by David P. Greisman
Photo ©Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com
He’s not supposed to be here today. Wladimir Klitschko should be consigned to the heavyweight boxer’s version of the mythical elephant graveyard, where formerly hyped pugilists wander to when bubbles are burst and chins are shattered. He had been counted out by fans and writers, observers and fighters.
But never the referees.
Three losses, no 10 counts: Ross Purritty in 1998, Corrie Sanders in 2003, Lamon Brewster in 2004. Each came via technical knockout. Each hit Klitschko with the force of a Mack truck, bringing his momentum to a screeching halt. Each time, Klitschko recovered from the crashing and burning, rebuilding himself and getting back into the ring.
He’s not supposed to be here today. But there he is, the consensus number one heavyweight. Klitschko has won seven fights in a row, including a decision over Samuel Peter and stoppages of Chris Byrd, Calvin Brock, Ray Austin and Lamon Brewster. He’s exorcised his demons and outdone his kin in the process, far surpassing the brief, controversial reign of older brother Vitali.
There’s so much left to do.
After all, Vitali Klitschko’s anointment as heavyweight savior had come largely on the strength of a loss on cuts to Lennox Lewis that, after Lewis retired, was followed by one-sided wins over Kirk Johnson, Corrie Sanders and Danny Williams, three fighters who had come to the ring as more blubber than slugger. In the rush to replace Lewis, some had seemingly forgotten the need to earn one’s position.
Wladimir had been on his way to doing so. After capturing the International Boxing Federation title from Byrd, he showed himself to be an outspoken proponent of heavyweight unification, of the need to go beyond sanctioning bodies to produce a leader amidst the herd.
Ray Austin, Brewster and Calvin Brock aren’t exactly Ruslan Chagaev, Sultan Ibragimov and Oleg Maskaev.
Klitschko, however, looks to be going forward finally after being stuck in neutral for a year: Negotiations are underway for a collision with Ibragimov, a fight that could come as early as February.
“My goal has always been to unite the titles,” Klitschko told Sports Illustrated. “I’m getting tired of the politics, though. I want to fight.”
Politics. They are an institution that can provide structure. They tend to be a system through which much gets lost in bureaucracy.
Sanctioning body politics mean mandatory challengers, which had almost become a taboo term after March, when the brilliant minds at the IBF sent forth Austin as their top competitor. Klitschko sent him down within two and with nothing but left hands in an anticlimactic annihilation. Klitschko would apologize afterward, essentially yearning for a formidable foe.
But with his thudding jab and sledgehammer right hand, Klitschko had pounded through whomever had been sent his way. He had winnowed the ranks to the point that his July stoppage of Brewster was recognized as a mandatory defense simply because there were no other top challengers available.
Brewster, amazingly, was followed in the rankings by previous Klitschko kayo victims Brock and Byrd, though nothing about their losses to Klitschko could convince one that they deserved shots at the title. The possibility of them being sent forth was the epitome of mandatory mediocrity.
Surprisingly, cooler heads prevailed.
The IBF set up a tournament, pitting Byrd and Brock, respectively, against undefeated prospects Alexander Povetkin and Eddie Chambers. The winner would actually have a mandate as Klitschko’s mandatory. Step one of the tournament saw Povetkin defeat Byrd via 11th-round knockout Saturday; Brock and Chambers meet this weekend.
A Chambers victory guarantees that the tournament winner will be a fresh face, a new challenge in a division desperately crying out for unification and rejuvenation. The tournament itself leaves time for Klitschko to start the former, while the eventual mandatory challenger will be the face of the latter.
The 10 Count
1. With his aforementioned stoppage loss Saturday to Alexander Povetkin, Chris Byrd is now approaching a junction from where he must think long and hard about whether he has a future in the heavyweight division.
Yes, Byrd is a two-time heavyweight titlist, which is quite the impressive feat for an undersized fighter whose 1992 Olympic silver medal came all the way down at middleweight. But Byrd is 37 now, and he is coming off of a stretch that includes losses to Povetkin and Wladimir Klitschko in which, on both occasions, he failed to reach the final bell.
The rise from the middleweights to boxing’s marquee division had been motivated by the possibility of fame and fortune. And Byrd reached his peak, coming out victorious over the likes of Evander Holyfield, Vitali Klitschko, Jameel McCline and David Tua.
That’s all in the past.
Byrd, however, told the Associated Press that he’s not quite done: “I’ve got to lose to an American before I retire.”
The opportunity remains for one last title run for Byrd – at cruiserweight, where he will no longer find himself constantly battling uphill in the land of the behemoths. Byrd has proven himself over the years to be as tough as he is skilled, as likable in person as he had been slick in the ring. It’s doubtful that anyone would want to see him get hurt, and there’s no shame in competing, for once, against men his own size.
2. In other action this past weekend, Jose Luis Castillo scored a sixth-round technical knockout over a lower-tier Adan Casillas.
Castillo’s win was his first appearance in the squared circle since June, when the former two-time lightweight titlist was put down for the count by a vicious Ricky Hatton body shot. Castillo weighed in for the Casillas bout at 146 pounds, perhaps a sign that, like his late in-ring rival Diego Corrales, his body is best suited now for the welterweight division.
We won’t know for sure until Castillo steps up in competition. Casillas, who falls to 20-7 (15), had taken a 31-month sabbatical after consecutive stoppage losses to Jesse James Leija and Larry Mosley. Since returning in April 2006, Casillas’ four fights were wins against nondescript opposition.
3. Jermain Taylor made the right choice in invoking his rematch clause with current middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, thereby setting the tables for a second slugfest tentatively scheduled for early next year.
Pavlik dethroned Taylor in September, coming off the canvas in round two and recovering so as to score a thrilling stoppage five rounds later. Pavlik’s championship will not be on the line in the rematch, though, as the contract allows both men to come in at a maximum weight of 166 pounds.
By exercising his right to a rematch, Taylor ensured himself a shot at revenge and removed the possibility that this coming Saturday’s Joe Calzaghe-Mikkel Kessler super middleweight unification bout could have changed Pavlik’s plans. Although Taylor could have opted for a confidence-building fight or two before choosing to confront his conqueror, he has instead made sure that he will remain part of the proverbial equation. When belts and money are on the line, such a decision makes much sense.
4. Former flyweight champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam did something last week that he had not been required to do for more than 11 years – start a winning streak.
Wonjongkam, who outpointed Rey Migreno over eight rounds to improve his record to 66-3 (34), had triumphed in 56 straight bouts before this past July, when he came up on the short end of the scorecards against Daisuke Naito.
The Naito loss had ended a string of 17 consecutive successful title defenses for Wonjongkam. Now the Thai fighter is on the outside looking in while Nonito Donaire, Koki Kameda, Naito and Takefumi Sakata are enjoying their sudden, starring roles in the 112-pound division.
5. I’m assuming my eyes aren’t deceiving me when I read that Hasim Rahman is headlining Versus’ “Fight Night Live” Nov. 15 against journeyman Sherman “The Tank” Williams. Really? Rahman-Williams as the televised main event? Had that stellar matchmaking fallen through, would Butterbean against Tye Fields have been the second option?
6. I’m still trying to figure out which cable outlet is doing the most to squander money and television viewers with Thursday night programming that would otherwise have quite the potential if placed under different guidance: Is it Versus, with its “Fight Night Live,” or Spike TV with its “Total Nonstop Action Wrestling”?
7. Boxers Behaving Badly, part one: Kassim Ouma was arrested last week on charges of careless driving, driving with a suspended license and failure to appear in court, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
The former junior middleweight titlist was released from jail a day later after posting a $500 bond.
8. Boxers Behaving Badly, part two: Lightweight prospect Amir Khan was fined 1,000 pounds and had his driver’s license suspended for six months after a jury found him guilty of driving carelessly in a March 2006 incident in which he hit a pedestrian with his car, according to numerous reports from across the pond.
Khan, the 2004 Olympic lightweight silver medalist, was found not guilty on more serious charges of dangerous driving. The pedestrian he hit suffered a broken leg in the collision.
9. This week on television: Kassim Ouma and Amir Khan make cameo appearances in a very special episode of ABC’s “Carpoolers.” Check your local listings.
10. “The Contender” update: Jaidon Codrington blasted himself into the finals of this third season of Mark Burnett’s boxing reality series with a first-round technical knockout victory over Wayne Johnsen.
Codrington put his opponent to the canvas with a counter right hook that landed high on Johnsen’s head. Johnsen rose by the count of nine, but he was far too unsteady on his feet for the referee to allow the fight to continue.
Codrington, who saw his promising career derailed in 2005 when he was knocked out cold 18 seconds into a slugfest with Allan Green, appeared to shed tears of joy after triumphing against Johnsen.
Codrington now awaits the winner of this week’s semifinal fight, which pits Sakio Bika against Sam Soliman in a rematch of their 2002 bout. Soliman came out on top in his first encounter with Bika, winning via majority decision. Both men have since gone on to challenge for world titles at super middleweight; this week’s winner will compete for another chance at credibility and celebrity.
David P. Greisman’s weekly column, “Fighting Words,” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com. He may be reached for questions and comments at fightingwords1@gmail.com
