By Jake Donovan
It was youngest in charge in Dusseldorf, Germany, as undefeated 29-year old southpaw Ruslan Chagaev ended a nine-month layoff with a laboring and well-earned unanimous decision over late bloomer Matt Skelton, 11 yeas Chagaev's senior, in the main event Saturday afternoon at the Burg-Wächter Castello in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Things started out slow in what was Chagaev's first defense of the WBA heavyweight title. The 40-year old Skelton, in his first bout for any portion of the heavyweight crown, looking to put his 25 lb. weight advantage to good use, leaning on Chagaev whenever the two were in close quarters. Chagaev was effective in utilizing lateral movement and a steady jab when the fight was fought at any sort of distance. The biggest shot of the round went to Skelton, who landed a heavy counter right after Chagaev was able to get through with a straight left.
It was Chagaev who imposed his will on the Brit challenger in round two, with a thudding left hand drilling Skelton along the ropes, but not enough to trump Skelton's workrate throughout the round. The Uzbekistan controlled the tempo for most of the third round, his jab pumping from the outside, and also able to hold his own whenever Skelton closed the gap between the two. Skelton picked up the pace in the last minute of the round, but his most sustained rally of the fight was interrupted when the referee warned him for holding and hitting.
After absorbing several straight lefts throughout the fourth, it was now Skelton fighting from the outside at the start of the fifth round. Between boxing on his toes, and loading up and missing on many of his power shots, fatigue began to set in for the Brit, who spent most of the second half of the round holding. Chagaev took advantage of the drop in Skelton's workrate, effectively fighting out of clinches and working overhand lefts into his routine.
Skelton decided to leave the boxing to Chagaev in round six as he sought to keep the fight in a phone booth. The two started out trading in the beginning of the round, but Skelton began to clinch more as time went on, drawing boos from the crowd. Chagaev brought out the cheers with a right uppercut that snapped Skelton's head back, bobbing and weaving out of harms way as he peppered the Brit with lefts and rights.
The pattern was the same throughout the second half of the fight, largely dominated by Chagaev. Skelton failed to get anything going offensively, and his only effective source of defense was moving in to clinch after repeatedly absorbing straight lefts and overhand rights. The tactic led to a much busier back six for referee Guillermo Perez, after the third man went largely unnoticed throughout the first half of the bout.
Skelton needed to come up with something dramatic down the stretch if he was to pull it out, but it was Chagaev who flew off of his stool at the start of the 12 th and final round. The southpaw started out peppering Skelton with straight lefts, before settling into a groove and remaining on the outside, minimizing the chances of getting caught with an unexpected bomb, which was the only way Skelton was leaving Germany a winner. The Brit never came close, ending the fight clinging on to Chagaev.
The reading of the scorecards was a mere formality. Scorecards of 117-110 and 117-111 (2x) were all in favor of Chagaev, who remains unbeaten in upping his record to 24-0 (17KO).
It was his first alphabet title defense since lifting the strap from Nicolay Valuev last April, in a fight that ended Valuev's pursuit of Rocky Marciano's mark of 49-0, leaving the Russian giant three wins short.
The winner of next month's Wladimir Kiltschko-Sultan Ibragimov heavyweight battle at Madison Square Garden in New York City would be the most ideal opponent for his next fight. Of course, ideal and actual are often two different scenarios in boxing, leaving Chagaev to instead await the winner of the February 16 battle between Valuev and Sergei Lyakhovich in Nuremburg, Germany.
It would normally be back to the drawing board for a 23-fight veteran coming off of a tough loss against a top undefeated heavyweight. But rebuilding might not be an option for the 40-year old Skelton, who may be forced to make the most of the little time he has left. Having turned pro at age 34, Skelton was advanced through the ranks perhaps a tad quicker than desired, but made the most of his career in getting to this fight.
The lone loss of his career, a split decision to Danny Williams two years ago, was avenged five months later. A year-long break led to another rematch, a majority decision over Michael Sprott last July before sitting out the remainder of 2007 in awaiting the shot at Chagaev. ends a modest three fight win streak in falling to 21-2 (18KO).
The show was presented by Universum-Box Promotions, aired live on German network ZDF.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His column runs every Tuesday on BoxingScene.com.
Please feel free to submit any comments or questions to Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com
