Would Prime Klitschko Have Beaten Fury ?

Published

9 years ago

December 2, 2015

This past weekend WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight title holder Wladimir Klitschko 64-4 (53) lost all three of his title straps to Tyson Fury 25-0 (18) via unanimous decision. Fury’s somewhat stunning upset ended Klitschko’s 9 1/2-year reign (2nd only to Joe Louis’ 12-year reign as heavyweight champ) as the alpha fighter in what used to be boxing’s flagship division. Klitschko, for much of his duration as champ was the subject of conjecture in regards to how good or great he was or wasn’t. Some viewed him as one of the greats and others thought he was nothing more than a huge physical presence and just a big fish in a small pond. His fights weren’t terribly exciting because Wladimir did a lot of holding and clinching as a result of being stopped three times before he became a full-flowered fighter under the guidance of head trainer Emmanuel Steward.

Under Steward, Wladimir learned how to use his size and reach and to fight like a big man. And boy did that pay dividends for him, especially against the more physically limited opponents he defended his titles against. If you go back and read what was stated in this space before many of Wladimir’s title defenses, you’ll note that it was often highlighted that everybody he fights, must first address what he’s going to do against them – before they can devise their counter attack….Something that changed drastically the night he met Tyson Fury, who at 6’9″ is three inches taller with a two inch reach advantage, something Wladimir seldom was ever confronted with.

Now with Wladimir days removed from losing to Fury, the boxing community has it’s panties in a bunch going back and forth as to whether or not Fury, 27, would’ve defeated Wladimir, 39, if he was at or near his physical prime, which clearly wasn’t the case on November 28, 2015. While in the ring with Fury, Klitschko looked as if he aged in dog years during particular patches of the bout. Those defending Klitschko for his poor showing have countered that Joe Louis was 37 when 28 year old Rocky Marciano knocked him out of the ring, Muhammad Ali was 39 when 30 year old Larry Holmes pummeled him for seven of the 10 rounds the fight went, and Holmes was 38 when 21 year old Mike Tyson stopped Larry in four rounds. Historically, despite those one-sided beatings, Louis ranks above Marciano, Ali ranks above Holmes and Holmes ranks above Tyson.

Okay, I get it, the old great was clearly at a disadvantage, but styles did play a part in the above like in the Klitschko-Fury bout.

Prime-for-prime, I’d take Louis over Marciano, but Joe often said he had trouble with swarmers like Rocky. I’d take the best Ali I ever saw over the best Holmes I ever saw, but Larry was almost a mirror image of Muhammad and Ali always had trouble with guys who could jab, and Holmes owned one of the greatest jabs in heavyweight history. As for prime Holmes versus prime Tyson, I like Larry to do what Buster Douglas did, only more convincingly. However, Holmes never fought one good let alone great attacker like Tyson, and the fighters who did pressure him like Ken Norton and Mike Weaver did, gave Larry two of his toughest fights during his seven year title tenure. Prime-for-prime, it’s not automatic that Klitschko beats Fury although he’d have to be considered the favorite.

Yes, the Klitschko-Fury bout was nearly impossible to watch, and the overall mean of fighting during it was not worthy of having the words heavyweight championship of the world attached to it. That said, Fury’s size, style, awkwardness and lack of fear would’ve always given Wladimir, if not an ulcer, at least bad indigestion. During Klitschko’s reign as champ, I gave him his props but dully noted that his size, being 6’6″ with good form and athleticism played a big part in his success. Sure, he fought some big opponents, but most of them were just that, big. Not one of them were close to being a good technician, most were too awed and scared to fight him, and the others lacked the skill and punch to bother him. In Tyson Fury, for the first time, he had a fighter in front of him who he not only had to look up to, but also couldn’t just extend his left arm like it was a leg and keep Tyson away from him. Fury took that luxury away and knew his jab would keep Klitschko occupied and befuddled like he never was before in his career.

Wladimir, in past bouts used his jab to keep his opponents away and once they were blunted by the jab, BAM, he’d cut loose with the disguised right hand and that would usually be the beginning of the end. Other than one-twos and an occasional hook off the jab, Wladimir never punched in combination because it was too risky. He fully grasped that when he let his hands go, even against an opponent who was often in retreat, he was vulnerable and open. He also never went to the body because he had to bring his hands down and that would leave his chin open, so it wasn’t worth the risk. Another hole in his game was, due to his size, upper-body and head movement wasn’t a staple of his game. In the main, Wladimir never had to take any risk. The jab worked offensively and defensively and the right, when the opponent sensed he had to take a risk if winning was the goal, usually was tug in the middle of a desperate exchange. A very simplistic strategy, but one cannot dispute the end result.

The above formula worked beautifully for Wladimir and that alone would cause a lot of past greats trouble. However, against Tyson Fury it didn’t cut it. For once Wladimir was getting peppered with a pesky jab, and just when he thought he could match Fury’s jab, Tyson either moved, switched to southpaw or grabbed and clinched him, exposing another thing Klitschko couldn’t do; fight on the inside. Another thing Fury did was use head and shoulder feints, which really exposed just how much Wladimir feared getting nailed with a sucker shot. The moderate feints usually caused Klitschko to interrupt whatever he was doing or on the verge of doing. For once Klitschko had to address what his opponent was doing to him, and doing so while getting hit and mocked totally unnerved him psychologically. With just a little movement and slipping Wladimir could’ve perhaps got inside and ripped Fury’s body….but he never needed head movement or had to work the body before. Couple that with his reluctance to assume risk, you saw what you got. And that was a big strong guy lumbering around the ring looking for one punch to end the fight. A problem which became exponentially bigger because Wladimir would only let loose if he felt it was safe and Tyson couldn’t counter him.

For the better part of 12-rounds Wladimir Klitschko was asked many questions strategically by Tyson Fury that he never had been before. This wasn’t an accident, Tyson and his team did a terrific job getting ready for Klitschko from a fundamental and strategic perspective. Against Fury, whose size, reach and movement presented him a conundrum like he never had to deal with before in over 19 years as a pro – many of his deficiencies as a fighter were exposed? And I’m not sure that wouldn’t have been the case had Wladimir been at his peak.

It’s been recently reported that Wladimir is going to exercise the return clause in his contract and fight Tyson again. So I ask, what will change in the rematch? It’s not in Wladimir’s nature to come out bombing the way Lennox Lewis did against Andrew Golota. And if he doesn’t do that, is it plausible to think he’s going to cut off the ring and beat Fury ‘s body and slow him down, making it easier to plant some big right hands on his chin; I don’t know. And what if Fury survives and thrives in the early going of the rematch? Will Wladimir lose gumption and revert back to a walking statue looking for the perfect shot to pull the fight out as the rounds go by?

Again, I don’t know, and that’s why as dreadful as the first fight was, I want to see the rematch.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

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Frank Lotierzo

Avila Perspective, Chap. 289: East LA, Claressa Shields and More

Published

1 day ago

July 25, 2024

David A. Avila

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 289: East LA, Claressa Shields and More

East Los Angeles has long been a haven for some of the best fighters around if you can keep them out of trouble. For every Oscar De La Hoya or Seniesa Estrada there are thousands derailed by crime, drugs or drinking.

Boxing has always been a favorite sport of East L.A. Every family has an uncle or two who boxes.

On Friday, 360 Promotions’ Omar Trinidad (15-0-1) fights Viktor Slavinskyi (15-2-1) in the main event at Commerce Casino, in Commerce, CA. UFC Fight Pass will stream the fight card.

The City of Commerce used to be part of East L.A. until 1960 when it incorporated. It’s still considered to be part of East Los Angeles, but informally.

Plenty of fighters come out of East L.A. but few make it all the way like De La Hoya and Estrada. Will Trinidad be the one?

The first world champion from East L.A. or “East Los” as some call it, was Solly Garcia Smith back in the late 1800s. Others were Richie Lemos, Art Frias and Joey Olivo. There is also 1984 Olympic gold medalist Paul Gonzalez.

Once again 360 Promotions brings its popular brand of fights to the area. On this fight card includes two female bouts. One features Roxy Verduzco (1-0) the former amateur star fighting Colleen Davis (3-1-1) in a featherweight fight.

All that action takes place on Friday.

Elite Boxing

The next day, also in East L.A., Elite Boxing stages another boxing card at Salesian High School located at 960 S. Soto Street in the Boyle Heights area of East Los Angeles.

Elite Boxing has promoted several successful boxing cards at the Catholic high school grounds. The area is saturated by many of the best eateries in Los Angeles. Don’t take my word for it. Check it out yourself and grab some of that delicious food.

Boxing has long been a favorite sport of anyone who lives in East L.A. It’s a fight town equal to Philadelphia, Brooklyn or Detroit. There’s something different about the area. For more than 100 years some of the best fighters continue to come out of its boxing gyms. Some will be performing on these club shows.

For tickets or information go to www.eliteboxingusa.com

Claressa Shields in Detroit

Speaking of fight towns, pound-for-pound best Claressa Shields who won two Olympic Gold Medals in boxing, moves up another weight division to tackle the WBC heavyweight world champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse on Saturday, July 27, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

DAZN will stream the heavy-duty fight card.

Shields (14-0) cleaned out the super welterweight, middleweight and super middleweight divisions and now wants to add the big girls to her conquests. She will be facing Canada’s Lepage-Joanisse (7-1) who holds the WBC belt.

The last time Shields gloved up was more than a year ago when she fought Maricela Cornejo. Don’t blame Shields. She loves to fight. She loves to win. The last time Shields lost a fight was in the amateurs and that was three presidential administrations ago.

Shields doesn’t lose.

I wonder if Las Vegas even takes bets on her fights?

The only fight she may have been an underdog was against Savannah Marshall who was the last opponent to defeat her. And that was in 2012 in China. When they met as pros two years ago, Shields avenged her loss with a blistering attack.

Don’t get Shields mad.

Perhaps her toughest foe as a pro was in her pro debut when she clashed with Franchon Crews-Dezurn in Las Vegas. It was four rounds of fists and fury as the two pounded each other on the undercard of Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev in November 2016.

That was a ferocious debut for both female pugilists.

Assisting Shields on this fight card will be several intriguing male bouts. One guy you should pay special attention is Tito Mercado (15-0, 14 KOs) a super lightweight prospect from Pomona, California.

Many excellent fighters have come out of Pomona including Sugar Shane Mosley, Shane Mosley Jr., Alberto Davila and Richie Sandoval who just passed away this week.

Sandoval was best known for his 15-round war with Philadelphia’s Jeff Chandler for the bantamweight world title in 1984. Read the story by Arne K. Lang on this link: https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/featured-boxing-articles-boxing-news-videos-rankings-and-results/81467-former-world-bantamweight-champion-richie-sandoval-passes-away-at-age-63 .

Fights to Watch

Fri. UFC Fight Pass 7 p.m. Omar Trinidad (15-0-1) vs Viktor Slavinskyi (15-2-1).

Sat. ESPN+ 12:30 p.m. Joe Joyce (16-2) vs Derek Chisora (34-13).

Sat. DAZN 3 p.m. Claressa Shields (14-0) vs Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse (7-1), Michel Rivera (25-1) vs Hugo Roldan (22-2-1); Tito Mercado (15-0) vs Hector Sarmiento (21-2).

Omar Trinidad photo by Lina Baker

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Arne’s Almanac: Jake Paul and Women’s Boxing, a Curmudgeon’s Take

Published

3 days ago

July 24, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Jake Paul can fight more than a little. The view from here is that he would make it interesting against any fringe contender in the cruiserweight division. However, Jake’s boxing acumen pales when paired against his skill as a flim-flam artist.

Jake brought a 9-1 record into last weekend’s bout with Mike Perry. As noted by boxing writer Paul Magno, Jake’s previous opponents consisted of “a You Tuber, a retired NBA star, five retired MMA stars, a part-time boxer/reality TV star, and two undersized and inactive fall-guy boxers.”

Mike Perry, a 32-year-old Floridian, was undefeated (6-0, 3 KOs) as a bare-knuckle boxer after forging a 14-8 record in UFC bouts. In pre-fight blurbs, Perry was billed as the baddest bare knuckle boxer of all time, but against Jake Paul he proved to have very unrefined skills as a conventional boxer which Team Paul undoubtedly knew all along. Perry lasted into the eighth round in a one-sided fight that could have been stopped a lot sooner.

Jake Paul is both a boxer and a promoter. As a promoter, he handles Amanda Serrano, one of the greatest female boxers in history. That makes him the person most responsible (because the buck stops with him) for the wretched mismatch in last Saturday’s co-feature, the bout between Serrano and Stevie Morgan.

Morgan, who took up boxing two years ago at age 33, brought a 14-1 record. Nicknamed the Sledgehammer, she had won 13 of her 14 wins by knockout, eight in the opening round. However, although she resides in Florida, all but one of those 13 knockouts happened in Colombia.

“We found that in Colombia there were just more opportunities for women’s boxing than in the United States,” she told a prominent boxing writer whose name we won’t mention.

The truth is that, for some folks, Colombia is the boxing equivalent of a feeder lot for livestock, a place where a boxer can go to fatten their record. The opportunities there were no greater than in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1995. It was there that Peter McNeeley prepped for his match with Mike Tyson with a 6-second knockout of professional punching bag Frankie Hines. (Six seconds? So it would be written although no one seems to have been there to witness it.)

Serrano vs Morgan was understood to be a stay-busy fight for Amanda whose rematch with Katie Taylor was postponed until November. Stevie Morgan, to her credit, answered the bell for the second round whereas others in her situation would have remained on the stool and invented an injury to rationalize it. Thirty-eight seconds later it was all over and Ms. Morgan was free to go home and use her sledgehammer to do some light dusting.

The Paul-Perry and Serrano-Morgan fights played out in a sold-out arena in Tampa before an estimated 17,000. Those without a DAZN subscription paid $64.95 for the livestream. Paul’s next promotion, where he will touch gloves with 58-year-old Mike Tyson (unless Iron Mike pulls a Joe Biden and pulls out; a capital idea) with Serrano-Taylor II the semi-main, will almost certainly rake in more money than any other boxing promotion this year.

Asked his opinion of so-called crossover boxing by a reporter for a college newspaper, the venerable boxing promoter Bob Arum said, “It’s not my bag but folks who don’t like it shouldn’t get too worked up over it because no one is stealing from anybody.” True enough, but for some of us, the phenomenon is distressing.

—

The next big women’s fight happens Saturday in Detroit where Claressa Shields seeks a world title in a third weight class against WBC heavyweight belt-holder Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist, undefeated in 14 fights as a pro, Shields is very good, arguably the best female boxer of her generation which makes her, arguably, the best female boxer of all time. But turning away Lepage-Joanisse (7-1, 2 KOs) won’t elevate her stature in our eyes.

Purportedly 17-4 as an amateur, the Canadian won her title in her second crack at it. Back in August of 2017, she challenged Cancun’s Alejandra Jimenez in Cancun and was stopped in the third round. Entering the bout, Lepage-Joanisse was 3-0 as a pro and had never fought a match slated for more than four rounds.

Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse

True, on the women’s side, the heavyweight bracket is a very small pod. A sanctioning body has to make concessions to harness a sanctioning fee. Nonetheless, how absurd that a woman who had answered the bell for only 11 rounds would be deemed qualified to compete for a world title. (FYI: Alejandra Jimenez was purportedly born a man. She left the sport with a 12-0-1 record after her win over Franchon Crews Dazurn was changed to a no-contest when she tested positive for the banned steroid stanozolol.)

Following her defeat to Jimenez, Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse, now 29 years old, was out of action for six-and-a-half years. When she returned, she was still a heavyweight, but a much slender heavyweight. She carried 231 pounds for Jimenez. In her most recent bout where she captured the vacant WBC title with a split decision over Argentina’s Abril Argentina Vidal, she clocked in at 173 ¼. (On the distaff side, there’s no uniformity among the various sanctioning bodies as to what constitutes a heavyweight.)

Claressa Shields doesn’t need Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse to reinforce her credentials as a future Hall of Famer. She made the cut a long time ago.

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Former World Bantamweight Champion Richie Sandoval Passes Away at Age 63

Published

4 days ago

July 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Richie Sandoval, who won the WBA and lineal bantamweight title in one of the biggest upsets of the 1980s and then, not quite two years later, suffered near-fatal injuries in a title defense, has passed away at the age of 63.

News circulated fast in the Las Vegas boxing community on Monday, July 22, the grapevine actuated by a tweet from Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler: “Boxing and the Top Rank family lost one of our own last night in the passing of former WBA bantamweight champion Richie Sandoval. It hurts personally and professionally to know that Richie is gone at age 63. RIP campeon.”

Details are vague but the cause of death was apparently a sudden heart attack that Sandoval experienced while visiting the Southern California home of his son of the same name.

Richie Sandoval put the LA County community of Pomona, California, on the boxing map before Shane Mosley came along and gave the town a more frequently-cited mention in the sports section of the papers. He came from a fighting family. An older brother, Albert “Superfly” Sandoval, became a big draw at LA’s fabled Olympic Auditorium while building a 35-2-1 record that included a failed bid to capture Lupe Pintor’s world bantamweight title.

Richie was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic boxing team that was stranded when U.S. President Jimmy Carter (and many other world leaders) boycotted the event as a protest against Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan.

As a pro, Sandoval’s signature win was a 15^th-round stoppage of Jeff Chandler. They fought on April 7, 1984 in Atlantic City. Chandler was making the tenth defense of his world bantamweight title.

Despite being a heavy underdog, Sandoval dominated the fight, winning almost every round until the referee stepped in and waived it off. Chandler, who was 33-1-2 heading in and had avenged his lone defeat, never fought again.

Sandoval made two successful defenses before risking his title against Gaby Canizales on the undercard of Hagler-Mugabi in the outdoor stadium at Caesars Palace. In round seven, Sandoval, who had a hellish time making the weight, was knocked down three times and suffered a seizure as he collapsed from the third knockdown. Stretchered out of the ring, he was rushed to the hospital where doctors reduced the swelling in his brain and beat the odds to save his life. This would be Richie’s lone defeat. He finished his pro career with a record of 29-1 (17 KOs).

Bob Arum cushioned some of the pain by giving Richie a $25,000 bonus and offering him a lifetime job at Top Rank which Richie accepted. And let the record show that Arum was good to his word.

A more elaborate portrait of Richie Sandoval was published in these pages in 2017. You can check it out HERE. May he rest in peace.

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