boxing is more than that; it’s also entertainment. Heavyweight champions are supposed to fight, not win chess matches.

And the Klitschkos pay a price for their reticence to mix it up. They’ve made a fortune but don’t get a lot of respect for their fighting spirit and aren’t well known outside Europe.

“It’s nice to have a ‘W,’” said boxing historian Bert Sugar. “It’s also nice to have an ‘E’ for excitement or an ‘I’ for identification. They’re beating guys who no one knows and they’re not exciting while they’re doing it. Put it together and what do you have? A lack of interest in them and the heavyweight division.

“Their lack of ability isn’t as great as their lack of excitement.”

And do they get a free pass for that by the media?

Atlas said that Wladimir “does more clutching than Bonecrusher Smith did in the Tyson fight, more than Mitch Green did against Tyson. And those guys got assaulted by the media for doing that, they were torn apart. These guys shouldn’t be praised for it.”

Their courage has also been questioned.

No one knows quite what to make of Wladimir’s losses, in which he seemed to be both hurt and out of gas at the same time. Whatever it was, he certainly looked nothing like a warrior when things got rough. He just doesn’t mix it up.

And while Vitali pulled out of the Byrd fight with what later was determined to be a serious shoulder injury, some fighters would’ve found a way to survive three more rounds, particularly with a big lead. On the other hand, his courageous performance against Lewis revealed the fighter in him.

“They’ve quit in fights,” Atlas said. “I give them credit for learning from that. I don’t know if people are honest that they quit, though. They say they ran out of gas or were hurt. No, they gave up. They made a choice, they gave up.

“They fell apart, broke down. That’s the bottom line.”

No one can question their records; those are indelible. Their level of opposition definitely can be questioned, though.

Neither Klitschko has beaten a heavyweight who officials would even allow to visit the Hall of Fame. That’s not their fault but it’s reality. How can we say that the Klitschkos are accomplished fighters if they don’t beat accomplished fighters?

The best opponent either fighter has faced was Lennox Lewis, who Vitali fought in 2003. Again, to his credit, Vitali showed that fighting spirit that generally has been missing and was leading by two points when the fight was stopped but still lost.

Beyond that, they’ve faced a long string of never-have-beens. And that includes the fighters who have knocked out Wladimir – Ross Puritty, Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster. Such is the sadly barren state of the heavyweight division.

Their critics bristle if you even suggest that the Klitschkos could beat the best heavyweights of the past.

Larry Holmes? “Would’ve torn them apart,” former _title_holder Michael Moorer said. Evander Holyfield? “Would’ve made them fight,” Atlas said. Riddick Bowe at his best? “Would’ve been too much for them,” Atlas said.

CONCLUSION

The Klitschkos must be pretty good. They win consistently. Rocky Marciano did the same thing against generally mediocre opposition and today is a revered Hall of Famer, as he should be.

At the same time, we’ll probably never know exactly how good the Klitschkos are for lack of good competition. We can only speculate how they might’ve faired against the greatest heavyweights of the past, which is part of being a boxing fan.

In the end, though, it doesn’t add up to much.

“You gotta be the best of your time,” Roach said. “And that’s what they’re doing. They’re beating the guys in front of them. That’s all they can do. You can’t worry about what you would’ve done against someone else.”

The entertainment factor is different. In that regard, the Klitschkos clearly fail.

As Atlas and Sugar said, boxing is more than wins and losses. It’s about fighting, about facing danger, about getting off the canvas and putting your opponent on the canvas and mostly about stirring the masses.

The Klitschkos are giants. Logic tells fans that giants should rip people apart, not play it safe and survive unscathed to do it again. They want to see the Vitali Klitschko who gave Lewis hell every time he and his brother step into the ring.

“Except for the Lewis fight, they’ve never been involved in the kind of dramas the greatest heavyweights have been indentified with,” Merchant said. “… They use their size to dominate people. We haven’t seen guys knocked down, get up, knock the other guy down, coming back from adversity and so on.

“I think there is a kind of indifferent acknowledgment that they are the best out there but reluctance to give them high marks or real respect for what they’ve achieved.”


Michael Rosenthal’s column appears Wednesdays. He can be reached at theringeditor@yahoo.com

WBC: Vitali best P4P!
Greatest puncher ever in the heavyweight division

The WBC has declared reigning heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko to be “the greatest puncher ever in the heavyweight division.”

Official WBC Statement: “[Vitali] Klitschko proved that he is the best fighter in the world nowadays, pound for pound, after defeating Juan Carlos Gomez who had a record of 35 knockouts in 44 wins and only 1 loss. Klitschko has outdone all other fighters, no matter what division they belong to. The heavyweight world champion is the only one who can claim he is the greatest champion in the world of boxing as nobody can defeat him. With Vitali´s extraordinary wins, in fights that have been stunning to world fans, showing absolute control and power, our king of the heavyweights has silenced many mouths and media that had unfairly attacked him without any evidence, and been disrespectful to him, considering the great class he is showing. Jose Sulaiman, president of our organization, stated today that Klitschko is the pride the WBC as well as he is the pride of world boxing. Vitlai Klitschko’s record is now: 37 wins; 36 of them by knockout, and including his last win by KO, his percentage in this specialty went up to 97.2%, fact after which Klitschko is placed as the greatest puncher ever in the heavyweight division.”

I think the KO% is more like this 92.31