A Look At The Potential Options For Wladimir Klitschko Heading Into 2015

A question that will often be asked in regard to a dominant fighter is who can provide a stern test for that fighter. The dominant fighter, unified IBF/WBO/WBA/IBO Heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko has been undefeated for the past ten years and has won sixty-two of sixty-five professional fights.  Klitschko would ask this question of undefeated IBF number one contender Kubrat Pulev on November 15^th at the O2 World Arena in Hamburg, Germany as he would make his seventeenth title defense. 

   

The question that faced the challenger in this fight was whether or not Pulev had an answer for Klitschko’s arsenal, which is highlighted by his jab followed by a straight right hand. Although Klitschko’s jab and right hand have often been showcased in his fights, in this fight it would be his left hook that would be the significant weapon.

Despite being known as a slow starter, Pulev attempted to bring the fight to the champion from the outset. The challenger showed immediately that he was not intimidated as almost as soon as the fight began while in a clinch, Pulev tried to immediately hit Klitschko with his free arm, often hitting Klitschko in the back of the head. One thing that did help the challenger was his 6’4 1/2 frame and being nearly identical to the champion in terms of weight weighing 246 3/4 lbs. to Klitschko’s 245 3/4 lbs.

Recent Klitschko opponents such as Alexander Povetkin and Alex Leapai were unable to land anything significant when Klitschko was able to tie them up. This was due in large part to the champion’s natural size, strength, and weight advantage over them. This time Klitschko was not able to tie up his opponent as easily.

The champion however, would demonstrate his power in the opening round as he connected with a flush left hook that sent the challenger down to the canvas nearly midway through the first round. Pulev immediately arose from the knockdown, but was floored for a second time seconds later as he was clearly hurt as a result of the first knockdown.

Despite being knocked down twice, Pulev remained undeterred and continued to attempt to bring the fight to Klitschko. The challenger however, would be dropped for the third time in the fight in round three as a result of another Klitschko left hook. Pulev showed his mettle as he got up and continued to fight. Although Pulev’s courage and determination cannot be questioned, he simply did not have an answer to avoid Klitschko’s arsenal. The end would come in round five as Klitschko would respond after being struck by Pulev with a flush right hand, the challenger’s best punch up to that point, by landing a brutal left hook that sent the challenger down and out on the canvas. With the win Klitschko advances to 63-3, with 53 Knockouts. Kubrat Pulev falls to 20-1, with 11 Knockouts.

Much like his sixteenth title defense against Alex Leapai earlier this year, this was ultimately just another day at the office for Wladimir Klitschko. Although Pulev was clearly outclassed in this fight, he did show courage, tremendous heart, and deserves credit for the effort he put forth against a truly dominant Heavyweight champion.

What led to Pulev’s downfall in this fight in this observer’s eyes was two factors. One he has a style where he holds his hands up high, but does so wide, which allowed Klitschko a fighter who is known for his accuracy to more or less pick his shots. Pulev also did not offer much head movement and thus was a very inviting target for the champion. I was however, very impressed not only by Pulev’s courage and heart, but also by the fact that despite being knocked down multiple times, he continued to attempt to fight back and did not go into a defensive mode. Pulev’s determination will likely earn him respect and appreciation from both Boxing fans and experts alike. He certainly has the respect of this observer.

As for the champion, with now seventeen successful title defenses in his second reign as a Heavyweight world champion, the question remains who can provide a challenge for him as he continues his march towards Boxing history? In terms of the immediate future this observer sees two realistic options for Klitschko in 2015.

One option might be for Klitschko to meet the winner of the November 29th rematch between top contenders Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora to determine a new mandatory challenger in the World Boxing Organization’s (WBO) ratings. The other option would be for Klitschko to face the winner of the upcoming WBC championship fight between champion Bermane Stiverne and undefeated WBC number one contender Deontay Wilder, which will take place on a date to be announced. If a fight between Klitschko and the winner of that fight could be made it would mean complete unification of the Heavyweight division.

There are other options that could be on the table for Klitschko such as a rematch with former WBA champion Ruslan Chagaev, who Klitschko stopped in nine rounds in 2009. Chagaev, who currently holds interim/regular status in the WBA ratings could be a likely candidate following the recent announcement that top contender Luis Ortiz, who also was designated as having interim/regular status by the WBA tested positive for a banned substance following his first round knockout win over Lateef Kayode in September. 

Although it remains somewhat unclear as to who might be designated as the next mandatory challenger by the WBA as of this writing, it seems logical that Chagaev would be the obvious choice. If however, Klitschko opts to take an elective defense for his next fight, contenders such as Bryant Jennings, Vyacheslav Glazkov, and perhaps even former WBO Heavyweight world champion Shannon Briggs, who has been on a campaign to try and secure a fight with Klitschko, might all be considered options.

We will have to simply wait and see what Klitschko decides to do next. This observer however, will remain firm in his hope as I stated prior to Klitschko’s fight with Kubrat Pulev that if the champion continues to win that his quiet, but steady march towards Boxing history receives the attention and recognition that it deserves.

Following Klitschko’s knockout of Pulev, I commented on social media that both fans and critics alike can say what they want about Klitschko’s Boxing style, but the fact is Klitschko simply gets the job done and often does so by knockout registering a career knockout percentage of over 80%.  Wladimir along with his brother Vitali will likely go down in history as I have said often over the years as two of the most dominant and two of the most underappreciated champions in Boxing history.

As Wladimir stands alone as the only Klitschko who is still active as a fighter, as he continues to approach the statistical milestones set by former Heavyweight champions Larry Holmes, who had twenty successful title defenses in his reign as Heavyweight champion and Joe Louis, who set the all-time record for successful title defenses in any division in Boxing history defending his title twenty-five times in his reign as champion, there is no doubt that Wladimir Klitschko’s place in history will be as an all-time great. If Klitschko ultimately surpasses both Holmes and Louis in his current reign as champion it will be increasingly difficult for any unbiased observer regardless of what you might think of his Boxing style to deny him the recognition befitting of an all-time great.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison 

 

Wladimir Klitschko Goes For Title Defense Number 17 Against Pulev

A storyline that has quietly been gaining momentum is unified IBF/WBA/WBO/IBO Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko’s steady march towards Boxing history.  Klitschko, the two-time Heavyweight world champion has in his second reign as champion compiled sixteen successful title defenses since regaining a portion of the Heavyweight crown by scoring a knockout in his second win over then IBF world champion Chris Byrd in 2006. 

 

Normally a fighter who has been as dominating as Wladimir Klitschko has been for much of the last decade, the idea of that fighter making a run to attempt to match or even surpass the all-time record for successful title defenses, not just of the Heavyweight division, but rather the entire sport would certainly garner significant attention. For Klitschko however, much of his career has been defined not only by his own individual dominance, but also as one half of what this observer has often called “The Two-Headed Heavyweight Championship Monster” known as the Klitschko brothers. Until late last year when Wladimir’s older brother Vitali retired to focus on his political ambitions, the Heavyweight division was simply ruled by two brothers with iron fists.

Although the retirement of Vitali has left at least the potential for an undisputed champion to eventually be crowned in the division, there is no dispute that Wladimir Klitschko is the number one fighter in the Heavyweight division and the retirement of his brother has not diminished his dominance. In his last fight in April of this year Klitschko dominated a “Game”, but over matched Alex Leapai in scoring a fifth round stoppage to retain his unified world title and earned his sixteenth consecutive title defense.

Klitschko’s TKO of the WBO’s number one contender Leapai cleared the way for him to make another mandatory championship defense against the IBF’s number one contender the undefeated Kubrat Pulev. Pulev, a native of Sofia, Bulgaria is unbeaten in twenty professional fights, is a former European Heavyweight champion, and has scored victories over top contenders Alexander Dimitrenko, Alexander Ustinov, and former two-time world title challenger and former two-time Klitschko opponent Tony Thompson in his career.

The fight between Klitschko and Pulev, which was originally scheduled to take place on September 6th was postponed when Klitschko had to pull out due to an injury where he tore his left biceps during the final stages of his training camp. The postponed clash however, will take place on Saturday night at the O2 World Arena in Hamburg, Germany.

The question that will face the unbeaten Pulev will be essentially the same question that has faced every Klitschko opponent. Can Pulev avoid Klitschko’s jab and straight right hand to get on the inside of Klitschko’s eighty-one inch reach? If Pulev can accomplish this, another question that will be asked of him will be will he be able to do so without being tied up and/or put in a position where Klitschko can use his size, weight, and strength to his advantage.

The good news for Pulev is unlike recent Klitschko opponents Alex Leapai and Alexander Povetkin, he stands 6’4, has an eighty inch reach, and has typically weighed in between 245lbs.-250lbs. or above for most of his fights. This would indicate that Klitschko will not likely be able to rough up and grapple with Pulev as easily as he was able to do against Alexander Povetkin. Nevertheless, it will still be interesting to see how Pulev attempts to combat Klitschko’s primary weapon the jab followed by the straight right hand. A weapon that opponents both short and tall have had significant difficulty dealing with. It has proven to be a task that is easier said than done and it will be of interest to see if Pulev has an answer for Klitschko’s arsenal.

What might be troublesome for Pulev is he is known for being a slow starter in fights and if he does not attempt to bring the fight to Klitschko and look to make the champion uncomfortable from the outset, this fight could well end up being what Boxing fans and experts alike have come to expect of Wladimir Klitschko. The champion slowly, but systematically breaking his opponent down. Klitschko, who has a career knockout percentage of 80% having scored knockouts in fifty-two of his sixty-two career wins is likely viewed by most as the significant favorite heading into this fight.

Pulev however, has shown in the past that he can pick up his pace as a fight progresses as he showed in his fight against Tony Thompson. Pulev, who has eleven knockouts in his twenty career wins will likely look to extend this fight into the middle and late rounds. The key to the fight in this observer’s eyes will be whether or not Pulev has an answer to avoid Klitschko’s arsenal and whether or not he can turn this into a fight. If Klitschko is allowed to control distance and able to fight his fight, it could be a short evening. It is up to Kubrat Pulev to show what he can do against a dominant Heavyweight champion.

Assuming that Wladimir Klitschko is successful in what would be his seventeenth consecutive title defense against Pulev, an element that will follow each defense that follows will continue to be Klitschko’s march towards Boxing history. Only two fighters in Heavyweight history have had more successful title defenses than Klitschko. Larry Holmes who defended his title twenty times from 1978-1985 and Joe Louis who set the all-time record for successful title defenses in the whole history of the sport defending his title an incredible twenty-five times from 1937-1949. Although Wladimir and his brother Vitali will likely go down as two of the most dominant champions in the history of the sport and also two of the most underappreciated champions in history, there is no dispute that Wladimir has entered elite company as only Holmes and Louis are above him in regard to successful title defenses in their respective reigns as Heavyweight champion.

If Klitschko continues to win it is my hope that Klitschko’s quiet, but steady march towards Boxing history receives the attention and recognition that it deserves. We will see if Kubrat Pulev can upset Klitschko’s march towards history on Saturday night.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison 

 

Has Hopkins Reached The End Of The Road?

Bernard Hopkins has built his Hall of Fame career on his ability to defy odds and accomplish goals that few have attempted. The only man in Boxing history to completely unify a weight class by unifying the world championships of the IBF, WBC, WBA, and WBO while setting the all-time record for most successful title defenses in the history of the Middleweight division compiling twenty successful title defenses from 1995-2005.

Hopkins’ historic reign atop the Middleweight division alone secured his status as a future Hall of Famer. In an era where world championships are won, lost, stripped, or relinquished for various reasons Hopkins showed, despite the various political elements that surround the sport that a fighter can not only win a world championship, but become the one and only champion. Hopkins is a true throwback to an era where fighters took on all comers and there was one recognized champion per weight class.

Although his place in the Hall of Fame was cemented with his historic reign over the Middleweight division Hopkins continued to set goals and accomplish feats. Not only would Hopkins go on to win two separate world championships in the Light-Heavyweight division, a weight class fifteen pounds above the Middleweight division, he would also make history in the process by becoming the oldest fighter in the history of the sport to win a world title at age forty-six in 2011. Hopkins would incredibly top his own historical feat after losing the WBC world title in his rematch with Chad Dawson in 2012, by defeating IBF champion Tavoris Cloud in 2013 to break his own record by becoming a world champion at age forty-eight.

A fighter who has made a career by defying the odds and by fighting well into his 40s continued to defy logic by not only continuing to compete at an age where most fighters are retired, but doing so at the sport’s elite level. It seemed as though Hopkins could well have been able to re-write Boxing’s history books by duplicating his own feat by completely unifying a second weight class. Hopkins however, may have discovered that even he could not defeat an opponent known as “Father Time.”

On November 8th at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey Hopkins entered the ring to unify his IBF/WBA Light-Heavyweight world title against undefeated WBO champion Sergey Kovalev. Kovalev, a fighter with a career knockout percentage of nearly 89%. Kovalev would not be an easy step in Hopkins’ attempt to unify the Light-Heavyweight division.

Kovalev would drop Hopkins in the first round with a right hand. Although Hopkins was able to get up from the knockdown, it was Kovalev who would control how the fight would be fought, consistently pushing Hopkins back and outworking him in every round. Hopkins would occasionally land punches on the thirty-one year old Kovalev, but could not offer sustained offense and for the first time in his career Hopkins was dominated in losing a one-sided twelve round unanimous decision.

Hopkins was however, successful in taking Kovalev, who had only previously fought as far as eight rounds a full twelve round distance. The question coming out of this fight for Hopkins is whether or not his age has finally become an issue for him. Hopkins who landed only 65 of 195 punches during the twelve round championship bout seemed hesitant throughout much of this fight. Was Hopkins’ sporadic offense attributed to the fact that he is forty-nine years old and could not consistently let his hands go or was it more due to a respect for Kovalev’s punching power and not wanting to put himself at risk of potentially being knocked out?

One should remember that Hopkins after all, is a tactical chess player as a fighter and has always looked to capitalize on an opponent’s mistakes. The feeling that this observer had as I watched this fight was that perhaps Hopkins’ goal was to fight a more defensive fight than is his norm in trying to make the younger man, who is noted for his punching power expend more energy by looking to trap Hopkins. 

Although Kovalev clearly dominated this fight and outworked Hopkins in every round, Hopkins did make the younger man miss often as Kovalev landed 166 of 585 punches thrown. To Kovalev’s credit however, he was able to keep the pace he established as the fight progressed and did not seem to fatigue as the rounds went on. The pace of a fight was really one that seemed more suited for Hopkins, a tactical measured pace where Hopkins typically excels. In this fight Hopkins simply could not let his hands go and that was simply the story of this fight. Hopkins allowed Kovalev to walk in often unimpeded, pinning him against the ropes as he offered little resistance.

As for what is next for Sergey Kovalev, an anticipated showdown with WBC champion Adonis Stevenson may likely be a goal for 2015. Before any talk of a fight to determine an undisputed world Light-Heavyweight champion can take place, Stevenson will defend his title against Dmitry Sukhotsky on December 19th in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

A question however, that both Boxing fans and experts alike are likely pondering is whether or not Hopkins’ loss to Kovalev is the end of the road for a true legend of the sport. Although Hopkins had suffered six losses in sixty-five previous fights prior to facing Kovalev, there has always been some debate as to whether or not Hopkins won those fights. This time however, Hopkins clearly lost this fight and for the first time took a beating throughout.

 To his credit, Hopkins still showed the ability to take a punch and stood up to what Kovalev had to offer excluding the knockdown in the first round. Whether or not we have seen Bernard Hopkins compete for the last time is only a question that he can answer. One idea that some have suggested is that Hopkins could make another attempt at a world championship and perhaps another run at attempting to unify the Light-Heavyweight division by possibly looking for a potential fight with Adonis Stevenson. If Stevenson successfully defends his title in December and assuming that a clash between Stevenson and Kovalev is not in the immediate future, Hopkins may get the nod providing he decides to continue to fight.

Anything is possible and it would not shock me if a fight between Stevenson and Hopkins were made. In this observer’s opinion however, Bernard Hopkins’ legacy and status as a future Hall of Famer and legend of the sport is more than secure. Whether or not Hopkins decides to fight again will be up to him, but in my eyes he has nothing left to prove.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”  

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison 

 

Can Kovalev Derail Hopkins’ Quest For History?

There is little doubt that the Light-Heavyweight unification bout between IBF/WBA Light-Heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins and undefeated WBO champion Sergey Kovalev has become one of the most anticipated fights in recent years. Of course one might be tempted to say that the term “one of the most anticipated fights” is one that can at times be overused when it comes to the sport of Boxing and combat sports overall.

This fight however, the “Anticipation” is certainly warranted. A fight that is not only the next chapter in the Hall of Fame career of Bernard Hopkins, but also the continuation of Hopkins’ quest to duplicate history. Many will remember that as a Middleweight Hopkins not only dominated the division, but would become the first fighter in Boxing history to completely unify the world championships of the WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO. An impressive feat that was part of what became a historical reign for Hopkins, who set the all-time record for most successful world title defenses in the Middleweight division defending his title an incredible twenty times. Hopkins would also go on to win two separate world titles in the Light-Heavyweight division.

What has made Hopkins’ accomplishments even more incredible is the fact that he has accomplished these feats as he has gotten older. At forty-nine years old, Hopkins is not only still active as a fighter, but he sits atop his division at an age where most fighters are retired. Hopkins has made a career of beating the odds. 

The political landscape of the sport in of itself makes the concept of attempting to completely unify a world championship a difficult task. Hopkins however, has never been one to shy away from odds that most would probably consider steep. Hopkins accomplished the first part of his goal in attempting to becoming an undisputed champion in a second weight class after his IBF world championship win over Tavoris Cloud in March of last year and a mandatory title defense over Karo Murat in October of last year, by defeating WBA champion Beibut Shumenov in April of this year.

The next step on Hopkins’ quest comes on Saturday night against the undefeated WBO champion Sergey Kovalev in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Kovalev, who has quickly emerged on the scene as one of the Light-Heavyweight division’s major players has displayed the kind of punching power that is quite similar to that of unified WBA/IBO Middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin who has also become one of the sport’s hottest rising stars.

Much like Golovkin, Kovalev has compiled an impressive string of knockouts stopping ten of his last eleven opponents inside the distance having only his fight with Grover Young declared a tactical draw in August 2011 due to an accidental foul. Much like Golovkin, Kovalev has registered a high career knockout percentage of nearly 89% scoring knockouts in twenty-three of his twenty-six professional fights.

Kovalev won his world title by scoring a fourth round knockout over Nathan Cleverly in August of last year. Following his victory over Cleverly, Kovalev would score knockouts in title defenses over Ismayl Sillah, Cedric Agnew, and in August of this year against Blake Caparello. As is the case with Gennady Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev has a seek and destroy style that poses an interesting challenge for any would be opponent.

An argument can be made that like Golovkin, Kovalev has not been tested in his career thus far due to his ability to score so many quick knockouts. Some critics might also say that neither Golovkin nor Kovalev have faced fighters that most would consider to be on the elite level of their respective divisions.

When it comes to the elite fighters of the sport, Bernard Hopkins is as elite as they come. Although this observer has said on many occasions “Anything can happen at any given time in the sport of Boxing and that is what makes our sport great” it is logical to assume especially if one were to use history as a basis that some questions about Sergey Kovalev are likely to be answered in this fight.

One should remember after all that Kovalev is facing a fighter in Bernard Hopkins who has beaten fighters throughout his career who established the reputations as knockout artists, most notably Felix Trinidad and Kelly Pavlik. Hopkins has also never been stopped in sixty-five professional fights. As devastating as Kovalev has been in his career thus far and as intimidating as his record appears to be, Hopkins has been in this position before and is likely not intimidated by Kovalev’s statistics.

One should also remember however, that each time Bernard Hopkins enters the ring to do battle, he does so not only against the opponent standing across the ring from him, but also against an opponent few fighters have been able to defeat named “Father Time”. Although Hopkins has continued to amaze both Boxing fans and experts alike by continuing to defy father time, one does have to wonder if Hopkins’ age will begin to have an effect on his ability to use his reflexes as well as his ability to take a punch.

The key to this fight in my eyes will be whether Sergey Kovalev can accomplish the task that virtually all Bernard Hopkins opponents are charged with. Can Kovalev make Hopkins uncomfortable and unable to dictate the pace of this fight from the outset? There have been some who have been able to have success against Hopkins early in fights, most notably Jermain Taylor and Jean Pascal.

Both Taylor and Pascal however, were unable to sustain the quick pace that they were able to put forth early in their fights with Hopkins and thus allowed Hopkins to work his way into those fights as they progressed. It will also be interesting to see how Kovalev will approach Hopkins if he is able to score a knockdown early on in this fight. Hopkins has shown throughout his career that he can get up from the knockdown and turn a fight around in his favor, most notably in his first fight with Jean Pascal where despite suffering knockdowns in the first and third rounds, Hopkins turned the fight in his favor and had won the remainder of the contest in the eyes of many fans and observers in a fight that was ultimately scored a majority draw.

The question that will face Bernard Hopkins in this fight is whether he can neutralize Kovalev’s power and whether or not he can set the pace that the fight will be fought. If Kovalev does come out looking to impose his will on Hopkins from the outset, it will be interesting to see whether or not at nearly fifty years of age Hopkins can deal with a fighter of Kovalev’s strength and power.

It will be of equal interest however, to see if Kovalev will be able to adapt as this fight progresses. It is worth noting that Kovalev has only been stretched as far as eight rounds only once in his career in his first fight with Darnell Boone in 2010. As devastating as Kovalev has been, he has never faced a fighter with the craft and skill that Bernard Hopkins possesses. If Kovalev is not prepared for a long fight and is going into this fight with the mindset of ending it quickly and is not prepared to combat Hopkins’ veteran tactics, it could play right into Hopkins’ hands. Simply put, unless Sergey Kovalev can end this fight early, he is likely to be tested by one of the masters of the craft that is Boxing and if Kovalev does not have an answer for what Hopkins has in his arsenal, it could be a long evening for him.

The fight between Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev has all the ingredients of what could be a great fight. A living legend and future Hall of Famer looking to add another historical feat to an already historic career going up against an unbeaten knockout artist who is looking to prove that he is the best fighter in the Light-Heavyweight division. Can Kovalev derail Hopkins quest for history or will Hopkins continue to defy the odds?

We will find out on Saturday night.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison