By Erik Schmidt: Yesterday in Hamburg, Germany, at IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko’s press conference for this Saturday’s bout with Tony Thompson, a large double-decker bus rolled up to the meeting, filled with Russian models, and a large sign outside of the bus saying “Klitschko – I want you,” along with a recorded message from Klitschko’s IBF # 1 contender Alexander Povetkin, telling Klitschko not to lose on Saturday to Thompson, because Klitschko still owes him a fight. The idea of the bus and the models was done on behalf of Povetkin, who has been waiting for a title shot against Klitschko since defeating American heavyweight Eddie Chambers in a 12-round unanimous decision on January 26th, in the IBF Heavyweight Title Eliminator bout in Berlin, Germany.
In the tournament, which Povetkin won, he defeated former IBF heavyweight champion Chris Byrd, as well, stopping him in the 11th round in October 2007. However, instead of Wladimir immediately giving Povetkin the fight that he had rightfully earned by virtue of having won the IBF tournament eliminator, Wladimir instead opted to take on Tony Thompson, the WBO mandatory challenger, and the fighter that many boxing fans and experts feel is the lesser fighter than Povetkin. Wladimir, however, had an excuse for his decision to side step Povetkin, maintaining that Thompson had already been waiting a long time, a year, in fact, for a title shot.
It would seem plausible, if not rather farfetched, if there were a long history of Wladimir showing concern for the feelings of his challengers, but as far as I can tell, this is a first. It is somewhat strange, though, that Wladimir’s decision to fight Thompson also meant that he’d be fighting the opponent that many people perceive to be the weaker, easier fighter of the two. I’m sure it was just a coincidence, and not something that Wladimir would ever set out to do.
What I found particularly sad and disappointing about yesterday’s staged event by Povetkin’s people, however, was that they had to waste time in reminding Wladimir about his title defense to them, as if unless they did this, Wladimir might turn around and pick another fight after Saturday’s bout with Thompson, perhaps choosing to meet up with heavyweight David Haye, who has been dogging Wladimir’s heels for the past two months without stop.
I doubt that Wladimir would make Povetkin wait longer, and I doubt further that the IBF would even allow Wladimir to do this, but it seems that Povetkin might not be feeling as confident as I am about this, and wants to make sure that Wladimir – and the boxing community – are aware about him being the #1 mandatory for IBF.
Povetkin, representing Russia, won the Gold medal in the 2004 Olympics in the heavyweight class. Following that, he turned professional in 2005, and has quickly breezed through his first 15 professional fights, winning all of them while stopping 11 of his opponents. If it seems rather peculiar that Povetkin, 28, is already fighting for a heavyweight title after only 15 fights, you can count me in. However, he’s very advanced as a fighter, having fought a lot of amateur fights, and perhaps is as good as he’s going to get as a fighter.
Povetkin’s fighting style is more of a youth-oriented fighting approach, in which he pressures his opponent constantly, throwing massive amounts of punches, and simply wears them out in the process. In a way, it’s like an endurance event in which he pushes his opponent to expect as much of their own energy as possibly trying to match his tremendous work rate. So far, he’s not found any fighter that can come close to matching him, and most wither and fade in the mid-point of his fights.
This was the fate for both Americans Eddie Chambers and Chris Byrd, who couldn’t handle being pushed by Povetkin’s work rate, and subsequently wore themselves out trying to keep up with him. Perhaps for this reason, Wladimir Klitschko, a fighter plagued by huge stamina problems, doesn’t appear altogether eager to fight Povetkin. He doesn’t let you rest for a second, and if Wladimir tries to catch a breather by hanging on the ropes, he’ll likely find himself getting hit with a large volley of shots in the matter of seconds. With Klitschko’s chin problem, he might not survive that kind of an onslaught.