By Kevin Kincade (photo by Tom Casino)
Approaching the date of the Klitschko-Byrd rematch, the words of Rudyard Kipling’s “IF” keep coming to mind. As the date draws nigh for the second clash between these two oft disrespected gladiators, the stream of consciousness over and over again retraces the steps both Wladimir and Chris have tread these last six years; how one has continuously fought against all odds to reach the mountain top which must appear as just beyond the next ledge, while the other was within one foothold of securing the summit, only to be toppled down into the valley below.
Now, here they are, center stage in a division riddled with obscurity and mediocrity, facing each other one more time with all the chips on the table. Byrd has never won the fans’ hearts nor the “Big One” which would cement his legacy among the greats in heavyweight history. Wladimir, on the other hand, has broken the hearts of his fans by revealing that he was not a Ukrainian god and the savior of the division; but merely an all too flawed fighter and, consequentially, all too human.
In Kipling’s “If”, a father is giving advice to his son on what it takes to be “a man”:
“If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run –
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And - which is more - you’ll be a Man my son!”
— Rudyard Kipling
Both Byrd and Klitshko have met with “Triumph and Disaster” and have shown the heart and willingness to put it behind them. Both have had to listen to and deal with the doubts of “experts”. Both have had to wait for their moment in the sun and felt the hate of their detractors. In this bout, both are risking their winnings “at one turn of Pitch-and-Toss”, for whoever loses, his whole career will be looked upon as an aberration.
Byrd, should he lose, will be seen as the “heavyweight imposter” his critics have always claimed he is; and Klitschko, should he lose, will be seen as a fighter who always failed in his moment of truth. Byrd, at the end of his career, to show he belongs at the top of the mountain against his toughest foe, must call upon all of his depleted skills for one last great effort against all odds and have the will to tell them to “Hold On!” whenever that moment comes. In this winner-take-all encounter, both must “fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run”. Nothing but the best of both men will suffice for there to be a satisfactory outcome for them and for the boxing world.
Boxing is a dirty game, filled with blood, sweat, and tears; an unforgiving mistress who tramples on the hearts and dreams of young men struggling to make their marks on the world. For every man who carves out his legend in stone for future generations to admire and aspire towards, there are countless others who are forgotten and spiral downward into poverty and anonymity. Looking beyond the grittiness and the face-value brutality that it is, boxing is far more symbolic a beast. It is a physical representation of man’s desire to overcome all obstacles in his path in order to achieve success and to shout for all the world to hear: “I AM SOMEBODY!”
Boxing is a microcosm of the struggles we all face in life; and, like life, boxing takes no prisoners. Any man who has ever lived has had a dream, whether something only important to him or something that affects all of mankind. Every man has to have a purpose which drives him; and to achieve that purpose, he must walk through varying degrees of hell. Life is a fight; and boxing is life in a circle square with just two men, all of their knowledge, all of their heart, all of their skill, all of their desire, and all of the world watching. The quintessential moment of this struggle is no better represented than when two men square off for the Heavyweight Championship of the World, for there is no greater prize in all of sports.
In the wake of Lennox Lewis’ retirement from boxing, a gaping hole was left, begging for one man to step up and take the helm. Nearly two years later, no one has filled the void. In recent weeks and months, Hasim Rahman, James Toney, and Lamon Brewster have all proven they are not the heir apparent to the throne, which brings us to Byrd-Klitschko II. Wlad was thought to be the next in line until Corrie Sanders bounced him off the canvas in a manner eerily reminiscent to George Foreman’s performance in his title winning effort against Joe Frazier.
Coupled with his follow-up loss to Brewster, the younger Klitschko was collectively seen as a fatally flawed fighter who would always lose against a man with superior firepower until his courageous win against the heavy-handed Samuel Peter. Byrd, on the other hand, has always been seen as an interloper in the heavyweight ranks; overlooked as a serious threat to the crown due to his lack of size and power despite impressive wins over David Tua, Evander Holyfield, and Jameel McCline. Now, Chris is 35 and in the waning days of his career, facing one final moment to prove his worth against the man who pounded him pillar to post in his prime.
When Chris and Wladimir met in 2000, both were on the rise to varying degrees. Wladimir had stacked up impressive victories against Axel Schulz, Paea Wolfgramm, David Bostice, and Monte Barrett while Chris was coming off an upset win over Wladimir’s brother, Vitali. Wladimir’s dominant win was not unexpected; he looked the part of a champion to-be and Chris was shown to be just too small to deal with a real heavyweight of significant skill. Byrd might have escaped his supposed pre-determined fate against Vitali; but Wlad was on a roll and was not going to be derailed by a light-hitting former super-middleweight.
After the easy win over Byrd, he reeled off four even more impressive victories over fringe contenders Derrick Jefferson and Charles Shufford, an ancient Ray Mercer, and top contender Jameel McCline before running into a stone wall from South Africa. Despite his look of promise in dismantling some of the best in the second tier of the division and his impending super-showdown with Lennox Lewis, Wladimir’s momentum towards the top came crashing backwards and stayed on that canvas in Hanover, Germany where Corrie Sanders deposited him with a series of bone-crushing lefts.
Since Sanders, Wladimir has looked shaky, at best, with every critic’s eye upon his every falter. At first, the Sanders loss was accepted by most to be an anomaly until he punched himself out and collapsed against Lamon Brewster, a man he was expected to defeat easily. It was only after Klitschko turned away a challenge by the “Nigerian Nightmare” that some of his former status was returned.
Against Peter, Klitschko showed he could be disciplined enough to stick to a game plan, box intelligently, and survive when the going got tough. He went on to prove that the rumors about his lack of stamina were greatly exaggerated and that he could hurt a man with a concrete jaw even late in the fight. The counterpoint is that Peter proved to be little more than a crude slugger. Wlad showed heart in the biggest win of his career; but it was his skill that won him the day or, more accurately, his skill in comparison to Peter’s lack thereof.
Byrd, on the other hand, has continued his journey towards respect to little fanfare; but hasn’t lost another fight since the last time he and Wladimir threw hands. While a hit-and-run artist early in his career, Chris, with age and a desire to impress the fans, has retired his running shoes and focused more on countering his bigger opponents with his superior speed and skill in recent years.
Despite going 9-0 and winning the vacant IBF title since he last met Wladimir, Chris is still among the least respected men to ever hold a version of the championship; and, at 35 years of age, his time to make his mark is running out. A win over Klitschko would not only avenge one of his only two losses, it would force all of his critics to re-evaluate his career. Chris Byrd fought at 168 Lbs as an amateur and as a smallish light-heavyweight in the first two fights of his pro-career. Since then, he has opted to take on naturally bigger men and has bested all but two whom he as faced with his heart, speed, and guile.
Also, of those two men who beat him, only one, Ike Ibeabuchi, was successful in stopping him before the final bell. Chris Byrd knows what this rematch with Wladimir means to his legacy. He knows how he’s been perceived in the press and he knows the pundits are picking the other man. Something to be taken into consideration, though, is those who are picking Chris to win are some of the sports most respected boxers in recent years. Roy Jones Jr., Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Lennox Lewis are among those picking Byrd to upset Klitschko in the rematch. What do they see that so many do not?
What can not be ignored is the significance of this pairing of big men. Wladimir Klitschko, though his reputation is tainted from his devastating losses to Sanders and Brewster, is still seen by many to be the future of the division, if for no other reason than there are no other acceptable candidates.
Chris Byrd, despite his winning ways since his loss to Wladimir so many years ago, is still a man in search of respect; respect that can only come with a win over the same man who gave him his last defeat. In the last six years these two men have both suffered in the public eye for a variety of reasons; Klitschko for failing to live up to what was believed to be his enormous potential and Byrd for fighting and winning in an “un-heavyweight” manner. Wladimir wants to recapture what he once had within his grasp and fulfill all the promise that was seen in him and Chris wants to show once and for all that he does belong with the big boys and he does deserve the fans’ and the pundits’ appreciation and respect.
The man who wins this match is, without a doubt, the best fighter in the division, or “THE MAN”. Rahman and Toney had the opportunity to stake their claims; but failed to reach the peak, much less plant their flags. Brewster appeared to be scaling the face of the mountain on his way to the summit; but took a misstep and is now dwelling with all the other contenders.
Chris Byrd inherited the Ring’s #1 ranking when Vitali Klitschko retired; but no fighter can inherit the throne by default. It is a crown that can only be achieved through combat; through showing one’s wares……it has to be fought for and won. April 22nd in Mannheim, Germany, we’re going to see which one of these two would-be title claimants wants it more: Who wants to be “The Man”. Or, to paraphrase Kipling, “One will meet with Triumph and one will meet with Disaster; one will feel as though they own the Earth and everything in it, while the other will see the thing they gave their life to broken”.
Questions or Comments: kevin.kincade@citcomm.com