By Eric Thomas: Let me start of by saying, I’ve never been much of a fan of former WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (35-2, 34 KOs). I love the sport of boxing, but I never cared for either of the Klitschko brothers, especially Vitali, who never really impressed me much with the ordinary boxing skills that he showed in the ring, not to mention his tendency to experience injuries almost at the drop of the hat. I do like to think of myself as being fair, and not blinded by my dislike of a fighter when judging whether or not they have a chance at winning a particular fight. With that said, I really don’t have much faith in Vitali being able to defeat Peter, 27, the new WBC heavyweight champion, in their upcoming bout in October. I have even less faith that Vitali will even make it into the fight with suffering some kind of injury or another, likely another injury to his back or his knee, both of them chronic problems for the soon to be 37 year-old Vitali.

I’m also somewhat sickened by the fact that Klitschko was given the status of emeritus, a token title given because of him having retired as champion in early 2005, which vaulted him over more deserving top contenders in the WBC. Vitali didn’t have to earn his way into a title shot, like most fighters normally are expected to do, as he was pushed to the head of the line for his title shot against Peter. Vitali hasn’t even had a tune-up fight for his October bout with Peter, and won’t be having one, for that matter. It’s too risky, and besides, he already failed when he injured his back while training for his tune-up bout with Jameel McCline in 2007. After that, all tune-up bouts were effectively taken off the table for Vitali, so as make it possible to make it into the bout with Peter without hurting himself once more.

However, let’s just say that Vitali does actually make it to the fight, who out there really gives him any chance at winning? Probably very few people, at least knowledgeable ones who have an idea about boxing. Vitali’s going to get creamed by Peter, and there’s no other ways of looking at it. He has essentially no chance of winning, since he’s been out of the sport for four years already, and was already showing signs of fading even in his last fight in December 2004. This fight, as far as I’m concerned, is nothing but a farce, a last payday for Vitali and nothing more than that. His chance, slim as it is, rests on his ability to try and box Peter from the outside, keep him from knocking his block off, and hoping not to get injured in the course of the fight.

If this fight had taken place years ago, maybe 5-6 years back, I think Vitali would have won - though it wouldn’t be easy. Not now, however, not with all his injuries, time off and lack of fights. At 37, he’s considered ancient for the sport of boxing, and he’s not a young 37, either. You could say that if he didn’t have the history of injuries, but unfortunately he does. For this reason, I see Peter making quick work of him and stopping him in an ugly knockout in three to four brutal rounds. I think Vitali’s face will likely get ripped apart, much in the same manner as it did in his fight with Lennox Lewis in June 2003, a sixth round TKO loss for Vitali, and sadly his finest moment.

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