Wladimir Klitschko Continues to Reinvent Himself

Published

10 years ago

February 6, 2015

NEW YORK – Wladimir Klitschko, it would appear, has found his Seven-Year Niche.

When last the younger of boxing’s two dominant heavyweights fought here, a thoroughly bland unanimous decision over Russia’s Sultan Ibragimov on Feb. 23, 2008, in Madison Square Garden, he was markedly different, both in and out of the ring. The “Dr. Steelhammer” who returns to this side of the pond after 13 title defenses in Europe very well may be a new and improved model for his HBO-televised April 25 title defense against undefeated Philadelphian Bryant “By-By” Jennings, also in the Garden. Maybe it really is possible for an old dog to learn new tricks, or a 39-in-March-year-old fighter to add a few sprinkles and swirls to what many Americans had perceived, rightly or wrongly, to be a plain-vanilla persona.

For one thing – and this is important – there is a strong likelihood that Jennings (19-0, 10 KOs) will provide the sort of determined resistance that Ibragimov, who clearly was in survival mode from the opening bell against the much larger, much harder-hitting Klitschko, did not. As Klitschko (63-3, 54 KOs) noted at Wednesday’s upbeat media gathering, it takes two to tangle. If he occasionally happens to find himself in there with an opponent who refuses to engage, Klitschko is too smart – what else can you say of a man who speaks four languages (Ukrainian, Russian, German and English) and holds a Ph.D. in sports science from the University of Kiev? – to try to force something that doesn’t naturally fit. The wise boxer does whatever is necessary to win and move on to the next bout and next set of variables to figure out.

“I cannot make the fight by myself,” reasoned Klitschko, who holds the IBF, WBO, WBA, The Ring and lineal championships. “I need somebody who wants to fight back. That’s what makes an exciting fight. If somebody just doesn’t want to get knocked out, it’s very difficult because you have to chase him.

“There have been different fights I’ve had in the 25 years of my career. I do have different qualities of boxing and punching and, if it’s needed, of clinching. It doesn’t matter. I know the game and I know how to win, to have lasted this long.”

In Germany, where Klitschko’s popularity is such that he’s sort of a Teutonic amalgamation of American sports icons LeBron James, Tom Brady and Derek Jeter, nobody seems to mind if the strategic options available to him swing from displays of pulverizing power to technical expertise to something akin to Greco-Roman grappling, as was the case in his unanimous-decision victory over Alexander Povetkin on Oct. 5, 2013, in Moscow, a snore-a-thon that featured 160-plus clinches, most of which were initiated by the 6-6½, 245-pound Ukrainian. On these cynical shores, haters are going to hate, but in the Fatherland Wlad the Impaler can do no wrong. Six of the 13 title defenses he’s made since beating Ibragimov had been in sold-out soccer stadiums, and seven in sold-out arenas.

Seldom, however, has Klitschko’s star shone as brightly in the United States as it does in Europe. So why was HBO Sports boss Ken Hershman smiling like the cat that ate the canary during the champ’s turn at the podium? Well, it might be because Klitschko-Jennings might actually turn out to be the entertaining heavyweight slugfest so many seem to think it will be, and maybe it’s because the proposed megafight that tentatively is scheduled to take place on May 2 in Las Vegas, which was to have paired superstar welterweight champions Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, and be jointly televised via pay-per-view by both HBO and Showtime, remains, as always, in perpetual tease mode. With each passing day and no agreement finalized, it appears that Money May and Pac-Man will settle for their own Plans B, which can only serve to further alienate a public that has wearied of their ongoing circle dance. If Mayweather-Pacquiao doesn’t happen – again – Klitschko-Jennings has center stage all to itself.

Klitschko seems much more prepared to seize the moment than he was in previous journeys to America. The robotic, monotone guy whom many depicted as a real-life Ivan Drago prior to his unification bout with Ibragimov has, well, loosened up quite a bit. Perhaps that’s because he’s pumped at becoming a father for the first time (fiancée Hayden Panetierre bore him a daughter, Kayla, on Dec. 8). More likely, it is the natural progression of a man who seems much more comfortable in his own skin and in an American setting that has not always been accommodating to him and to older brother Vitali, the former WBC heavyweight ruler. This Wlad is stand-up-comedian funny and insightful on any number of issues, from parenthood to the armed conflict on the Crimean peninsula, to his dream of representing Ukraine in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, which could be an outside possibility if AIBA (the international governing body for Olympic-style boxing), opens the sport without restriction to pros as is now the case in basketball, track and hockey.

On becoming a father: “I’ve been watching how my brother’s life has changed. He has three kids – two boys and a girl. He also said something that is more related to boxing. He said, `As father, I punch harder.’ So I’m, like, OK with that. Let’s see if it is true on April 25.”

On the continuing hostilities in Ukraine between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels who support that nation’s attempt to annex Crimea: “I am very aware of the struggle of the Ukrainian people, and the aggression that came from Russia. It is a situation that’s almost impossible to imagine, that during the day a city can be bombarded with rockets and schools are being hit, all because of the geopolitical ambitions of Russia. The world needs to pay attention to what’s going on. It’s not just a local problem. It’s a world problem. Nobody knows what it’s going to lead to. Nobody knows what it’s going to lead to. Who knows, maybe China says Siberia is ours, or Germany says part of Poland is ours, or Russia says Kazakhstan is ours.”

Of his vision of adding an Olympic gold medal in 2016, 20 years after he took gold in the super heavyweight division at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics: “That is my dream, to fight in the Olympics again, 20 years later, and to win the gold medal again. AIBA needs to get along with professional boxers. I know about the rules, that a certain number of pro bouts are allowed. Right now I’m not familiar with that. But, yeah, if there is a chance, I would love to participate. In every other sport, Olympic athletes can play professional and still compete. It’s a shame for boxing that professional boxers cannot perform in the Olympics.”

On the possibility of Vitali, who is 43 and whose last bout was in 2012, coming out of retirement to fight again: “Sometimes before my fights when he gets in, he says, `Man, this is such an exciting time, and I’m missing it.’ But he has responsibility now, as mayor of Kiev, for four million people.”

An interesting individual, this Dr. Steelhammer. But always the question remains as the pages of the calendar inexorably turn: How much gas is left in his tank at almost 39? Promoter Gary Shaw, who works with Jennings, said it is not out of the question that Klitschko will get old in a hurry against the 30-year-old challenger, who vows to throw all that he has at a man who will be appearing in his 27th world title bout.

“When people ask me what the outcome of the fight will be, I say, `It’s going to end in a knockout,’” Jennings said. “It’s either going to be me or him.’ One of us is going down. But guess what? I don’t think it’s going to be me.”

Added Shaw: “Twenty-five years ago, on Feb. 11 (1990), Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson. I believe on April 25, history will once again be made for an American heavyweight to do something spectacular. But this time, instead of being overseas (Tyson-Douglas was in Tokyo), it’ll be here in the United States.”

And here in the United States is the last frontier that Klitschko needs to conquer. It is at least that portion of the globe that he needs to reclaim for his perch upon the most gilded of thrones to be fully legitimized.

“`World champion’ means champion of the entire world,” Klitschko said. “You have to go around the world, like Muhammad Ali did in another time. I remember when my brother and I met Max Schmeling (the former heavyweight titlist who was 99 when he died in 2005). He said, `Guys, if you really want to make it, you have to make it in the States.’

“Fifteen years ago, I was fighting on the undercard of Michael Grant and Lennox Lewis, at Madison Square Garden. Was exciting night. That is the dream of every performer and entertainer, to be in main event at Madison Square Garden. There’s nothing better than this arena, worldwide. If you make it this far, it means you really made it. Frank Sinatra said it right. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Madison Square Garden IS New York. I’m glad to be back.”

If Jennings is correct – and the fight ends in a knockout, preferably of the spectacular variety – boxing can only benefit, regardless of whether Mayweather and Pacquiao continue to play their infuriating game of hide-and-seek. With Deontay Wilder the new holder of the WBC title, by virtue of his unanimous decision over Bermane Stiverne on Jan. 17, the U.S. has its first heavyweight champ of any sort since Shannon Briggs in 2007. A Jennings shocker over Klitschko would again return all the belts to America, and if Klitschko is the man who gets there first with a big bomb, he again will figure prominently in HBO’s plans moving forward. That is quite a reversal for a man who, along with his brother Vitali, was all but shown the door by then-HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg in 2010. Asked about the Klitschkos, Greenburg dismissively said the pay-cable giant has “stopped playing in that sandbox.”

Times change. Attitudes can be adjusted. Wladimir Klitschko has now been repackaged for American consumption, and on April 25 a nation of would-be skeptics can see if the metamorphosis meets with its collective approval.

It’s hardly out of the question. Remember, Klitschko’s late trainer, Emanuel Steward, was unstinting in his appraisal of what Wlad was, and even more of what he could be if only more opponents elected to meet him strength-on-strength.

“For one-punch power, Wladimir tops them all,” Steward said. “If he ever became more aggressive and just went after people, he could be the most devastating puncher ever. I’ve trained many fighters, and Wladimir is one of the few who can turn the lights out without using the dimmer switch first.”

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Bernard Fernandez

“Breadman” Edwards: An Unlikely Boxing Coach with a Panoramic View of the Sport

Published

6 hours ago

May 8, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Stephen “Breadman” Edwards’ first fighter won a world title. That may be some sort of record.

It’s true. Edwards had never trained a fighter, amateur or pro, before taking on professional novice Julian “J Rock” Williams. On May 11, 2019, Williams wrested the IBF 154-pound world title from Jarrett Hurd. The bout, a lusty skirmish, was in Fairfax, Virginia, near Hurd’s hometown in Maryland, and the previously undefeated Hurd had the crowd in his corner.

In boxing, Stephen Edwards wears two hats. He has a growing reputation as a boxing coach, a hat he will wear on Saturday, May 31, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas when the two fighters that he currently trains, super middleweight Caleb Plant and middleweight Kyrone Davis, display their wares on a show that will air on Amazon Prime Video. Plant, who needs no introduction, figures to have little trouble with his foe in a match conceived as an appetizer to a showdown with Jermall Charlo. Davis, coming off his career-best win, an upset of previously undefeated Elijah Garcia, is in tough against fast-rising Cuban prospect Yoenli Hernandez, a former world amateur champion.

Edwards’ other hat is that of a journalist. His byline appears at “Boxing Scene” in a column where he answers questions from readers.

It’s an eclectic bag of questions that Breadman addresses, ranging from his thoughts on an upcoming fight to his thoughts on one of the legendary prizefighters of olden days. Boxing fans, more so than fans of any other sport, enjoy hashing over fantasy fights between great fighters of different eras. Breadman is very good at this, which isn’t to suggest that his opinions are gospel, merely that he always has something provocative to add to the discourse. Like all good historians, he recognizes that the best history is revisionist history.

“Fighters are constantly mislabled,” he says. “Everyone talks about Joe Louis’s right hand. But if you study him you see that his left hook is every bit as good as his right hand and it’s more sneaky in terms of shock value when it lands.”

Stephen “Breadman” Edwards was born and raised in Philadelphia. His father died when he was three. His maternal grandfather, a Korean War veteran, filled the void. The man was a big boxing fan and the two would watch the fights together on the family television.

Edwards’ nickname dates to his early teen years when he was one of the best basketball players in his neighborhood. The derivation is the 1975 movie “Cornbread, Earl and Me,” starring Laurence Fishburne in his big screen debut. Future NBA All-Star Jamaal Wilkes, fresh out of UCLA, plays Cornbread, a standout high school basketball player who is mistakenly murdered by the police.

Coming out of high school, Breadman had to choose between an academic scholarship at Temple or an athletic scholarship at nearby Lincoln University. He chose the former, intending to major in criminal justice, but didn’t stay in college long. What followed were a succession of jobs including a stint as a city bus driver. To stay fit, he took to working out at the James Shuler Memorial Gym where he sparred with some of the regulars, but he never boxed competitively.

Over the years, Philadelphia has harbored some great boxing coaches. Among those of recent vintage, the names George Benton, Bouie Fisher, Nazeem Richardson, and Bozy Ennis come quickly to mind. Breadman names Richardson and West Coast trainer Virgil Hunter as the men that have influenced him the most.

We are all a product of our times, so it’s no surprise that the best decade of boxing, in Breadman’s estimation, was the 1980s. This was the era of the “Four Kings” with Sugar Ray Leonard arguably standing tallest.

Breadman was a big fan of Leonard and of Leonard’s three-time rival Roberto Duran. “I once purchased a DVD that had all of Roberto Duran’s title defenses on it,” says Edwards. “This was a back before the days of YouTube.”

But Edwards’ interest in the sport goes back much deeper than the 1980s. He recently weighed in on the “Pittsburgh Windmill” Harry Greb whose legend has grown in recent years to the point that some have come to place him above Sugar Ray Robinson on the list of the greatest of all time.

“Greb was a great fighter with a terrific resume, of that there is no doubt,” says Breadman, “but there is no video of him and no one alive ever saw him fight, so where does this train of thought come from?”

Edwards notes that in Harry Greb’s heyday, he wasn’t talked about in the papers as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. The boxing writers were partial to Benny Leonard who drew comparisons to the venerated Joe Gans.

Among active fighters, Breadman reserves his highest praise for Terence Crawford. “Body punching is a lost art,” he once wrote. “[Crawford] is a great body puncher who starts his knockouts with body punches, but those punches are so subtle they are not fully appreciated.”

If the opening line holds up, Crawford will enter the ring as the underdog when he opposes Canelo Alvarez in September. Crawford, who will enter the ring a few weeks shy of his 38^th birthday, is actually the older fighter, older than Canelo by almost three full years (it doesn’t seem that way since the Mexican redhead has been in the public eye so much longer), and will theoretically be rusty as 13 months will have elapsed since his most recent fight.

Breadman discounts those variables. “Terence is older,” he says, “but has less wear and tear and never looks rusty after a long layoff.” That Crawford will win he has no doubt, an opinion he tweaked after Canelo’s performance against William Scull: “Canelo’s legs are not the same. Bud may even stop him now.”

Edwards has been with Caleb Plant for Plant’s last three fights. Their first collaboration produced a Knockout of the Year candidate. With one ferocious left hook, Plant sent Anthony Dirrell to dreamland. What followed were a 12-round setback to David Benavidez and a ninth-round stoppage of Trevor McCumby.

Breadman keeps a hectic schedule. From Monday through Friday, he’s at the DLX Gym in Las Vegas coaching Caleb Plant and Kyrone Davis. On weekends, he’s back in Philadelphia, checking in on his investment properties and, of greater importance, watching his kids play sports. His 14-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son are standout all-around athletes.

On those long flights, he has plenty of time to turn on his laptop and stream old fights or perhaps work on his next article. That’s assuming he can stay awake.

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Arne’s Almanac: The Good, the Bad, and the (Mostly) Ugly; a Weekend Boxing Recap and More

Published

2 days ago

May 6, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Arne's-Almanac-The-Good-the-Bad-and-the-(mostly)-Ugly-A-Weeend-Boxing-Recap-and-More

Arne’s Almanac: The Good, the Bad, and the (Mostly) Ugly; a Weekend Boxing Recap and More

It’s old news now, but on back-to-back nights on the first weekend of May, there were three fights that finished in the top six snoozefests ever as measured by punch activity. That’s according to CompuBox which has been around for 40 years.

In Times Square, the boxing match between Devin Haney and Jose Carlos Ramirez had the fifth-fewest number of punches thrown, but the main event, Ryan Garcia vs. Rolly Romero, was even more of a snoozefest, landing in third place on this ignoble list.

Those standings would be revised the next night – knocked down a peg when Canelo Alvarez and William Scull combined to throw a historically low 445 punches in their match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 152 by the victorious Canelo who at least pressed the action, unlike Scull (pictured) whose effort reminded this reporter of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” – no, not the movie starring Paul Newman, just the title.

CompuBox numbers, it says here, are best understood as approximations, but no amount of rejiggering can alter the fact that these three fights were stinkers. Making matters worse, these were pay-per-views. If one had bundled the two events, rather than buying each separately, one would have been out $90 bucks.

****

Thankfully, the Sunday card on ESPN from Las Vegas was redemptive. It was just what the sport needed at this moment – entertaining fights to expunge some of the bad odor. In the main go, Naoya Inoue showed why he trails only Shohei Ohtani as the most revered athlete in Japan.

Throughout history, the baby-faced assassin has been a boxing promoter’s dream. It’s no coincidence that down through the ages the most common nickname for a fighter – and by an overwhelming margin — is “Kid.”

And that partly explains Naoya Inoue’s charisma. The guy is 32 years old, but here in America he could pass for 17.

Joey Archer

Joey Archer, who passed away last week at age 87 in Rensselaer, New York, was one of the last links to an era of boxing identified with the nationally televised Friday Night Fights at Madison Square Garden.

Joey Archer

Archer made his debut as an MSG headliner on Feb. 4, 1961, and had 12 more fights at the iconic mid-Manhattan sock palace over the next six years. The final two were world title fights with defending middleweight champion Emile Griffith.

Archer etched his name in the history books in November of 1965 in Pittsburgh where he won a comfortable 10-round decision over Sugar Ray Robinson, sending the greatest fighter of all time into retirement. (At age 45, Robinson was then far past his peak.)

Born and raised in the Bronx, Joey Archer was a cutie; a clever counter-puncher recognized for his defense and ultimately for his granite chin. His style was embedded in his DNA and reinforced by his mentors.

Early in his career, Archer was domiciled in Houston where he was handled by veteran trainer Bill Gore who was then working with world lightweight champion Joe Brown. Gore would ride into the Hall of Fame on the coattails of his most famous fighter, “Will-o’-the Wisp” Willie Pep. If Joey Archer had any thoughts of becoming a banger, Bill Gore would have disabused him of that notion.

In all honesty, Archer’s style would have been box office poison if he had been black. It helped immensely that he was a native New Yorker of Irish stock, albeit the Irish angle didn’t have as much pull as it had several decades earlier. But that observation may not be fair to Archer who was bypassed twice for world title fights after upsetting Hurricane Carter and Dick Tiger.

When he finally caught up with Emile Griffith, the former hat maker wasn’t quite the fighter he had been a few years earlier but Griffith, a two-time Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the BWAA and a future first ballot Hall of Famer, was still a hard nut to crack.

Archer went 30 rounds with Griffith, losing two relatively tight decisions and then, although not quite 30 years old, called it quits. He finished 45-4 with 8 KOs and was reportedly never knocked down, yet alone stopped, while answering the bell for 365 rounds. In retirement, he ran two popular taverns with his older brother Jimmy Archer, a former boxer who was Joey’s trainer and manager late in Joey’s career.

May he rest in peace.

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Bombs Away in Las Vegas where Inoue and Espinoza Scored Smashing Triumphs

Published

4 days ago

May 4, 2025

David A. Avila

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Japan’s Naoya “Monster” Inoue banged it out with Mexico’s Ramon Cardenas, survived an early knockdown and pounded out a stoppage win to retain the undisputed super bantamweight world championship on Sunday.

Japan and Mexico delivered for boxing fans again after American stars failed in back-to-back days.

“By watching tonight’s fight, everyone is well aware that I like to brawl,” Inoue said.

Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs), and Cardenas (26-2, 14 KOs) and his wicked left hook, showed the world and 8,474 fans at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas that prizefighting is about punching, not running.

After massive exposure for three days of fights that began in New York City, then moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and then to Nevada, it was the casino capital of the world that delivered what most boxing fans appreciate- pure unadulterated action fights.

Monster Inoue immediately went to work as soon as the opening bell rang with a consistent attack on Cardenas, who very few people knew anything about.

One thing promised by Cardenas’ trainer Joel Diaz was that his fighter “can crack.”

Cardenas proved his trainer’s words truthful when he caught Inoue after a short violent exchange with a short left hook and down went the Japanese champion on his back. The crowd was shocked to its toes.

“I was very surprised,” said Inoue about getting dropped. ““In the first round, I felt I had good distance. It got loose in the second round. From then on, I made sure to not take that punch again.”

Inoue had no trouble getting up, but he did have trouble avoiding some of Cardenas massive blows delivered with evil intentions. Though Inoue did not go down again, a look of total astonishment blanketed his face.

A real fight was happening.

Cardenas, who resembles actor Andy Garcia, was never overly aggressive but kept that left hook of his cocked and ready to launch whenever he saw the moment. There were many moments against the hyper-aggressive Inoue.

Both fighters pack power and both looked to find the right moment. But after Inoue was knocked down by the left hook counter, he discovered a way to eliminate that weapon from Cardenas. Still, the Texas-based fighter had a strong right too.

In the sixth round Inoue opened up with one of his lightning combinations responsible for 10 consecutive knockout wins. Cardenas backed against the ropes and Inoue blasted away with blow after blow. Then suddenly, Cardenas turned Inoue around and had him on the ropes as the Mexican fighter unloaded nasty combinations to the body and head. Fans roared their approval.

“I dreamed about fighting in front of thousands of people in Las Vegas,” said Cardenas. “So, I came to give everything.”

Inoue looked a little surprised and had a slight Mona Lisa grin across his face. In the seventh round, the Japanese four-division world champion seemed ready to attack again full force and launched into the round guns blazing. Cardenas tried to catch Inoue again with counter left hooks but Inoue’s combos rained like deadly hail. Four consecutive rights by Inoue blasted Cardenas almost through the ropes. The referee Tom Taylor ruled it a knockdown. Cardenas beat the count and survived the round.

In the eighth round Inoue looked eager to attack and at the bell launched across the ring and unloaded more blows on Cardenas. A barrage of 14 unanswered blows forced the referee to stop the fight at 45 seconds of round eight for a technical knockout win.

“I knew he was tough,” said Inoue. “Boxing is not that easy.”

Espinoza Wins

WBO featherweight titlist Rafael Espinosa (27-0, 23 KOs) uppercut his way to a knockout win over Edward Vazquez (17-3, 4 KOs) in the seventh round.

“I wanted to fight a game fighter to show what I am capable,” said Espinoza.

Espinosa used the leverage of his six-foot, one-inch height to slice uppercuts under the guard of Vazquez. And when the tall Mexican from Guadalajara targeted the body, it was then that the Texas fighter began to wilt. But he never surrendered.

Though he connected against Espinoza in every round, he was not able to slow down the taller fighter and that allowed the Mexican fighter to unleash a 10-punch barrage including four consecutive uppercuts. The referee stopped the fight at 1:47 of the seventh round.

It was Espinoza’s third title defense.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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