SONAHR April 27, 2014 – If Alex Leapai had somehow managed to defeat WBA-IBF-WBO-Ring Magazine heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday, it would have been the biggest upset in the division since Buster Douglas overturned Mike Tyson?s applecart back in 1990. Of course, any major heavyweight upset since then would be compared to Tyson-Douglas, but a Leapai win would have come very close to duplicating that seismic shocker.
But it wasn?t to be. If Klitschko is to be beaten, it won?t be by the likes of Leapai, who was floored three times and finally rescued by the referee in the fifth round of his futile challenge of Wladimir. Leapai, a Samoan-Australian, came into the bout on a high, having outpointed previously undefeated and highly touted Russian contender Denis Boytsov. However, there is no comparison between Boytsov and Klitschko. Leapai learned that the hard way as early as the first round, when Wladimir dropped him with a jab (shades of Larry Holmes). The second of two subsequent knockdowns suffered by Leapai in the fifth prompted referee Eddie Cotton to rush to the rescue. For all the chance Leapai stood, Cotton could just as easily have stopped it after the first-round flooring.
Over the past few years, all of Klitschko?s title defenses have turned out to be similarly one-sided mismatches, reminiscent of the Harlem Globetrotters? basketball unending basketball victories over the hapless Washington Generals. Even though he is closing in on the age of 40, he remains at the top of his game. He has long since overcome the weaknesses that threatened to derail his career back in the early 2000s. One of those chinks in his armor was a shaky chin, which he learned how to protect under the tutelage of the late Emmanuel Steward. The other was lack of stamina, which he rectified through learning how to relax the tightness that was his undoing against the last man to beat him ? Lamon Brewster, back in 2004. Klitschko, by the way, later avenged that defeat.
Because his big brother Vitali vacated the WBC championship late last year so that he could become more involved in the politics of his embattled Ukrainian homeland, Wladimir now stands alone at the head of the heavyweight class ? at least until Chris Arreola and Bermane Stiverne meet next month to determine a new WBC beltholder. Provided that bout doesn?t end in a draw (Remember Lennox Lewis-Evander Holyfield I?), Wladimir could very well cap his career later this year by facing the Arreola-Stiverne winner in a showdown that would unify all the major titles.
At this point, neither Arreola nor Stiverne could be considered much of a threat to Klitschko. Beyond them, who else is there? Young contenders Kubrat Pulev, Tyson Fury, Robert Helenius and Deontay Wilder are all undefeated ? and untested. Any or all of them could win the titles that would be up for grabs after Klitschko retires. But none of them could be favored to beat Klitschko as long as Wladimir follows Bernard Hopkins?s example by staying in shape and keeping his skills honed to a sharp edge.
The long and short of it is, Wladimir Klitschko is the 800-pound gorilla of the heavyweight division. How long can he remain champion? As long as he wants.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace, as well as the Imaro series of fantasy/adventure novels. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers. His award-winning novel, Damballa, which centers around a fictional heavyweight title bout, is available at Amazon.com.
