By Jake Donovan
A lot has happened since the last time Wladimir Klitschko played Madison Square Garden – and anywhere else in the United States. Our economy nearly crashed before slowly bouncing back. Barack Obama was still on the campaign trail seeking election for his first term in the White House.
On the boxing front, Floyd Mayweather announced his retirement, and then his return, which was followed by his confirmation as the best fighter in the world and the most lucrative athlete in the sport. Manny Pacquiao saw his career soar to new heights, fall to a crippling low, rebuild and return as the 1a to Mayweather’s number one.
In his own life, Klitschko met a girl – a famous one, at that (superstar actress/activist Hayden Panettiere), fell in love, endured a break-up, followed by a rekindled relationship. The two are now engaged and welcomed into the world the birth of their daughter, their first child together.
One thing hasn’t changed since Klitschko’s last fight on U.S. soil: his stranglehold on the heavyweight division. The hulking Ukraine long ago established his place as the best heavyweight in the world, later confirmed by claiming the vacant World lineal championship.
Seven years and 13 fights since his last stateside appearance, the defending heavyweight king decided he was due for a return visit. Klitschko heads back to Madison Square Garden to face unbeaten American contender Bryant Jennings, with their bout this Saturday to air live on HBO.
“I am really excited to be back in the States,” insists Klitschko (63-3, 53KOs), who spends a considerable amount of time training in Florida. “I’ve been fighting—“champion of the world” means to fight in different countries, in different cities, which I have accomplished in the past years. I’ve been fighting in Bern, Switzerland. I’ve been fighting in Moscow, Russia. I’ve been fighting in many German cities.
“It’s always exciting to be back in the States and to be back at The Garden.”
Unfortunately, Klitschko’s last visit to the U.S. was neither exciting nor memorable. A wide unanimous decision over previously unbeaten titlist Sultan Ibragimov added another belt to his arsenal and further established his stance as the best active heavyweight on the plant. The bout played to a sold-out crowd at the World’s Most Famous Arena, though resulted a dull 12-round affair that left HBO to question its desire to throw all of its support behind the heavyweight.
His next two bouts would air on the network, but just one of his following eight over the stretch of more than four years. His lone appearance on HBO from 2009 to Sept. ’13 was yet another stinker, left to carry the action in his July ’11 multi-belt unification bout with a reluctant David Haye.
Saturday night will mark the third time in his past four fights in which HBO is all the way back in Klitschko’s corner. His previous two bouts in that stretch also came versus unbeaten heavyweights - scoring a 12-round win over Alexander Povetkin in a foul-filled Oct. ’13 championship bout, and a much cleaner win in becoming the first to drop, stop and defeat Kubrat Pulev last November.
While HBO felt it was pertinent to air both bouts on its airwaves, bringing either fight to the United States would’ve likely been a recipe for disaster. Both bouts played to much bigger markets overseas, where Klitschko routinely sells out arenas and stadiums.
In order to head back to the states, it had to really mean something to the buying public.
“Well, it’s not just my own decision; it’s the demand,” said Klitschko, although he does control his career to a degree as he fights under K2 Promotions, a company named for the 38-year old and his older brother, former heavyweight titlist-turned-politician/activist Vitali Klitschko. “The demand was so strong—thankful the demand was so strong from public.
“We can see it in ticket sales; Madison Square Garden arena wants to see a Klitschko fight, and that was supported by the fans because of ticket sales. I’m sure we’re going to be sold out the day of the fight. Also, from television, in this case HBO, the demand is so big that it made me, forced me to come here and fight in the States.”
So just what has he been doing all of this time fighting outside of the U.S.?
“I’ve been collecting my belts and whatever I have in my hands, all those belts, it’s a lot of work, a lot of fights,” notes Klitschko.
The only belt not in his collection is the one held by unbeaten American heavyweight Deontay Wilder, the first American to capture a heavyweight belt and also the last U.S. boxer to have captured an Olympic model. A fight between the two is perhaps the last remaining super fight the division has to offer. For now, though, every Klitschko fight is an event in and of itself, one recognized by the buying marker in this part of the world.
“Boxing is so imminent I could feel it, that the interest is much bigger and higher than it used to be, for example, seven years ago,” recognizes Klitschko, whose showdown with Jennings seems to come during a perfect storm of events. “Maybe it has to do with a combination of just one week apart from a mega fight with Pacquiao and Mayweather and I think it’s like certainly warming up and definitely putting boxing on the map and making the sport more exciting.
“I’m really, really happy about it, actually, because boxing has been always a classic sport, that people were following and watching for many years. So, I’m happy to be back in the States.”
Of course, it doesn’t mean he misses fighting in Germany – his home away from his Ukraine homeland – any less. It’s merely the recognition that there’s a time and place for everything, and the time is now for the World heavyweight championship to be fought on U.S. soil.
“On the other hand, I’m really happy about it because the demand in Europe was so strong. For the past years I’ve been fighting at soccer stadiums filled out with over 60,000 people and it’s a question of demand, as well.
“I’m really happy about it, that boxing kicks in eventually and is unbelievably popular right now in the States. You really can see it and hear it on the radio and a lot of different channels with all the fight nights and it’s a great time. I think it’s the right time, right place and the right opponent to make it.”
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
