By Mark Vester
The hype has begun for Vitali Klitschko's first defense of the WBC heavyweight title against mandatory Juan Carlos Gomez on March 21 at the Hanns Martin Schleyer Halle in Stuttgart, Germany. Klitschko returned last October after a near four-year layof to dominate and stop Samuel Peter to win the title. RTL will televise in Germany, there has been no word if one of the American networks will carry the event.
Klitschko (36-2, 35KOs) has stopped almost every single opponent in his path and plans to make Gomez his next victim.
"My triumph against Peter and the feeling of having won back my WBC title is indescribable. I won't give it back. Gomez is a very experienced, fast and difficult opponent. I won't underestimate him, but the belt will remain in the Klitschko family," Klitschko said.
Gomez (44-1, 35KOs), regarded as one the best cruiserweights of all-time, plans to show that he can become a two-division champion by unseating Vitali.
"I am sorry for Vitali that he has to give away his belt after such a short time, but I've worked hard to get this fight and I will go home with the belt," Gomez said. “I will make sure that Vitali faces the best Juan Carlos Gomez of all times. I would have loved to fight him in front of my fans in my second home Hamburg but people love me all over Germany so I have no problems with Stuttgart. In fact, I fought there already twice and won both fights by tko. Now it’s time for my third strike…”
Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingvester@gmail.com
