By John F. McKenna (McJack): World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (44-2, 40 KO’s) dominated 28 year old contender Dereck Chisora (15-3, 9 KO’s) Saturday night at the Olympiahalle in Munich, Germany. It was clear that Vitali wanted to KO the brash Brit because of his antics at the weigh in on Friday, in which he gave “Dr. Ironcfist” a hard slap across the face and then just prior to the fight he spit in the f ace of WBA/IBF/WBO and The Ring heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (56-3, 53 KO’s).

But although Vitali desperately wanted the KO it was not to be. Klitschko’s punishing left jab and the left hook he throws off the jab were mysteriously missing. In Vitali’s fight against Tomasz Adamek (44-2, 28 KO’s) last September, HBO commentator and boxing trainer Emanuel Steward called Klitschko’s left jab his signature punch. In most of his fights Vitali throws his left jab on average 40 times a round. Last night against Chisora however Klitschko was reduced to throwing his jab to as few as five to seven times a round. The amazing thing is that Klitschko, although unable to get the KO, still managed to dominate the fight. On this writer’s scorecard, the most I could give “Del-Boy” is two rounds.

Dereck, as promised managed to take the fight to Vitali. Of course whenever “Dr. Ironfist” does not score a KO, it is assumed by many boxing pundits that it must have been due to his age.

I vehemently disagree. As early as the 4th round EPIX commentators were questioning why Vitali’s left jab and hook were missing in action. Klitschko was still in control of the fight, but he was not beating down Dereck with his clubbing left jab, a jab Danny Williams described as “like being hit with a slab of concrete.” Just as importantly “Dr. Ironfist” was not nailing Chisora either coming in or backing up with his left hook.

The seeming inability for Klitschko to use his left hand only increased as the fight wore into the later rounds. And EPIX commentators Dan Rafael and Freddie Roach began to question more and more whether Vitali’s left hand was injured. To be honest Vitali did not seem to set up his usual ring dominance in the first round. Granted, “Del-Boy” brought pressure to bear against Klitschko and everyone would have to concede that he does indeed have a very solid chin.

Rafael paid tribute to Vitali by calling him “One of the greatest heavyweights of all time.” It is a tribute that has been slow in coming from the American media. Better late than never one would suppose. The calls for Klitschko to retire because of the performance he put on last night are absurd and most likely come from people who were never that fond of him in the first place.

Klitschko of course, has too much class and pride to announce after the fight that he had injured his left hand. He is not going to “pull a David Haye”. There are however, unconfirmed rumors circulating today that Vitali injured his left hand in training a couple of weeks ago, but chose not to cancel out on the loudmouth Dereck Chisora.

It is worth noting that both Wladimir and Vitali appeared to be immensely enjoying the brawl that ensued between Dereck Chisora and David Haye after the main event. Stay tuned.