By Jake Donovan

Watch out, Wladimir Klitschko. That vibration you feel is older brother Vitali speeding like a bullet to the top of the heavyweight mountain.

It’s become widely accepted that the boxing world may be forced to contend with a two-headed heavyweight monster for quite some time. Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko are widely regarded as the best two heavyweights on the planet, but have long ago vowed to never face one another in the ring.

With that in mind, all that could be done for Vitali to gain ground on his baby brother was to make a major statement in his mandatory title defense against Juan Carlos Gomez.

Vitali delivered that message loud and clear, systematically breaking down the former cruiserweight king, scoring three knockdowns en route to a 9th round stoppage Saturday in Stuttgart, Germany.

The bout aired live in the United States on ESPN Classic and was presented by K2 Promotions.

Neither fighter offered much in the way of a power game in the early going. Both fighters pawed with their jab through the first two rounds, though Klitschko would occasionally follow up with a right hand. Gomez enjoyed success when pressuring Klitschko, but those moments were far too infrequent.

Klitschko opened up in the third round, putting more mustard behind his jab. Enough landed to where slight swelling and bruising began to develop around Gomez’ eyes, with his corner going to work between rounds.

It was more of the same but even better in the fourth, repeatedly scoring with one-twos as well as occasional uppercuts. He was also applying more pressure, with no fear of incoming, as Gomez’ attack was limited to one punch then clinching behind Klitschko’s neck.

The fifth round was a literal bloodletting. Gomez suffered a cut around his right eye, with the plasma clearly having an effect on his game. Klitschko treated it like a bulls eye, repeatedly hammering home his jab against a near-defenseless Gomez, who was once again in need of major repair in between rounds, with his cutman earning his money’s worth.

To his credit, Gomez tried to turn the tide back in his favor in the sixth. Klitschko’s jab was still on point, but Gomez was letting his hands go for the first time in the fight. Several left hands found their way home, though a headbutt would prove to do the most damage.

Klitschko was left with a cut above his hairline, though it didn’t appear to have any immediate effect. But it appeared to revive Gomez, who grew more confident as the second half of the fight began. Ironically enough, it would prove to be his downfall.

The seventh round began well for the transplanted Cuban, landing consecutive left hands after Klitschko left a right hand out too long. A shift in momentum threatened to surface, but it instead awoke a sleeping giant. Vitali went on the attack, leading to a right hand that would produce the bout’s first knockdown. Gomez beat the count but spent the rest of the round in survival mode.

With the number of punches thrown in the previous round, action predictably slowed in the eighth. Klitschko still controlled the real estate, landing repeatedly to the head but also not pardoning the body. A right hand landed late in the round that had Gomez thinking twice about wanting to continue, momentarily turning his back in retreat. Klitschko landed a left, but the right hooked around Gomez’ neck, forcing an unintentional clinch shortly before the bell.

It was a bizarre finish in the ninth. Klitschko connected with a right hand early in the round, producing a cut over the left eye of Gomez, who clearly wanted a way out of the fight. The follow up sequence saw Gomez clearly initiate a clash of heads before turning away in pain, yet it was Klitschko who was docked a point for the infraction.

It would become a moot point, as Vitali went for the kill. A right hand floored Gomez for the second time in the fight, and would’ve served as a fitting end to the fight. Gomez once again beat the count and tried his hardest to fight back, but would only absorb further punishment for his troubles. Klitschko landed several more rights, then a left hand along the ropes that froze Gomez. Two more shots landed while Gomez’ back was turned, prompting referee Daniel van de Weile to stop the fight.

The official time was 1:48 of round nine.

Klitschko posts his second consecutive official ninth round stoppage since coming back to the ring last October following a four year hiatus. The 37-year old titlist improves to 37-2 (36KO) with the win, his fifth straight overall dating back to 2003.

An eight-fight unbeaten streak is snapped for Gomez, who dips to 44-2 (35KO) with the loss. Both losses are at heavyweight, having went 35-0 as a cruiserweight, including a stay atop boxing bastard’s division that ran from the late 1990’s to earlier this decade before moving up for good in 2002.

A 2004 first-round knockout loss to Yanqui Diaz was regarded as a fluke, but it’s clear at this stage that Gomez won’t run the tables at heavyweight anytime soon. Even with the division at its most mediocre in decades, capturing a portion of the splintered crown would prove problematic for the 35-year old, since three of the four major belts are owned by a Klitschko.

What’s left for the heavyweight division is for one or both of the Klitschko’s to fall, or for the brother act to simply outdo each other in the absence of ever facing one another in the ring.

On this particular evening in Stuttgart, it was mission accomplished for Vitali Klitschko, who now boasts a major claim as the best heavyweight on the planet.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Please feel free to contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .