By Cliff Rold

35.

That is the number of times the bell has sounded and WBC Heavyweight titlist Vitali Klitschko (38-2, 27 KO) has come off his stool for a new round in his last four fights.  He hasn’t lost a single one of those 35 frames.  Between the first eight of them against Danny Williams in December 2004, and the next eight, lies a space of almost four years during which he was hobbled by injuries and temporarily retired.

I don’t know how many fighters there have ever been who retired for close to four years and returned not only to win a major title but shutout three straight top ten contenders en route to stoppages.  The list can’t be long.

Last October, it began with Samuel Peter to regain the green belt he never lost in the ring.  It was followed in March 2009 with Juan Carlos Gomez, a former Cruiserweight champ who hadn’t lost since 2004 and only lost once period.  Saturday night, it continued with a pasting of undefeated Chris Arreola (27-1, 24 KO).

One can observe that none of these challengers were anything special or that Peter and Arreola always look open to questions of work ethic.  If Klitschko was struggling with these fighters, it wouldn’t say much for him. 

He’s not. 

They might not be much but he’s dispensing with them to prove it.  There are two issues at Heavyweight right now.  One is that the division is, clearly, not in a strong period.  The other is that its two best fighters (the Klitschko brothers) aren’t being tested.  Vitali, the brother of interest this week, can’t do anything about the former but not losing rounds?  Any?  That’s a statement in itself.

Let’s go to the report card. 

Grades
Pre-Fight: Speed – Klitschko B; Arreola B/Post: Same
Pre-Fight: Power – Klitschko A-; Arreola B+/Post: Same
Pre-Fight: Defense – Klitschko B+; Arreola B-/Post: B+; C+
Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Klitschko B+; Arreola B-/Post: B+; B+

For a full recap of Saturday’s action, see Jake Donovan’s post-fight coverage at https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=22457

Chris Arreola got off to a great start in the first couple minutes of the fight.  He was jabbing, pressing, looking for big shots.  Klitschko looked rushed, maybe even apprehensive.  Then he landed a counter left hook flush to the face of Arreola and the fight changed almost instantly.  Klitschko might look like he’s arm punching but it’s a big damn arm. 

Arreola never stopped trying but it was if a light went off in his head; he knew what he was in with.  His offense came only in spurts after that, his volume of shots not equal to the task of being the first man to truly defeat Klitschko.

And that is the key with Vitali.  His little brother, Wladimir, has been defeated soundly stopped on three occasions.  There is reason to be cynical about his ability, his guts, and want to see them tested again to see if anything has changed.  Vitali?  He’s lost two fights but never off his feet, both times on ring injuries, with a lead on the cards.  That those fights came against his two best foes to date, Chris Byrd and Lennox Lewis, isn’t all bad.  Part of it is a style which has been terribly difficult to solve.

He moves a lot for a man his size and looks hittable but rarely is.  On Saturday, his defense allowed him to shrug off incoming left hooks with his shoulders and when the occasional Arreola power shot got through he took it.  His chin remains unquestionable and knowing to tie up quickly doesn’t hurt either.  He takes the first shot but rarely the follow up.

Klitschko showed again on Saturday a mastery of range few fighters really have.  He controls the distance in fights, knowing how to make room for what are some odd looking rights to the head and body.  Klitschko, with his hands at his waist, looks like he’s doing everything wrong but it comes out right.  

To his credit, Arreola showed real heart and guts on Saturday.  He wanted to go out on his shield and was willing to come forward for it, still praying with the occasional bomb.  What was not a credit was his condition.  Was he in good shape?  Better than most and good enough to take a beating is the answer.  He at least looked firmer than he has in his past couple outings.  But, as noted in the pre-fight report card, better is not the same as best.  Some fighters just aren’t cut but the loose flesh jiggling on Arreola with each landed Klitschko blow isn’t an example of that. 

It was fat. 

Arreola was still fat. 

And it mattered.  Lugging extra pounds around affects mobility, balance, flexibility, and activity, all things he needed more of on Saturday.  He gave a good accounting of himself but left the impression he might have actually been able to provide a stiffer challenge with more of the stuff Vitali brings to the ring.

That stuff is professionalism. 

HBO’s Jim Lampley provided a soliloquy at the end of the broadcast about it, referring to the Klitschko’s as “365” day fighters.  Anyone remember the old t-shirts which said something like ‘while you’re resting, someone, somewhere, is working and when you face them they will win?’ 

Yeah.  That’s Vitali.

Looking Ahead

Klitschko, at 38, probably isn’t as good as he was four or five years ago.  He’s a hair slower and his legs, if someone could get to him, might be vulnerable in a war.  So far, he’s faced no one to make as issue of it.  He is likely to continue on but sadly there are few to test him.  The winner of Nicolay Valuev-David Haye is the best place to look and would provide him a second belt (WBA) opportunity. 

It’s too late to make up for the resume buffers he might have had with a better managed first half of his career.  It will cost him in historical comparison.  Vitali looks like he would be a stiff test for any Heavyweight in history but greatness requires proof somewhere.  In the late 1990s and early 2000s, there were fighters who could have helped with that.  For now, there are not.  Vitali, over time, may be seen as wearing a sort of greatness anyways but is also likely always to be a bigger what if.  At the least, he should be seen overall as better than his brother even if Wladimir has earned the right to be called champion in 2009.

For Arreola, this is not the end.  It is certain we will hear about renewed dedication but is more likely that what was seen Saturday is what we’ll get.  He’ll make some fun fights and, with the right breaks, could still win a belt someday.  There is the urge to ask for more but it’s not fair.  He is what he is and on Saturday what he was in the ring was an honest pug taking his licks like a man.  If he enjoys the rest of life, the real of life, too much to be more than that, so be it.  It will still be good TV while he lasts.

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