By Cliff Rold
He talked like Ali.
Offered about as much offense as former Klitschko unification bout loser Sultan Ibragimov.
Flopped and fled like the worst of frustrating and mercurial Super Middleweight talent Andre Dirrell.
Call him the Louisville Slip, Sultan Dirrell, because the David Haye (25-2, 23 KO) who talked smack for the last two years never really showed up.
Lineal World Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko did. He always does, win or lose. For the 56th time in 59 starts, it was a win. It wasn’t overly impressive, something even the champ allowed. It was still a win, his 14th in a row, and he picked up a WBA belt to go with his stack of honors. That’s not an accident.
Let’s go to the report card.
Pre-Fight: Speed – Klitschko B+; Haye A/Post: Same
Pre-Fight: Power – Klitschko A; Haye A-/Post: Same
Pre-Fight: Defense – Klitschko B+; Haye B/Post: B+; B+
Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Klitschko B+; Haye B+/Post: B+; C
Let’s get the positives out of the way on the defeated side. Of the scores turned in by the three judges, this scribe agreed closest with Stanley Christodolou’s 116-110 (or 9 rounds to 3), giving one more frame to Sultan Dirrell in total for a score of 115-111. He did much better through the first seven than he is getting credit for after the fight, landing most of the few meaningful non-jabs in early spots.
Defensively, Sultan Dirrell was as good as anyone against Wlad recently, making him miss with the jab and right for healthy stretches. However, boxing is hit and don’t get hit. Not don’t get hit and bail. He made him miss. He rarely had the conviction to try to make him pay.
Klitschko (56-3, 49 KO) was his typical efficient, effective self from rounds 8-12 and swept to the end, even managing to win the final round after being rocked early in the final frame. He wisely held and then fired back. The things fans saw in his opponent that could have worked were there on the night. The opponent talked about them in the run up. He had to throw first, use angles, and, at some point, go for broke.
He never did. Great victory can require risks. The mouth that roared was the mouse that refused. To talk of a rematch after the contest was laughable. If the challenger wishes to follow through on his promise of retirement before the fight, few would miss him after Saturday. That could change. It will take a hell of a lot more than was showed against Klitschko in a future fight.
Wlad, early, wasn’t throwing the right much nor the left hook. He kept the jab count up, hit or miss, and Sultan Dirrell would get close and either throw one or none. It had its moments early. After round seven, his stilted effort became almost no effort at all.
It was better to insure survival than dare far more.
It was easier to slip to the floor in soccer flops and complain about a broken toe after the fight. Seriously. He didn’t just take his loss like a pro. That little piggy went wee-wee-wee all the way to the loser’s circle and earned the barbs it’s getting.
Was there a fair complaint that Wlad pushed and leaned sometimes to get him to the ground? Sure. Some. But getting obsessed with looking to the ref and overplaying the foul hand is the same as looking for a way out. Try punching more maybe?
It turned out, on the rare occasions where hard punches landed (and they both averaged around an abominable three power connects per round), both could take a shot. Their chins stood up. Someone needed to land some combinations to make it count. Neither did.
The worst moments were when Haye was caught in corners. Usually, Wlad would wait too long to throw the right and the Brit would freeze and throw nothing at all.
It was a lousy viewing experience.
But, and this has been the case in many recent fights, Wlad cannot be faulted as much as his foe. Wlad is accused of holding too much but, against Sam Peter last year, it was he who was warding off clinches. He clinched almost none on Saturday. Klitschko is accused of freezing in front of dangerous opponents, but he more than doubled all of the punch stats on Saturday. He dared his man to make the fight he promised.
Klitschko laughs last, and best. The champion does what he does. Opponents don’t do what they say they are going to do.
And it’s past time to give Klitschko full credit for that. For those who overly emphasize size as the reason for his success, let’s put that to bed. Historically, and in this era, there have been fighters the size of Klitschko’s latest felled foe that have won. Chris Byrd and Eddie Chambers have wins over men like Jameel McCline, Sam Peter, and Alexander Dimitrenko.
Klitschko wins because he is better than his competition. Period.
Yes, he’s bigger. This is Heavyweight. That’s the point. It’s up to the smaller men to find a way to win. Better smaller men might. Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster once did. Another may some day. They won’t win because of size. They’ll be the better man that day.
Just like Wladimir Klitschko, former Olympic Gold Medalist and current Heavyweight Champion of the World has been 56 times in his pro career so far.
This scribe backed the wrong man to win Saturday. That mistake need not be made again anytime soon.
All hail the king. That’s the only talk worth hearing today.
Report Card Picks 2011: 21-7
Ratings Update
Heavyweight: Saturday’s challenger slips in the ratings.
Lightweight: Humberto Soto vacating his WBC belt removes him from the #1 slot. All others rise.
Featherweight: Haven’t seen it yet, and it’s on YouTube, but all reports indicate Celestino Caballero scored two knockdowns and got hosed on the road against Jonathon Barros. The ratings remain as were until the fight is fully reviewed.
Strawweight: Overlooked a week ago, Wanheng Menayothin comes into the top ten after upsetting former titlist Florante Condes.
These results and more are reflected a page away.
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Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com