By: James Blears
Danny Williams has his work cut out, against an extremely tall and very brave Vitali Klitschko who has a four inch height advantage, in their upcoming giant clash on Saturday.
But, as it appears to be the year of the upset, I'm going for Williams to win this one. He underwent a profound change defeating Mike Tyson, absorbing some murderous punishment and then coming back firing on all cylinders. He believes in himself as never before, and this combined with some latent, and now flourishing natural talent should be an important factor.
The plastic surgeon who neatly knitted together Vitali's eylid, after the Lewis thrilla, did absolute wonders on the very worst gash I've ever seen in a boxing match. It held together nicely in the Corrie Sanders fight for the vacant WBC title, when Vitali finally blew away an overblown or rather overweight Sanders in eight absorbing rounds.
But I have a sneaking feeling that Danny is going to do his utmost to try and open it up again, probably with a series of short range but sweeping uppercuts. But first, he'll probably have to belt Vitali around the torso to make him stoop a little.
Vitali is not a habitual bleeder like Henry Cooper. But as his fellow Londoner and prized wordsmith Reg Gutteridge said, once a cut is re-opened it's a bit like a hole in a silk stocking. The subsequent unravelling is enevitable.
Vitali is a back foot fighter and would do well to stay at range and use his physical advantages and long reach to pile up points and punishment. But I think these two are going to abandon jabs and start throwing bombs early.
It remains to be seen how the political problems in the Ukraine have affected or nagged on Vitali's concentration during preparation. First defenses are often a lot tricker than they look.
One punch can change everything, especially in the heavyweight arena. Was Danny William's KO defeat of Mike Tyson, just a one fight wonder? We're soon going to find out. I'm sure Danny is all too well aware this is his one and only chance to grab the glittering prize. Although he's a 3-1 underdog, I feel Danny will pull of another shock win, with hostilities being halted around the eighth due to Vitali getting badly cut up...again.