40 year old Vitali Klitschko has turned away yet another seemingly inept challenger. Like Shannon Briggs and Kevin Johnson, Dereck Chisora was able to last all 12 rounds. Unlike those two, he actually managed to win a couple of them. Like Cris Arreola, his chin kept him in the battle. However, Shannon Briggs and Kevin Johnson are not known as iron chinned fighters, and they were able to last and avoid Klitschko. Clearly, he is not the same devastating KO artist who was rendering stoppage wins over usually iron-chinned foes like Ross Purritty and Vaughn Bean.
His stoppage wins lately have come when a durable opponent’s corner sees the futility (Arreola, Adamek), or a freak injury (Solis). It even took him ten rounds to beat hapless Albert Sosnowski. He has started to slip, and after his knees looked like they were ready to give against Adamek, and he injured his shoulder against Chisora, the writing is on the wall. There is no need for Klitschko to suffer yet a third loss due to injury, in a fight he was winning. He is very likely an unbeaten fighter, minus a torn rotator cuff against Chris Byrd in 2000, or a cut eye against Lennox Lewis.
The elder Klitschko is already vastly underrated, due to the low caliber of heavyweights present during his reign, as well as the presence of his own brother. He has never been behind in a fight, came back after a 4 year layoff to re-dominate, and has seemingly run out of challengers. Let us not forget that not only were his only two losses due to injury, but he also lost 4 years due to multiple injuries. He is a 40-year old, 6’8″ man, who old legs are not going to carry him much longer. I fear, as a fan, and someone who respects his accomplishments, that him fighting on can only tarnish his legacy.
Sadly, because of the aforementioned reasons, he is one of those fighters who we need to admire in hindsight. Give us that rear-view mirror, Vitali, and we will hold you up high. Nobody with the credentials I mentioned will be denied entrance into the hall. We will only regret not appreciating you, when we had the chance. Once the whining about American heavyweights has died down, and the next round of Haye and Chisora-like thugs start trading belts with frequency, we will long for the days of a two-headed champion. Those two intelligent, classy heads are a breath of fresh air, compared to the trash-talking wannabes that are plaguing much of the sports world.
Wladimir is young enough to keep battering them around for a couple of years, but if he is caught cold and loses, it will be with drama. It will be exciting. If Vitali loses, it will be because his body gave out to an inferior fighter. He is a sure-fire candidate for going out on a winning note. He has already been the ‘Ring’ magazine champ… and cannot now, because his brother holds it. There is nothing left to prove. Besides, he has political aspirations, and isn’t this an election year? (well, in the U.S., not the Ukraine, but you get my point).
