Tony Thompson – Wladimir Klitschko: Does Tony Want It More Than Wladimir?

By Boxing News - 07/10/2008 - Comments

thompson4333.jpgBy Eric Thomas: With seven children to feed in his household and not a whole lot of money to pay for food, Tony Thompson (31-1, 19 KIs) has a lot more motivation going into this Saturday fight than IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs), who already is extraordinarily wealthy in comparison, having made millions in the fight game and with extensive endorsements. Indeed, perhaps no real understand of where Thompson, 36, is coming from in this regard because Wladimir has never hurt for money, coming from a family that was more middle class than poor.

I think the difference in wealth will be the deciding factor in this fight, because Thompson has never made any real big money as of yet in his eight-year boxing career, despite having an impressive record of 31-1 along the way. The problem with his record, however, is that it’s come against mostly C-class fighters and not against the upper tier fighters that really count. In fact, Thompson only has four semi-recognizable names on his record – Dominick Guinn, Timor Ibragimov, Luan Krasniqi and Cliff Couser – and none of them are top 15 fighters at this time.

That’s obviously hurt the 6’5″ Thompson, for if he had started early against better fighters, he’d likely have been a champion long ago. Thompson appears better than any of the other champions and top 15 fighters in the division, and has more than enough talent to have beaten other champions like Samuel Peter and Ruslan Chagaev if pitted against them in a head to head match-up. A big part of the blame must go for Thompson’s late start in professional boxing which started at a ripe old age of 28.

For most fighters, that’s the age that their fighting in their prime, having already fought 20-30 times by then, and not starting out fresh with zero prior boxing experience. In Thompson’s case, his lack of an early professional career hasn’t hurt him any, and may have actually helped him for it saved him from extra punishment. Because of that, Thompson, at 36, is considered a young fighter, much younger than his given age. I’d go so far as to say he’s about the same age as 32 year-old Wladimir as for as physical age goes. If you look at them side by side, it’s hard to tell which is the older fighter of the two with most people unable to guess unless told who the older fighter is.

However, even with the age factor roughly the same between Thompson and Wladimir, the desire seems to be way more in Thompson’s favor. He’s not just fighting for himself; he’s fighting for an entire family, who is hungry and need food to be put on the table. This is Thompson’s one big shot, and who knows when if he’ll ever get a shot like this again. Even if he moves over to another heavyweight class, he may not get a chance at a title for 2-3 years even if he should go undefeated during that time. This is why I expect him to be fighting like a savage tiger on Saturday night, and will be looking to rip Wladimir’s head of when they meet in the ring.

That’s not something that Wladimir can train for, because human desperation can give a person super human strength, allowing them to accomplish things that they normally couldn’t do otherwise. We’ve heard of grandmother’s picking up a car when a loved one was trapped inside, and then afterwards barely able to pick up a suitcase. It’s something that’s hard to explain, because it’s a chemical reaction and it can only be summoned when a person truly has their back against the wall. In Thompson’s case, he’s badly in need of money for his large family, and this may be his first and only shot at ever making a big killing.

I don’t expect Wladimir to be ready for the kind of fire power that’s going to meet him when he meets up with Thompson this Saturday. He’ll be thinking that it’s just a normal run of the mill fight, perhaps thinking he can jab away at Thompson in the early rounds, then set him up for some big shots once he’s got him figured out.

However, Thompson has always been a fast starter, and in this case, I expect him to go after Wladimir like he’s a big piece of meat for a man that has been starving his whole life. As much as I like Wladimir as a fighter, he won’t know what hit him, and will get taken apart in a few rough and tumble rounds by a hungry Thompson.