By Cliff Rold

There are moments when the king of this sport looks the savage part. We got one roughly this time last year. Wladimir Klitschko (64-3, 53 KO), longtime Heavyweight champion, was staring down the barrel at the best available contender he hadn’t beaten yet.

Undefeated Kubrat Pulev had put some quality wins together, had size, and too bad for him had talked a bit too much for the champ’s liking. Klitschko shook off a wobbling shot in the first round and went through Pulev with violent authority.

There was no mistaking what had happened. Klitschko’s disdain for Pulev was evident. It wasn’t pre-fight hype. Putting a chip on Klitschko’s shoulder got Pulev put into the floor. It was one of the most devastating title defenses seen in the division since Lennox Lewis avenged his loss to Hasim Rahman.

It was a hell of a moment.

The problem for those who struggle to embrace Klitschko is there aren’t a lot of performances like that. Sure, he usually ends fights with a knockout. His power has never been questioned. What he hasn’t always done is fight like he was really out to hurt someone from bell to bell.

Too often, it unspools like his last fight, a decision over contender Bryant Jennings. Or they play out like the second knockout of Tony Thompson or drilling of Eddie Chambers. They’re steady, they’re methodical, they feature a ton of clinches, and then they end without much to remember along the way.

On his worst days, it can be like the defense against Alexander Povetkin.

Klitschko clinched more than punched, still managing to drop Povetkin four times along the way. That was at least memorable, but not in a positive way. He lost a point late in that fight after being allowed to foul with impunity for far too long. He lost a point for excessive holding against Jennings earlier this year.

It might be effective. It has ended in victory consistently for a decade. Klitschko is one of the great big men the sport has ever seen. There’s no denying that.

Just winning isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

Performances like Pulev are. When a man with the concussive force of Klitschko lets loose, that’s breathtaking stuff. It took the right guy to bring it out of him.

This Saturday, he faces the latest most qualified contender he hasn’t defeated yet. There’s no mistaking he’s not fond of the UK’s Tyson Fury (24-0, 18 KO). Fury talks loads more than Pulev, or even former rival David Haye. That Fury is a little nuts about it makes it likely more irksome.

Haye called him names. Pulev made insinuations. Fury dressed up as Batman.

Will Klitschko have the Killing Joke?

Will Fury bring out the Klitschko we saw against Pulev?

If he does, we may really have something interesting this weekend. Klitschko is a huge guy, scaling 6’6 and regularly in the 240-250 lb. range. Fury is bigger. The challenger stands 6’9 and, when in his best shape, is usually around 250.

There was a time when this match would have seemed laughable. Fury didn’t look like a serious comer early on. That has changed. He’s developed well, becoming a better boxer and picking up respectable wins over Derek Chisora and Steve Cunningham. Against the latter, he came off the floor to win by knockout.

How real a threat he is to Klitschko is to be discovered. That he evolved into a real fighter is already known. There will be those who dismiss his chances because of the Cunningham knockdown.

That might be flawed thinking.

Klitschko was dismissed for years, even well into his current reign, because of a history of being dropped and three stoppage losses. Getting dropped, even stopped, isn’t the end of world for everyone and sometimes it tells us little. Larry Holmes was dropped by Renaldo Snipes and that was enough to convince many Gerry Cooney would take his head off.

It didn’t work out that way.

Fury’s size could force Klitschko to open up because clinching may not be much an option. At 39 to Fury’s 27, Klitschko might be risking his legs if he gets in a position to be the leaned on party this time around.

The template for Klitschko to follow here, at least the one fans can hope for, might not just be Klitschko-Pulev.

It might be Lennox Lewis-Michael Grant.

Knowing Grant was suspect after barely surviving Andrew Golota, Lewis used Grant’s youth and aggression against him. He made the taller man fall (and in some spots held him by the back of the head) in place for his power. If Klitschko goes to those sorts of tricks, does Fury know how to respond? To escape?

We’ll find out soon enough, just like we’ll find out soon enough just which Klitschko will show up against Fury. If the champion is as irritated as he looks, this could be a hell of a show.

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com