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There’s an old saying that you’ve probably heard that goes something like this: “If that was going to happen, it would have happened already.”
So it is with IBF Heavyweight titlist Wladimir Klitschko who is preparing to face Cleveland’s Ray “The Rainman” Austin Saturday night in Mannheim, Germany. While Klitschko has been ranked at or near the top of the heavyweight division for several years and while many thought that he might be “the one” to pull the heavyweight division up by the laces on its boxing shoes, it just hasn’t happened.
He had a stellar amateur boxing career and capped it off by winning a gold medal representing the Ukraine at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He obtained a Doctorate in Sports Science from the University of Kiev, won his first twenty-four pro fights, appeared in the remake of the movie “Ocean’s Eleven” and has earned millions of dollars in boxing purses. He has also won two heavyweight title belts while simultaneously serving as a humanitarian ambassador for the United Nations. For most people that would be a great career, for Wladimir Klitschko and the fickle public, it still hasn’t been enough.
Despite the fact that three of his last four opponents have been undefeated with a collective record of 110 wins versus only 2 losses, despite the fact that he knocked out the universally recognized top heavyweight in the world in Chris Byrd and decisioned the number one contender in Samuel Peter and despite the fact that he has lost only three times in 50 fights with 42 knockouts – it still hasn’t been enough. [details]
So it is with IBF Heavyweight titlist Wladimir Klitschko who is preparing to face Cleveland’s Ray “The Rainman” Austin Saturday night in Mannheim, Germany. While Klitschko has been ranked at or near the top of the heavyweight division for several years and while many thought that he might be “the one” to pull the heavyweight division up by the laces on its boxing shoes, it just hasn’t happened.
He had a stellar amateur boxing career and capped it off by winning a gold medal representing the Ukraine at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He obtained a Doctorate in Sports Science from the University of Kiev, won his first twenty-four pro fights, appeared in the remake of the movie “Ocean’s Eleven” and has earned millions of dollars in boxing purses. He has also won two heavyweight title belts while simultaneously serving as a humanitarian ambassador for the United Nations. For most people that would be a great career, for Wladimir Klitschko and the fickle public, it still hasn’t been enough.
Despite the fact that three of his last four opponents have been undefeated with a collective record of 110 wins versus only 2 losses, despite the fact that he knocked out the universally recognized top heavyweight in the world in Chris Byrd and decisioned the number one contender in Samuel Peter and despite the fact that he has lost only three times in 50 fights with 42 knockouts – it still hasn’t been enough. [details]