by David P. Greisman
The belts he wears make him king of the heavyweight division. The men he beats seem far more suited for the heavy-bag division.
With his sharp skills and pounding power, Wladimir Klitschko ascended to the throne of boxing’s marquee weight class, what was once the standard-bearer of the Sweet Science.
He who vies to be king does so to rule over splendor and prosperity, to be the crown jewel, the cream of the crop, the best of the best. Alas, by no fault of his own, this king of the hill is atop a heap.
Klitschko, like his older brother and many others from former Soviet countries, came from a strong amateur system. He is 32, still close enough to his prime not to show signs of slipping. He has won 10 straight, many against the best his division has to offer, capturing two alphabet titles and recognition as the number one big man.
Many of his counterparts are aging former champions and contenders, men who have fooled themselves, thinking they still belong in a weight class that is without the depth to move on. Others are converts to combat, athletes who started in other sports, started boxing late and sought to make up with size while they still developed skill.
Not every Klitschko opponent fits into these categories. Not that it matters. All have gone down.
The latest was far from the greatest, though Hasim Rahman had arguably achieved more than any who had come before.
While other Klitschko foes had captured belts and defended them successfully, Rahman, with one punch, had knocked out Lennox Lewis to become the true heavyweight champion. Of course, in an immediate rematch, Lewis, with one punch, knocked out Rahman to take said distinction back.
That jolt of reality came seven years ago.
Since then, Rahman had seesawed from winless streak to rebuilding phase to holding a title to losing it and then starting the process once again. But he tended to be heavier than he’d been at his best, and his reflexes indicated that, at best, he belonged on the fringe.
He came to this title shot as a late replacement. Klitschko’s original opponent, Alexander Povetkin, suffered an injury during a training run. Rahman, now 36, wasn’t expected to bring much to the match. No one imagined he’d show up with even less.
In the beginning, Rahman teetered between tentative and ineffective, confronted by the imposing presence of the man in front of him and confounded by the ability of that man in front of him to move quickly out of range. Like so many of Klitschko’s recent foes, the large gap in talent was quite apparent. Rahman no longer had the ability to put pressure on Klitschko.
Instead, Rahman was in for a beating from the outset.
Klitschko thudded Rahman early with a quick and heavy jab and the occasional one-two combination. That remained Klitschko’s strategy for the first five rounds, when his landed jabs totaled 17, 17, 28, 27 and 24. Each round brought connect rates of more than 50 percent.
Rahman, meanwhile, landed 2, 2, 2, 5 and 3, with his highest connect rate coming in the fourth round, when he threw 32, of which 27 missed. His power punch statistics were no better – he sent out 56 on the night, only 15 of which hit their target. None were crisp or clean enough to test Klitschko’s chin.
Rahman’s fate appeared inevitable from the third round forward, if not earlier. In that round, he retreated to the ropes, covering up in what was either a futile attempt to rope-a-dope or a foolhardy attempt to rest.
Klitschko stood within range, jabbing at what amounted to a heavy bag with unsteady legs. Rahman’s defense throughout the night had consisted of gloves on his temples, the proverbial earmuffs, unmoving arms that never parried a punch. Klitschko split that so-called guard with ease, landing a fight-high 28 jabs, never needing to kick into a higher gear.
While Klitschko pounded down what little resistance Rahman brought, he found himself safe to open up his offensive arsenal. Jabs were followed with left hooks and right crosses, combinations that brought about a knockdown and would soon bring the bout to an end.
In the sixth stanza, Klitschko put out more power punches than jabs, landing 14 of 41. He also tagged Rahman with 14 of 27 jabs. In contrast, Rahman threw 16 punches, 15 of which were jabs. Only one was credited as a scoring blow.
Rahman never threw another power shot. In the seventh and final round, all five jabs either whiffed or were blocked. Klitschko needed just nine jabs and nine power punches, landing more than half of each, shaking Rahman with many and forcing referee Tony Weeks to end the bludgeoning.
Dr. Steelhammer hit the Rock for some 19 minutes, and he couldn’t help but to look sharp while doing so. The only thing the Rock hit was the bottom.
Klitschko’s beatings have earned him belts and made him king. If only he didn’t have to share a ring with jokers.
The 10 Count
1. The Manny Pacquiao-Oscar De La Hoya pay-per-view pulled in a preliminary buy rate of 1.25 million and earned $70 million in revenue, according to HBO, making the show the most lucrative of a crowded 2008 pay-per-view schedule and only the fourth non-heavyweight fight to reach 1 million.
It’s a fantastic number, especially considering the current economic climate and the show’s weak undercard. The true test of Pacquiao’s drawing power will come in his next few bouts.
Pacquiao’s March 2008 rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez had a buy rate of about 400,000, far better than the recent pay-per-views featuring Bernard Hopkins’ victory over Kelly Pavlik and Joe Calzaghe’s win against Roy Jones. Granted, Pacquiao-Marquez 2 came when the economy was in comparatively better shape.
If, as expected, Pacquiao goes on to face Ricky Hatton, then that show should at least see impressive numbers in the United Kingdom. But with De La Hoya on his way out, the “Golden Boy” will leave a vacuum in the United States in a sport desperately in need of another star with crossover appeal.
2. Kudos to HBO for getting it right with this year’s “Best of 2008” broadcasts. Their four offerings this year will be Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito (airing Dec. 27), the rematch between Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao (also on Dec. 27), Kelly Pavlik’s bout with Bernard Hopkins (Dec. 28) and Joe Calzaghe’s victory over Roy Jones (Dec. 29).
Though Pavlik-Hopkins and Calzaghe-Jones were one-sided, each night provided vintage performances from Hopkins and Calzaghe. As for Cotto-Margarito and Marquez-Pacquiao 2, both were competitive, entertaining fights with four of boxing’s bigger stars.
3. To think, though, of the millions upon millions of dollars that went into the two noncompetitive bouts shown on Saturday’s HBO broadcast – Manny Pacquiao’s drubbing of Oscar De La Hoya from Dec. 6, and the live airing of Wladimir Klitschko’s sparring match with Hasim Rahman.
To think, just two days before the HBO show, Versus was able to put on a great card with two fantastic battles – including a Fight of the Year candidate between cruiserweights Steve Cunningham and Tomasz Adamek – at a fraction of the cost.
4. Boxers Behaving Badly: Alex de Jesus, an undefeated 140-pound prospect out of Puerto Rico, has been arrested and charged with domestic violence and a weapons violation, according to El Nuevo Dia (via BoxingScene’s very own Mark Vester, with this scribe receiving translation help from a multilingual journalist friend).
De Jesus, 25, is accused of assaulting his girlfriend, with whom he has two young children (two years old and one-month-old), in their home, allegedly threatening her while brandishing a knife.
He was being held on $60,000 bail.
De Jesus turned pro in early 2005, and has since won all 19 of his fights, including 13 by way of knockout. His last appearance was in October, an eighth-round stoppage of Jose Izquierdo.
5. Boxers Behaving Badly update: Troubled former featherweight titlist Scott Harrison will be getting out from behind bars earlier than expected, according to Scotland’s Glasgow Daily Record.
Harrison, 31, had been in jail on multiple sentences, punishment for various crimes, including a May attack on his girlfriend and a police officer, and an August incident of drunk driving.
A pair of those sentences will now run concurrently instead of consecutively. Harrison could potentially be free by the end of the year.
Harrison lost his license to box after an eventful 2006 that included multiple legal problems and reported struggles with alcohol and depression. He was suspended after failing to get his weight below 133 pounds for a title defense late that year against Nicky Cook.
Harrison last appeared in the ring in November 2005, when he outpointed Nedal Hussein. He has a record of 25 wins (14 by way of knockout), two defeats and two draws.
6. Boxing Managers Behaving Badly: While Kendall Holt was fighting between the ropes Saturday, his manager was sitting behind bars.
Henry Cortes was arrested Dec. 5 and charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to perform official misconduct, according to northern New Jersey’s Herald News.
The day before Cortes’ arrest, another defendant in the case, a 20-year veteran of the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department named Alan Souto, had pleaded guilty to “stealing more than 5 pounds of cocaine from an evidence room he supervise,” the newspaper reported. Souto admitted in his plea agreement to earning at least $250,000 from the cocaine sales.
Cortes was being held on $500,000 bail.
7. Congratulations to the newest inductees into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, who will enter Canastota in 2009:
Three retired boxers: bantamweight titlist Orlando Canizales, two-time heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and 130-pound champion Brian Mitchell.
Non-combatants: Bob Goodman, who has worked as a publicist, matchmaker and promoter; Akihiko Honda, a promoter; Hugh McIlvanney, a journalist; and Larry Merchant, a broadcaster.
Honored posthumously: boxers William “Gorilla” Jones, “Mysterious” Billy Smith and Billy Soose; manager Billy Gibson; commissioner Abe J. Greene; journalist Paul Gallico; and pioneer Tom Hyer, who in 1841 became the first recognized American heavyweight champion.
8. Dodgeball, an occasional update: A scheduling snafu added an extra week of games to the regular season, pushing the one-day playoff tournament back to tonight (Dec. 15). Not that it mattered – Aim Low took a forfeit victory when its opponent, MFCO, failed to show up. A brief intra-squad scrimmage ensued instead, followed by the usual gathering at a downtown watering hole.
Aim Low enters the playoffs with the third seed. Its opening game comes against Braggingly Happy BGW, which Aim Low beat comfortably last month. Team record: 6-2. This past week’s post-game beer of choice: Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout.
9. Forty-four months ago, Riddick Bowe, two fights into a comeback, had his return unofficially end with a controversial split-decision win over journeyman Billy Zumbrun. Though the former heavyweight champion was scheduled to fight on more than one occasion, he didn’t get back in the ring again until Saturday.
In what will probably not show up in his career highlight reel, Bowe, now 41, outpointed some dude with a 14-12-2 record named Gene Pukall over eight rounds on the Klitschko-Rahman undercard. Nine of Pukall’s previous losses had come by knockout.
10. By my math, Bowe’s next fight will be scheduled for Aug. 18, 2012.
I can’t wait.
David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. His weekly column, “Fighting Words,” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com. He may be reached for questions and comments at fightingwords1@gmail.com
