by David P. Greisman
When HBO announced that it would be broadcasting Wladimir Klitschko’s fight with Kubrat Pulev, a network spokesman noted that this would be Klitschko’s 19th appearance on the network.
What went unsaid — but was not at all unknown — was that this was only Klitschko’s third appearance on HBO in nearly three and a half years. You could look back even further and see that this would be just the fourth time in nearly six years that Klitschko had been featured on its programming.
This announcement regarding the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world was being made just one week before Klitschko and Pulev were to step into the ring.
You couldn’t blame them.
“I'm really souring on the heavyweights,” then-president of HBO Sports Ross Greenburg told ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael way back in July 2010. “There doesn’t seem to be any interest in the U.S. and there doesn't seem to be any heavyweights besides David Haye who would have any juice in challenging the Klitschkos. We're out of the heavyweight division. We're not playing in that sandbox right now. It doesn't make any sense for us. The fights happen over there [in Europe], they're on tape delay. There is just very little interest in this country.
“The heavyweights have clearly lost their edge in the United States,” he added. “I think we have enough stars in the lower weight divisions to get us through a down period for heavyweights. I think if we had a strong American heavyweight champion it would do wonders for American boxing, but it's just a dream at this point.”
He said he’d be willing to air a bout between either Wladimir or older brother Vitali Klitschko against Haye, or Tomasz Adamek against Haye, Vitali or Wladimir. That approached largely remained the same after Greenburg departed and was replaced in early 2012 by Ken Hershman, formerly of Showtime.
In 2011, HBO aired Wladimir Klitschko’s win over David Haye and Vitali Klitschko’s victory over Tomasz Adamk, plus it included a pair of prospects on other undercards, with Bermane Stiverne topping Ray Austin and Seth Mitchell stopping Timur Ibragimov. In 2012, Mitchell was featured twice more, getting a shaky win over Chazz Witherspoon and then having his bubble burst against Johnathon Banks. Also that year, Vitali Klitschko’s win over Manuel Charr was shown on the network.
In 2013, it broadcast Wladimir Klitschko’s fight with top challenger Alexander Povetkin, plus two bouts in which future heavyweight contenders were sorting themselves out: Bermane Stiverne defeated Chris Arreola in a title eliminator, ostensibly for the right to face Vitali Klitschko, while Mike Perez beat Magomed Abdusalamov. And that pattern continued this year, with HBO showing Bryant Jennings beating Artur Szpilka, Mike Perez drawing with Carlos Takam, and Jennings edging Perez.
Coming into this past weekend, HBO had featured Vitali Klitschko in just four of his 10 bouts since he came back in 2008; he retired last year to focus on politics in Ukraine. HBO, which had shown Wladimir on its airwaves eight consecutive times between his 2005 battle with Samuel Peter and his 2008 drubbing of Hasim Rahman, had only aired two of his 10 subsequent fights.
The issue was that much of the heavyweight division lacked the talent to even pose a legitimate challenge to the Klitschkos. Even those who could’ve, such as Haye and Povetkin, either put forth disappointing efforts or were neutralized in a manner that was arduous to watch. Wladimir’s style was far from fan-friendly, at least when it came to American fight fans.
That didn’t bother him because he remained wildly popular in Europe, filling arenas and drawing great television ratings there. He continued to clean out the division, cementing his reputation as best big man around, and on occasion his bouts were picked up by smaller outlets in the United States, allowing hardcore fight fans a legitimate way of watching without seeking pirated streams.
The victory over Pulev this past weekend was Klitschko’s most entertaining performance in a long, long time, perhaps in nine years, dating back to 2005 and his first fight with Peter, back when Wladimir was still recovering from getting obliterated by Corrie Sanders in 2003 and from gassing out against Lamon Brewster in 2004. Peter put Klitschko on the canvas three times, but Wlad got up, won nearly all of the other rounds, and picked up the unanimous decision.
In his next bout, in 2006, Klitschko topped Chris Byrd for a world title. He has held it for more than eight and a half years, defending it successfully 17 times. He solidified his top status by becoming the RING champion when he stopped Ruslan Chagaev in 2009 and has now made 10 defenses as the one true king.
He had taken on opponents like Jean Marc Mormeck and Alex Leapai, shorter and slower and standing no chance. His experience and ability were too much for tall prospects such as Mariusz Wach and Francesco Pianeta. His tactics of holding and leaning, illegal yet allowed, made the otherwise important Povetkin last year win aesthetically displeasing. His cautious approach against Sultan Ibragimov back in 2008 rankled late trainer Emanuel Steward, drew boos from those in attendance at Madison Square Garden, and was the last time he fought in the U.S.
Pulev didn’t have the deepest résumé, but he was a legitimate contender who had earned his position as mandatory challenger. He had knocked out fellow prospects in Alexander Dimitrenko and Alexander Ustinov, and he had outpointed aged but capable two-time Klitschko opponent Tony Thompson.
Pulev wasn’t the best heavyweight Klitschko had beaten, but he brought the best out of Klitschko.
The bout began with Klitschko’s usual jabbing and grabbing, but Pulev was chippy in the clinch, unwilling to allow Wladimir to get a respite or to lean on him. Pulev soon momentarily shook Klitschko with a jab and tried to follow with a chopping right hand. Klitschko responded with force, leading with a left hook that dropped Pulev barely a minute into the fight. Pulev rose by the count of six on shaky legs, then attempted to show that he was fine with a taunt, picking his right leg up and tucking his right foot behind his left knee, holding his gloves at his sides and sticking his tongue out.
Pulev was back on the mat almost immediately thereafter. He ducked another Klitschko hook but was off balance and shoved to the mat in what was wrongly ruled the second knockdown of the round. He rose once more.
Klitschko had in Pulev an opponent of comparable height and length, and for that he stood not farther away than normal but rather nearer, where he could jab, bounce in and out to disrupt Pulev’s offense, and turn that jab into the hard lead left hook that had become yet another formidable weapon in his arsenal. He appeared aggressive, simultaneously jabbing to the body and feinting a right hand off-target, making Pulev aware of both punches and also making Pulev want to come forward when nothing was being sent at him.
All of this was worked to set Pulev up for shots to come later.
In the third, Klitschko bounced back, feinted a jab to Pulev’s body and then turned through with a vicious right hand that very well would’ve knocked out many other heavyweights. Pulev wobbled back and somehow remained standing, with enough presence of mind to duck Klitschko’s charging left hook. His legs were still shaky, though, and soon another Klitschko hook landed, followed with a shove to the chest that put Pulev down again.
Meanwhile, what holding and clinching there was wasn’t as egregious and was quickly broken up. And when Pulev landed, it seemed to anger Klitschko instead of worry him. A right hand from Pulev in the fourth was soon answered with one from Wladimir.
With about a minute to go in the fifth, Klitschko again stood slightly farther away and Pulev came forward with a jab that missed and then a right hand that landed. Klitschko tied up, and once freed bounced back and forth, once more at a bit of a distance. That drew Pulev forward into the trap. Klitschko feinted the jab. Pulev went to parry, dropping his right glove and leaving his chin exposed for the flush left hook. Pulev began to fall, assisted en route by another shove. He crashed on his back, struggling to rise, and referee Tony Weeks stopped counting after reaching six.
Ten years and seven months ago, Klitschko had been bombing out Lamon Brewster, only to gas out after four rounds and fall forward, exhausted, after the end of the fifth, giving the referee enough reason to end the bout.
“And that may be the end of the Wladimir Klitschko heavyweight contender story,” HBO’s Jim Lampley had said at the time.
That seemed at the time as if it would be true but has long been proven otherwise. Klitschko changed his approach to protect his chin and preserve his stamina, gaining confidence that in turn lessened the tension and enhanced his endurance. It hasn’t been pretty over these years, but it has worked.
In five rounds against Brewster in 2004, Klitschko had gone 120 of 311, or about 24 of 62 per round. Most of those were jabs; in terms of power punches, he was 52 of 113, or about 10 of 23 per round. Yet he was putting so much power behind so many of his shots that he was wearing down and unable to remain standing when Brewster began his comeback.
In five rounds with Pulev in 2014, Klitschko was 38 of 89 in total, or about 8 of 18 per round, according to CompuBox. Again, most were jabs; in terms of power punches, he was 17 of 36, or 3 of 7 per round. He set up the power rather than relying on hard combinations.
He did more with less.
And this time, he was not only victorious, but vicious as well.
Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reported that this was the first of a three-fight deal between Klitschko and HBO. You can’t blame them. The heavyweight division has been shaking out, with more prospects finally becoming contenders, and with a few potential bouts on the horizon, be it against Jennings or the winner of the Tyson Fury-Dereck Chisora rematch — or even the title fight between Bermane Stiverne and Deontay Wilder for the one belt Klitschko doesn’t hold.
(Hopefully there will not be a sideshow bout against the over-the-hill Shannon Briggs, who has been garnering publicity with stalking and stunts wherever Klitschko goes and perhaps with Klitschko’s complicity. Briggs was somehow seated near Vitali Klitschko’s wife in Hamburg, Germany, after all, and was seen jawing with her afterward.)
This was perfect timing for this kind of performance from Klitschko, then — for our sake, not his. This was the Wladimir Klitschko we’d long wanted. Hopefully we get more of it.
The 10 Count
1. Boxers and Boxing Writers Behaving Goodly: Junior-middleweight contender Jermell Charlo is pairing up with writer Kelsey McCarson of The Sweet Science to raise money on behalf on a 6-year-old with osteosarcoma, also known as bone cancer. They’re doing this by having Charlo punch McCarson — for a good cause.
Corbin Glasscock was diagnosed in October. A quick Google search shows that there are several fundraising efforts going on in their area of Texas to help Corbin’s parents cover the medical bills.
Charlo and McCarson are planning to spar for three rounds in early December. McCarson has set up a donation website and promised to donate 100 percent of all proceeds to Corbin’s cause. That page can be found at http://GoFundMe.com/TeamCorbin .
The fundraising goal is $5,000, and as of early Monday morning there had been $3,395 donated by 63 people. Every little bit will help.
2. Boxing Trainers Behaving Goodly: CBS Sunday Morning told a story in September that may not have made its way around boxing circles — and deserves to be shared with as many as possible.
A detective from Pittsburgh named Jack Mook volunteers as a boxing trainer working with kids at a local gym. When two kids suddenly weren’t coming to the gym anymore, Mook looked into it and discovered that their foster parents were mistreating them. Mook had the kids relocated about two years ago to his own home, and he recently went from being their foster parent to their adopted father.
The full segment is about 3 minutes long and can be seen at http://bit.ly/jackmookcbs .
3. Boxers Behaving Goodly: Last week, several kids at Children’s National Medical Center who are fighting cancer or are being treated for other conditions received a visit from several current and retired boxers, according to Washington, D.C., radio news station WTOP.
Those boxers who spent time with the children were female former 122-pound titleholder Alicia Ashley, former 140-pound titleholder DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley, undefeated lightweight prospect Karl Dargan, Hall of Fame fighter Roberto Duran, undefeated 122-pounder Heather Hardy, Hall of Fame fighter Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson, retired featherweight titleholder Juan LaPorte, longtime female fighter Mia St. John, and heavyweight Chazz Witherspoon.
More info can be found on the hospital’s blog at http://bit.ly/boxersvisitkidsdc .
4. Boxing Promoters Behaving Goodly: Also in Washington, D.C., last week was the annual “Fight for Children” fundraiser, which brings in big shots from around the city for an event and boxing card that contributes to the mission of helping low-income children in the Nation’s Capital get a better education and be healthy.
This year’s event raised a record $4.7 million. I’m not certain what percentage of that actually will go toward the charity’s initiatives. The Fight Night event alone costs more than $1 million to put on each year; last year’s cost more than $1.5 million. In 2013, Fight for Children received nearly $5.9 million in donations, income and revenue (not including donations of facilities and services), and it directed nearly $3.7 million of that toward its programs and grants.
5. Boxing Trainers Behaving Goodly: NewsWorks told a story of a mutually beneficial relationship between a man who volunteers at a boxing gym in Philadelphia and the people with whom he works.
That’s because Wendell Chavis is a retired Iraq War veteran who suffered a traumatic brain injury while serving and is dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. His work at the gym gives him some solace from what he’s going through, and his donated time in turn helps out the amateurs training there.
The full story can be found at http://bit.ly/phillyvetboxing .
6. Boxing Promoters Behaving Goodly: Golden Boy Promotions and Leija-Battah Promotions are putting on a show in San Antonio on Dec. 8 in which people can get in free so long as they donate a toy. All of those donations will then go to the Children’s Shelter of San Antonio and St. PJ's Children’s Home.
7. Boxers Behaving Badly: A junior lightweight named Christopher Lopez is accused of stabbing his stepfather several times, and his mother believes that a head injury Lopez suffered in his most recent bout may be to blame for the attack, according to Florida newspapers the Orlando Sentinel and The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Lopez’s stepfather has since been released from the hospital. Lopez is facing a charge of attempted murder.
The 26-year-old had come into his parents’ bedroom and told them he wanted to retrieve something from their bathroom. Lopez remained in the bathroom for a bit, and so the stepfather decided to check on him. Lopez then allegedly yelled, “Stop hurting my mom” and stabbed his stepfather in the neck, shoulder and back, the articles said.
“Lopez's mother told deputies that her son's behavior changed drastically after he got a head injury in his last fight in August,” the Sentinel wrote. “Lopez was forced to retire from boxing after he suffered a concussion.” The stepfather told the News-Journal: “He was doing really well until the fight in August. He came home different.”
Lopez turned pro in late 2011, winning his first five bouts before dropping a decision to an opponent named Jerren Cochran. He won two more, then was stopped in four rounds this past March by prospect Toka Kahn-Clary. In August, Lopez dropped a six-round decision to Lavisas Williams and fell to 7-3 with 2 KOs.
8. Boxers Behaving Badly update: A jury in the case of Hasan Karkardi has failed to reach a verdict on a charge that Karkardi had sexually assaulted a woman, though it did find the 26-year-old not guilty of falsely imprisoning her, according to British newspaper the Bristol Post. Prosecutors now must decide whether to retry the case. The case stemmed from an incident in which he allegedly led a drunk woman to a taxi in June 2013 and brought her back to his place.
Prosecutors alleged that Karkardi had “stripped down to just his boxer shorts, tried to kiss her and pinned her down on his bed. He put his hand into her underwear before she pushed him away. She managed to go to another room and then the police arrived and led her out,” the newspaper’s coverage of the trial said, citing testimony. The taxi driver had felt concerned during the drive when the woman had told Karkardi that she didn’t want to go to his place, and so the driver had contacted police after dropping them off.
Karkardi claimed that the woman went there willingly and that he neither attempted to kiss her nor tried to prevent her from leaving, according to newspaper coverage. He had immigrated to the United Kingdom about half a year before the alleged assault and said he did not yet know enough English to understand the woman when she asked to be left alone.
He turned pro in September 2013, a few months after the alleged assault and has gone 3-0 with 1 KO, with the last win coming via stoppage this past July.
9. Boxing Managers/Matchmakers/Officials Behaving Badly: The man who went by John Glozier and David John Blaikie was a boxing manager, a matchmaker and had served as a supervisor for the World Boxing Organization in New Zealand.
But the 53-year-old also had another way of making money — he headed up a group that distributed methamphetamine, which led to him being attacked by gang members two years ago, then arrested himself, and then sentenced recently to 40 months in prison, according to the NZME News Service.
That sentence was six months shorter than it could’ve been; it was lessened by half a year “given the difficulties he will have in serving time with his knee injury,” the article said, referencing an injury from 2012 in which he was knee-capped.
10. And on a lighter note, we end with the revelation that Sergey Kovalev repeated something with Bernard Hopkins that he first made famous during his demolition of Nathan Cleverly last year:
A pelvic thrust followed by a punch.
A clip of said tactic can be seen, of course, at http://pic.twitter.com/KDcXT2BzvT .
And the time Kovalev did it against Cleverly can be seen at http://bit.ly/kovalevfeint1
All of which reminds me of a piece of wisdom Forrest Gump’s mother once told me:
It’s better to have a crotch feint than it is to have a faint crotch…
“Fighting Words” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com. Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide . Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
