Klitschko-Peter II/Gamboa-Salido: Weekend Report Card
By Cliff Rold
They will compete on separate telecasts, separate continents, and in widely disparate parts of the scale. Saturday’s main events take place over 100 lbs. apart and combine high stakes with what appear to be forgone conclusions.
The favorites should win. They should probably win going away. Anything less, much less defeat, and the dissection of victory could come off sounding like the analysis of anything but. It’s probably not fair but so it goes in the high stakes world of a boxing game that sees its big names compete so seldom.
Still, there is a reason the favorites are considered so. One is the dominant leader of boxing’s flagship class, undefeated since 2004. The other is a Cuban defector with eye popping athletic talents making his first real start against a contender at Featherweight.
Does either have anything to fear? Let’s go to the report card, beginning with the big men.
The Ledgers
Wladimir Klitschko
Age: 34
Title: Lineal/Ring World Heavyweight (2009-Present, 1 Defense); IBF (2006-Present, 8 Defenses); WBO (2008-Present, 4 Defenses)
Previous Titles: WBO (2000-03, 5 Defenses)
Height: 6’6 ½
Weight: 247 lbs.
Average Weight – Last Five Fights: 241.75 lbs.
Hails from: Kiev, Ukraine
Record: 54-3, 48 KO
BoxingScene Rank: World Champion
Record in Title Fights: 14-2, 13 KO, 2 KOBY
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Defeated: 8 (Chris Byrd, Frans Botha, Ray Mercer, Sam Peter, Lamon Brewster, Sultan Ibragimov, Hasim Rahman, Ruslan Chagaev)
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced in Defeat: 2 (Corrie Sanders, Lamon Brewster)
Vs.
Sam Peter
Age: 30
Titles/Previous Titles: WBC Heavyweight (2008)
Height: 6’2
Weight: 241 lbs.
Average Weight – Last Five Fights: 245 lbs.
Hails from: Las Vegas, Nevada (Originally from Nigeria)
Record: 34-3, 27 KO
BoxingScene Rank: #10 at Heavyweight
Record in Championship Fights: 1-1, 1 KO, 1 KOBY (2-1, 1 KO, 1 KOBY including interim title fights)
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Defeated: 2 (James Toney, Oleg Maskaev)
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced in Defeat: 2 (Wladimir Klitschko, Vitali Klitschko)
Pre-Fight Grades
Speed – Klitschko B+; Peter B-
Power – Klitschko A; Peter B+
Defense – Klitschko B+; Peter B-
Intangibles – Klitschko B+; Peter C+
The last man to have Klitschko in any sort of danger is the man who he faces in a return Saturday (ESPN3.com, 4:30 PM EST). Much has happened since their September 2005 showdown and almost all of it favors the champion. In fact, the positives may well have started in the final round of their first fight.
In round twelve, Klitschko, having been down three times earlier while winning the other eight rounds, rocked Peter with a hellacious left hook and had the Nigerian banger out on his feet. Since then, Peter was fortunate to get a decision in the first James Toney fight, struggled to a win after three early knockdowns versus Jameel McCline, and showed up at a too heavy 253-plus lbs. en route to being embarrassed by Vitali Klitschko. A rousing knockout of Oleg Maskaev is tempered by perspective (Maskaev spent most of his career being stopped by any notable Heavyweight not named Hasim Rahman).
Winning four straight since the Vitali loss, Peter has shown an increased professionalism, cutting his weight and getting back to early knockouts. Those wins have come against less than stellar fare though and the technical problems he had before and after the first Wladimir fight remain. He’s still ponderous, fairly slow, and his jab drags. He also still has heavy hands but not the activity rate to heighten the danger. He’ll rely on the hope of a big shot landing and a follow up which pays off in spades.
Wladimir in contrast has mastered an effective fighting style for him. He fights tall, sticks hard with the jab, and is willing to literally jump backwards from danger. It’s not always appealing to watch considering the potency of his power shots, but it wins. He hasn’t faced anyone with the sort of pressure Peter will bring since, well, since Peter, but he should be more confident this time around.
In the first fight, Klitschko had to wonder what all did: could he handle any serious heat after being felled by Corrie Sanders and falling apart against Lamon Brewster. The answer was yes and he hasn’t looked back since. Even when Calvin Brock and Tony Thompson were able to have moments of success in spirited challenges, he took them in stride and left both men on the deck. He didn’t have as much to worry about as Peter provides, but he can be expected to be safer in this rematch than he was in those encounters.
He fought safety first against Sultan Ibragimov and Ruslan Chagaev even after they appeared to lack any threat at all. He’s not likely to go full bore killer against Peter, which will be to his advantage.
These are the elements that make Wladimir a considerable favorite to win his 13th straight. What are the elements in play at Featherweight?
Yuriorkis Gamboa
Age: 28
Title: WBA Featherweight (2009-10, 3 Defenses)
Previous Titles: None
Height: 5’5 ½
Weight: TBA
Average Weight – Last Five Fights: 126.4 lbs.
Hails from: Miami, Florida (Originally from Cuba)
Record: 18-0, 15 KO
BoxingScene Rank: #6 at Featherweight
Record in Title Fights: 3-0, 3 KO (4-0, 4 KO including interim title fights)
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Defeated: 0
Vs.
Orlando Salido
Age: 29
Titles: IBF Featherweight (2010-Present, 1st Attempted Defense)
Previous Titles: None
Height: 5’6
Weight: TBA
Average Weight – Last Five Fights: 131.15 lbs.
Hails from: Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico
Record: 34-10-2, 22 KO
BoxingScene Rank: #7 at Featherweight
Record in Championship Fights: 1-2, 1 No Contest (Defeated Robert Guerrero for IBF belt but failed drug test)
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Defeated: 3 (Alfred Kotey, Cesar Soto, Cristobal Cruz)
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced in Defeat/No Contest: 4 (Alejandro Gonzalez, Juan Manuel Marquez, Robert Guerrero, Cristobal Cruz)
Pre-Fight Grades
Speed – Gamboa A; Salido B
Power – Gamboa A; Salido B
Defense – Gamboa B; Salido B-
Intangibles – Gamboa B; Salido B
The element in this fight (HBO, 10 PM EST), THE element, is speed. Gamboa has as much of it as anyone in the game and pop behind it. What he lacks is defensive refinement (so far) and a proven chin. Does Salido have enough punch to make it matter? Can he land it even if he does?
The answer won’t be known until they get in the ring but what Salido does have in abundance is professional experience and toughness. He’ll pressure, play rough in the trenches, and keeps his hands up while firing the left hook wherever it can land.
Salido played spoiler against Robert Guerrero in 2006 (only to have the fight ruled a no contest on a PED pop); went the distance with Juan Manuel Marquez; and split a pair with the equally tough Cristobal Cruz. This unification fight features the dynamic of the veteran pug who capped a long tenure with a belt and the gilded talent groomed for superstardom.
An upset would make for great drama. Can Salido take the heat from Gamboa early? Despite five losses inside the route, he hasn’t been stopped since 2000 and he was still a teenager.
Gamboa showed some increased defensive discipline against Rogers Mtagwa earlier this year but Salido is another step up or three up from that level fare.
The Picks
The assumption here is that Gamboa will know he’s in with the best opponent of his pro career and respond accordingly. He seems to respond in spotlight situations and has too many tools for Salido if he doesn’t get too relaxed. Look for Gamboa to burst out early, possibly with an early knockdown, and then have some rocky moments when Salido goes for broke. He’ll weather whatever storm comes and rack up rounds towards a late stoppage or decision win to pick up his second Featherweight belt.
At Heavyweight, the risk is all to Klitschko. A loss by knockout, and it would only come by knockout, would erase the momentum he’s built in one fell swoop. Klitschko’s current streak has some wiling to begin to wonder, if in a whisper, if he might be on the verge of being a ‘great’ Heavyweight. His wins have at least mitigated the harm of earlier stoppage losses to the less than historically significant trio of Ross Purritty, Corrie Sanders, and Lamon Brewster. Like Lennox Lewis before him, the body of work for this giant could eventually overwhelm his least moments. A loss to Peter would bring all detraction roaring back.
That loss is highly, highly, unlikely. Klitschko is in a groove and just better in just about every way. He’s faster, is more accurate, and isn’t easy to catch clean when he’s standing at the end of a telephone pole jab. His cautious nature probably means settling in for a long fight but look for it to end with a late stoppage or easy decision.
Report Card Picks 2010: 21-11
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com