By Mark Workman

On Saturday night, Wladimir Klitschko not only steps into the ring against undefeated Nigerian knockout artist Samuel Peter, but also comes face-to-face with his boxing destiny.

Former WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (44-3, 40 KOs) intends to wage all-out war against 25 year old upstart Samuel Peter (24-0, 21 KOs) at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City in a crossroads fight that will determine his future in boxing.

If Klitschko loses on Saturday, this fight will probably be his swan song, with him most likely disappearing into boxing oblivion and leaving his brother, WBC heavyweight champion Vitali, to carry on the family name in the sweet science.

In an elimination bout for the mandatory challenger position for both the IBF and WBO belts, Klitschko will enter the ring against a ferocious yet untested young fighter whose ring record has been built upon a foundation of 24 matches against some of the least talented in the heavyweight division.

Yet, why have so many fans and boxing insiders been so quick to write off Klitschko, the Ukrainian boxer fighting out of Hamburg, Germany? Many will say it’s because of his 2 high-profile losses over the past 2 and a half years to Corrie Sanders and current WBO champion Lamon Brewster and the belief that the memories of those 2 knockout losses still haunt Klitschko and that he will fold under pressure should he find himself in trouble against the hard-hitting Sam Peter.

And there’s also the popular belief that Wladimir has a chin more fragile than the finest German porcelain.

Even though all of this is part of the equation, the plain fact is that many in the boxing world are simply hoping for Klitschko to lose. Should Wladimir win on Saturday night he comes one step closer to standing alongside his brother as dual heavyweight champions and controlling 50% of the fragmented heavyweight title. This has been the dream of the brothers Klitschko for quite some time now.

Should Klitschko win against Peter, he becomes the mandatory challenger for Chris Byrd’s IBF belt. He has already beaten Byrd in October of 2000, winning a one-sided unanimous decision after knocking Byrd down in the 9th and 11th rounds.

With Byrd now 5 years older, nearing the end of his career and bitter over how the business of boxing has not given him his due, smart money says Klitschko will hand Byrd the same beating as before and quite possibly knock him out, easily picking up the IBF belt should he get past Sam Peter Saturday night.

After defeating Sam Peter, Wladimir could then set himself up for a unification rematch with WBO champion Lamon Brewster who stopped him in the 5th round of their fight in April of 2004, a match for the vacant WBO title where Klitschko simply ran out of gas.
If Brewster gets past Luan Krasniqi on September 28th and Klitschko gets past Sam Peter on Saturday, Wladimir will also earn the opportunity to gain revenge against Brewster and take home his WBO belt that he failed to acquire last year, providing he can learn from his mistakes in their last meeting. But Brewster is now the champion and with that comes a whole new confident mindset.

Providing Klitschko beats Sam Peter, it’s likely he’ll opt to first go after Chris Byrd’s more highly recognized IBF belt, that match being the easier fight against a man he’s already clearly beaten in the past.

Then, providing the unification bout can truly be made, Wladimir Klitschko could find himself in the position of fighting a rematch against WBO champion Lamon Brewster. And, of course, brother Vitali could also end up playing a part in this WBO scenario.

If Wladimir defeats Peter and either Klitschko should also pick up the WBO belt, the brothers would hold between them 75% of the heavyweight crown. And all of this, of course, depends on brother Vitali winning against Hasim Rahman on November 12th, something I’m confident he’ll do.

That then leaves either Klitschko brother with the option to go after John Ruiz’s WBA belt, providing Ruiz and Don King accept the challenge. Ruiz turns 34 on January 4th and his best years are clearly behind him, so it’s doubtful he could now beat either Klitschko brother at their best. But we still need to see exactly what is left of the best of Wladimir when he fights Sam Peter.

Upon seeing this entire picture come to fruition in favor of the Klitschko brothers, the entire heavyweight crown would end up in their collective hands. They have always made it very clear that they will never fight each other, so the chances of there being an undisputed heavyweight champion is nil as long as the brothers Klitschko hold all 4 pieces of the heavyweight title between them.

The thought of all 4 championship belts being held by the 2 Klitschko brothers in Germany is frightening to many American promoters and fighters. Much has been made of shady judging decisions in Germany and many fighters such as IBF super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy refuse to fight there.

If both Klitschko brothers end up owning all of the pieces of the heavyweight title, many fear they’ll never leave Germany to defend them, preferring the comfort and safety of home court judging. But then what does any challenger really have to lose except a close decision?

Before Wladimir’s 2nd round KO loss to Corrie Sanders in March of 2003—a fight in which Sanders had him on the canvas in the 1st and 2nd rounds—the boxing world had always viewed him as the more dominant and promising of the 2 Klitschko brothers. Today Vitali, the WBC champion, is clearly recognized as the man in the heavyweight division.

Vitali has certainly had his bumps in the road along the way to his current status as heavyweight champion, losing to Lennox Lewis in a fight that many thought he was winning but was stopped at the end of the 6th round due to a cut, and before that losing to Chris Byrd in a fight where Vitali quit due to a shoulder injury he suffered in the match.

Sam Peter, who fights out of Las Vegas, not only has upon him the pressure of winning in Atlantic City Saturday night but also carries on his powerful shoulders the weight of keeping the future of the heavyweight title in the United States and away from what many believes will be the monopoly stranglehold the Klitschko brothers will place upon it.

If Peter should lose on Saturday night, he can rebound from the loss as long as he fights an exciting competitive fight and isn’t completely outclassed and embarrassed. If he does lose badly everyone will say he’s an overrated fighter created by the media and manufactured by smart handlers through a craftily-built record fighting bums, and his career will take a significant step backwards. But at the age of 25, he could eventually rebound after winning fights against much stronger opposition and truly proving himself.

If Klitschko is KO’d by Sam Peter his career is pretty much in the dumpster and he’ll probably retire. Although, I think he could probably continue fighting a bit longer in Germany on a lesser level and make something of a living in that country where he’s a star.

Over the past 22 years I’ve been to Hamburg and traveled throughout the rest of Germany more times than I could ever remember; and even though the Klitschkos aren’t German, Germany does consider them their own.

There’s not a person in that country who doesn’t know who they are, boxing fans or not. If only the current heavyweight champions were that well known in America, boxing would certainly be in a much more popular position in the USA.

Will a win by Peter speak more for his true talent level or more for what Wladimir doesn’t have left as a fighter? All of that remains to be seen and proven on Saturday night.

Sam Peter is looking to gain respect in boxing and prove that he’s here to stay and is a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division. Wladimir Klitschko is out to prove that his last 2 KO losses to Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster were flukes and that he can put them behind him once and for all and be heavyweight champion again.

If Klitschko can fend off Sam Peter’s initial attack by using his quick jab and powerful right hand and utilize his 4 inch reach and 5 ½ inch height advantages to their fullest capacity he might be able to take Sam Peter past round 5—a place he’s been only 3 times in 24 fights—and do what others have not yet done: test his chin and stamina and knock him out.

Peter is currently riding a very high wave of confidence coming into this fight, his last 4 matches ending in exciting knockout victories and all coming by the end of round 5 but against much less talented opponents than Wladimir Klitschko.

But the immense concussive power Sam Peter holds in both hands cannot be denied, and he truly believes that he will win. Those are serious advantages. And the fact that Wladimir’s confidence may not be rock-solid due to his past devastating losses is clearly a disadvantage.

In Atlantic City Saturday night Wladimir Klitschko will stand in the intersection of the crossroads of his career and Sam Peter will try to run him down like a Mack truck out of control and make Klitschko’s destination with destiny the most important part of his own.

With comments about this article, you can email Mark Workman at mark@markworkman.com