Travis Walker Recovering, Looks To Peter

[Mr. David]

Not taking sides in this, but just figured I'd present an article from a respected writer who at the time worked for The Baltimore Sun.

Surgery for Klitschko
WBC champ suffered torn meniscus during workout; he'll have 90 days to reschedule fight with Rahman
By Lem Satterfield
sun reporter
Originally published November 7, 2005
Vitali Klitschko will undergo arthroscopic surgery this week to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, then will have 90 days to reschedule his World Boxing Council heavyweight title fight against Hasim Rahman.

Klitschko said he suffered the knee injury while sparring Thursday in Los Angeles, then called off Saturday's scheduled bout in Las Vegas with Rahman - the fourth time the Ukrainian has pulled out of a match against Rahman, a Baltimore native.

Klitschko's previous injuries - to his fists, thigh and back - forced the postponements of scheduled bouts against Rahman on April 30, June 18 and July 23.

Klitschko (35-2, 34 knockouts) has not fought since a December win over Danny Williams, after which WBC president Jose Sulaiman gave him six months to face Rahman.

Sulaiman extended that time frame due to Klitschko's injuries before the WBC Board of Governors voted July 15 to order him to face the winner of an Aug. 13 interim title fight between Rahman and Monte Barrett, or else be stripped.

Klitschko, 34, successfully pleaded his case to Sulaiman yesterday, however, and will be given another 90 days to face Rahman, pending the result of his surgery - a situation that enraged Rahman's manager, Steve Nelson.

"When you think about it, in sports like baseball, you get three strikes and you're out," Nelson said. "Now, Vitali takes strike four - an opporunity he never should have been given in the first place."

Rahman, 33, was unavailable for comment.

Promoter Bob Arum said Klitschko-Rahman can still take place on HBO pay per view in February, March or April, and that the Thomas & Mack Center, on the Nevada-Las Vegas campus, has available dates in March and May.

Klitschko's manager, Bernd Boente, said the fighter's knee gave out when he attempted "to sidestep and throw a right hand" against Raphael Butler during a sparring session Thursday. "There was no stability in the knee. It was like he was walking on ice," Boente said.

The torn meniscus was discovered in a magnetic resonance imaging test performed early Friday, Boente said. Still, Klitschko attempted, unsuccessfully, to spar Friday night.

Arum then "told us he has connections with someone with great knee braces," Boente said. And on Saturday, Klitschko was seen by Dr. Tony Daly of the Los Angeles Sports Medicine Clinic. Daly told The Sun on Saturday he found "no tears, no swelling" and that Klitschko was "absolutely" fit to fight after an hour-long examination during which he was fitted with a brace.

But the knee gave out again while sparring Saturday evening, said Arum, adding that Klitschko "felt unstable going from side-to-side, even with the brace on, and that he can't fight."

Nelson said Klitschko "is scared of Rock," and said "what's happening is proof positive that he lacks the courage - something we always knew to be the case."

Rahman (41-5-1, 33 KOs) told ESPN.com that he had knowledge that Klitschko's training had gone poorly, that his sparring partners "were knocking him out in the gym."

Boente denied Rahman's assertion. But at least four sources claiming intimate knowledge of Klitschko's training said the champ was floored once each in sessions Wednesday and Thursday and "getting ****** up" by sparring partners Travis Walker and Raphael Butler.

"When you get knocked down, things get twisted. But you're never 100 percent going into a fight because you always tend to get ****** up in camp," said one of the sources. "I believe in his mind, Klitschko thinks his knee is hurt. The only person who knows whether he's really hurt is Vitali Klitschko."

Klitschko earned the nickname, "Quit-schko" after an April 2000 loss to Chris Byrd. Blaming a rotator cuff injury against Byrd, Klitschko did not come out for the 11th round in that fight.

Although stung by the criticism of losing to Byrd, Klitschko told The Sun in September he thought he had redeemed himself in a June 2003 loss to Lennox Lewis. Klitschko was ahead in that fight, also, but it was stopped in the sixth round as the result of a deep gash over his left eye.

"After the Chris Byrd fight, this big boxing guru - I won't tell his name - told me I would never be a world champion. That bothered me, because nobody believed I tore my ligament in my shoulder," Klitschko said. "The criticism was more painful than the injury. It was big motivator. But I showed the guru with the Lennox Lewis fight. After that, he came to me and said he was sorry. He apologized."

Based on the Lewis fight, HBO's Kery Davis considers Klitschko "the heavyweight champion of the world. The WBC is the linear championship," Davis said. "Although Lennox wasn't in the best of shape, Vitali took it to him."

Klitschko "might be the best heavyweight today," said boxing historian Thomas Hauser, "but I am very su****ious of a fighter's credentials being based on a loss."

Fellow champions Byrd and John Ruiz question Klitschko's inactivity, his quality of opposition and his heart.

"I've beaten Hasim Rahman, I've beaten Evander Holyfield. I beat Andrew Golota and I beat Kirk Johnson when he was the No. 1 contender - before Klitschko beat him," said Ruiz, the World Boxing Association king. "Instead of fighting to unify the titles, Klitschko had to be forced to fight Rahman, who I've already beaten."

Klitschko won the WBC crown vacated by the retired Lewis by defeating Corrie Sanders, who "looked like an out-of-shape plumber," said Byrd, the International Boxing Federation champ.

[edgarg]

Not taking sides in this, but just figured I'd present an article from a respected writer who at the time worked for The Baltimore Sun.

Surgery for Klitschko
WBC champ suffered torn meniscus during workout; he'll have 90 days to reschedule fight with Rahman
By Lem Satterfield
sun reporter
Originally published November 7, 2005
Vitali Klitschko will undergo arthroscopic surgery this week to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, then will have 90 days to reschedule his World Boxing Council heavyweight title fight against Hasim Rahman.

Klitschko said he suffered the knee injury while sparring Thursday in Los Angeles, then called off Saturday's scheduled bout in Las Vegas with Rahman - the fourth time the Ukrainian has pulled out of a match against Rahman, a Baltimore native.

Klitschko's previous injuries - to his fists, thigh and back - forced the postponements of scheduled bouts against Rahman on April 30, June 18 and July 23.

Klitschko (35-2, 34 knockouts) has not fought since a December win over Danny Williams, after which WBC president Jose Sulaiman gave him six months to face Rahman.

Sulaiman extended that time frame due to Klitschko's injuries before the WBC Board of Governors voted July 15 to order him to face the winner of an Aug. 13 interim title fight between Rahman and Monte Barrett, or else be stripped.

Klitschko, 34, successfully pleaded his case to Sulaiman yesterday, however, and will be given another 90 days to face Rahman, pending the result of his surgery - a situation that enraged Rahman's manager, Steve Nelson.

"When you think about it, in sports like baseball, you get three strikes and you're out," Nelson said. "Now, Vitali takes strike four - an opporunity he never should have been given in the first place."

Rahman, 33, was unavailable for comment.

Promoter Bob Arum said Klitschko-Rahman can still take place on HBO pay per view in February, March or April, and that the Thomas & Mack Center, on the Nevada-Las Vegas campus, has available dates in March and May.

Klitschko's manager, Bernd Boente, said the fighter's knee gave out when he attempted "to sidestep and throw a right hand" against Raphael Butler during a sparring session Thursday. "There was no stability in the knee. It was like he was walking on ice," Boente said.

The torn meniscus was discovered in a magnetic resonance imaging test performed early Friday, Boente said. Still, Klitschko attempted, unsuccessfully, to spar Friday night.

Arum then "told us he has connections with someone with great knee braces," Boente said. And on Saturday, Klitschko was seen by Dr. Tony Daly of the Los Angeles Sports Medicine Clinic. Daly told The Sun on Saturday he found "no tears, no swelling" and that Klitschko was "absolutely" fit to fight after an hour-long examination during which he was fitted with a brace.

But the knee gave out again while sparring Saturday evening, said Arum, adding that Klitschko "felt unstable going from side-to-side, even with the brace on, and that he can't fight."

Nelson said Klitschko "is scared of Rock," and said "what's happening is proof positive that he lacks the courage - something we always knew to be the case."

Rahman (41-5-1, 33 KOs) told ESPN.com that he had knowledge that Klitschko's training had gone poorly, that his sparring partners "were knocking him out in the gym."

Boente denied Rahman's assertion. But at least four sources claiming intimate knowledge of Klitschko's training said the champ was floored once each in sessions Wednesday and Thursday and "getting ****** up" by sparring partners Travis Walker and Raphael Butler.

"When you get knocked down, things get twisted. But you're never 100 percent going into a fight because you always tend to get ****** up in camp," said one of the sources. "I believe in his mind, Klitschko thinks his knee is hurt. The only person who knows whether he's really hurt is Vitali Klitschko."

Klitschko earned the nickname, "Quit-schko" after an April 2000 loss to Chris Byrd. Blaming a rotator cuff injury against Byrd, Klitschko did not come out for the 11th round in that fight.

Although stung by the criticism of losing to Byrd, Klitschko told The Sun in September he thought he had redeemed himself in a June 2003 loss to Lennox Lewis. Klitschko was ahead in that fight, also, but it was stopped in the sixth round as the result of a deep gash over his left eye.

"After the Chris Byrd fight, this big boxing guru - I won't tell his name - told me I would never be a world champion. That bothered me, because nobody believed I tore my ligament in my shoulder," Klitschko said. "The criticism was more painful than the injury. It was big motivator. But I showed the guru with the Lennox Lewis fight. After that, he came to me and said he was sorry. He apologized."

Based on the Lewis fight, HBO's Kery Davis considers Klitschko "the heavyweight champion of the world. The WBC is the linear championship," Davis said. "Although Lennox wasn't in the best of shape, Vitali took it to him."

Klitschko "might be the best heavyweight today," said boxing historian Thomas Hauser, "but I am very su****ious of a fighter's credentials being based on a loss."

Fellow champions Byrd and John Ruiz question Klitschko's inactivity, his quality of opposition and his heart.

"I've beaten Hasim Rahman, I've beaten Evander Holyfield. I beat Andrew Golota and I beat Kirk Johnson when he was the No. 1 contender - before Klitschko beat him," said Ruiz, the World Boxing Association king. "Instead of fighting to unify the titles, Klitschko had to be forced to fight Rahman, who I've already beaten."

Klitschko won the WBC crown vacated by the retired Lewis by defeating Corrie Sanders, who "looked like an out-of-shape plumber," said Byrd, the International Boxing Federation champ.

Thank you for the info. I believe that your report is what was generally going around at the time, immediately after the injury, when nobody really knew what the damage was, nor how it happened. As you see, some people even say it was all in his mind, and the "bowld" Ruiz got into the act too. ANYTHING for publicity.

I've NEVER heard or read anything about a fist injury, and it is CERTAIN that he did NOT have a thigh injury. He was mistakenly diagnosed with a thigh injury because it all began with a thigh pain. It turned out, from a CT Scan, taken because the pain didn't go away with treatment, that it was REALLY a spinal bony overgrowth which was pressing on the part of the sciatic nerve which went to the thigh. He had a spinal operation. Larry Merchant confiormed all this long ago with the surgeon who perforned the operation. It is LEGIT. I followed it very closely because of my natural interest, and also because I've had the very same operation (twice) for the very same ailment.

The only postponments were the first one (because of the "thigh") and the last (because of the knee) which was permanent. The other "postponments" were only suggesred tentative dates, based on the usual time for thigh muscle tears to heal etc. For those, no arenas were booked, or TV arranged, even no tickets were printed nor advertizing, nor undercards etc...

Even so, Klitschko was perfectly ready to fight Rahman in September, and a date was suggested where everything would fall into place, TV, Arena, undercard et., but Don King pulled a "fast one" by getting his WBC buddies to nominate Rahman-Barrett as an "interim" title fight. They even "swore" that Rahman, if he won, would be "ready, willing, and able" to fight at the end of September, 6 weeks later.

This was a "giveaway" to Rahman, to fight his best pal Barrett I mean, because he either knew, or expected he'd win. The MAJOR benfit- to The Rahman crew, but not the fight fans, (it was a HUGE "stink-out-the-house" bout) was that the interim champ (presumably Rahman) could then demand 45% of the purse for a Klitschko fight, instead of the normal 25%....... King was smart !!

To finish this overlong "drama" I have to "bow-out" from any more discussion with CARLISLE. there's NO WAY to convince the "inconvincable"- so VERY unconvincing himself. {there are Internet articles on this very subject}

Maybe Joe Goosen would believe him, but I don't think that either Travis Walker or Rapael Butler would.

[edgarg]

Wasn't Walker the guy knocked out in 15 seconds by a prison guard? (Or cop, I forget.)

THAT'S the guy !!!

[Mr. David]

Edgar,

We've gone back and forth over the years on Vitali's injuries. For someone who was asking another poster to "produce actual authentic, unfalsified proof," you've yet to do anything of the sort to back up your claims. Nothing, my friend. I'm just asking for some legitimate support, and maybe I'll finally lend some credence to that which you insist.

[edgarg]

Edgar,

We've gone back and forth over the years on Vitali's injuries. For someone who was asking another poster to "produce actual authentic, unfalsified proof," you've yet to do anything of the sort to back up your claims. Nothing, my friend. I'm just asking for some legitimate support, and maybe I'll finally lend some credence to that which you insist.

Apart from looking up the later, verified articles, some evn with sketches from Gray's Anatomy, of the cruciate ligament area, (which are really telling) and also a TV segment of Vitaly Klitschko speaking, another of Manny Steward speaking, another of Larry Merchant describing minutely his exact discussion with the operating surgeon, etc. That should be good enough for the present.

If you weight that against the PR crap of Don King and Rahman saying that Klitschko was scared of Rahman, plus Joe Goosen saying he "heard" something about one of his sparring partners knocking him down (remember Joe Goosen was Walker's trainer, manager, or both) plus a few repeats ALL OF WHICH originally came from the same dubious sources I've just mentioned and achieved a life of their own eventually.

Then stir it up with the fact that an "eye-witness" says that it was BUTLER who knocked klitschko down (but on a DIFFERENT DAY), that Walker may have staggered him, but that Butler also staggered him.......what sort of a foul smelling stew do we have. My legal training allows me to trace each step, throw the whole mess out, holding my nose at the same time.

However, let's question Walker and Butler. They won't say anything about it.....hhmmm.... Let's question DaVarryl Williamson who was THERE, and sparred with Klitschko the day before the fight was called off. he knew NOTHING ABOuT IT except that he's had a fall and damaged his knee. Williamson's comments can be found in many internet articles of his interview. But neither Walker's nor Butler's assertions that the rumours were TRUE, are to be found ANYWHERE.

As I've already said, facts like these would MAKE the fortune of any fighter for his whole career. So why don't they use them?? I'm not basing anything on this lack of use, merely commenting on it. For me, the evidence I have seen is sufficient for me to make up my mind. That is, until properly shown hard evidence to the contrary. So far, this has NOT happened.

[Mr. David]

Here's the thing: There's not a single article -- not online, and not in an extensive database of every single article published by newspapers major and of lesser sizes -- with reference to Vitali Klitschko and the sciatic nerve. None. Not a single one. The only references online came from you.

You're apparently the only person who has seen these television segments. Not a single person with intimate or peripheral knowledge of the business has ever written about Vitali Klitschko and the sciatic nerve. None. Not a single one. The only references online came from you.

I'm not talking any of the sparring stuff here. I'm talking the same claims in re the injuries you've made over and over that have absolutely nothing to support them. Nada. Not a single thing. The only support... comes from you.

In contrast, and in the past, I've pulled up numerous legitimate sources that counteract your claims. And you've failed to bring out exactly what I'm asking for here.

So again, since you raised the same burden of proof for another poster on another topic: How about you "produce actual authentic, unfalsified proof"? Or did your legal training not include gathering evidence?

[edgarg]

Edgar,

We've gone back and forth over the years on Vitali's injuries. For someone who was asking another poster to "produce actual authentic, unfalsified proof," you've yet to do anything of the sort to back up your claims. Nothing, my friend. I'm just asking for some legitimate support, and maybe I'll finally lend some credence to that which you insist.

I should have noticed it. My age, i suppose, but why do you only require "legitimate support" from ME (which I hope I have now given you) but not from those who make wild assertions that novice sparring partners could knock down the World Champion who has not only 34 KO's in his 35 wins, and been HIT HARD BY EXPERTS, but who has also NEVER been knocked down by a punch in his whole career. This last claim has been made by probably 100 writers who've written something about VK. Just key in "Klitschko knocked down" or "Klitschko never knocked down" and you'll find more than you want to see.

[GodOfWar]

I don't even like Sam Peter, but Travis Walker sucks ass and hasn't fought that great of competition. Samuel Peter by ko.

[Mr. David]

I should have noticed it. My age, i suppose, but why do you only require "legitimate support" from ME (which I hope I have now given you) but not from those who make wild assertions that novice sparring partners could knock down the World Champion who has not only 34 KO's in his 35 wins, and been HIT HARD BY EXPERTS, but who has also NEVER been knocked down by a punch in his whole career. This last claim has been made by probably 100 writers who've written something about VK. Just key in "Klitschko knocked down" or "Klitschko never knocked down" and you'll find more than you want to see.

Edgar, as I said in the first post when I asked for "legitimate support," I'm not talking about the training camp sparring. Stop changing the topic and start supporting your claims in re Klitschko's injuries with some actual meat.

[edgarg]

Here's the thing: There's not a single article -- not online, and not in an extensive database of every single article published by newspapers major and of lesser sizes -- with reference to Vitali Klitschko and the sciatic nerve. None. Not a single one. The only references online came from you.

You're apparently the only person who has seen these television segments. Not a single person with intimate or peripheral knowledge of the business has ever written about Vitali Klitschko and the sciatic nerve. None. Not a single one. The only references online came from you.

I'm not talking any of the sparring stuff here. I'm talking the same claims in re the injuries you've made over and over that have absolutely nothing to support them. Nada. Not a single thing. The only support... comes from you.

In contrast, and in the past, I've pulled up numerous legitimate sources that counteract your claims. And you've failed to bring out exactly what I'm asking for here.

So again, since you raised the same burden of proof for another poster on another topic: How about you "produce actual authentic, unfalsified proof"? Or did your legal training not include gathering evidence?

DAVID- You make a good point, if a trifle ascerbic. As I've said, I'm a poor computer operator, but if you can tell me how to transfer a Video clip to you, say on your private Email, I'd be happy to send you Larry Merchant's complete interview, in which he discusses the validity of klitschko's "thigh" injury, which actually turned out to be a spine problem. you can hear him say that he spoke to the operating surgeon himself and VERIFIED the facts.

If you can't tell me, or I can't do it, I'll be happy to take the time, (probably quite a while) to look it up in my videos and name the event, the date, and even, if you require, transcribe exactly what was said. I can't do better than that, and only offer because you have become so negative.