Charr vs. Klitschko: Vitali must avoid a let down

By Boxing News - 06/21/2012 - Comments

Image: Charr vs. Klitschko: Vitali must avoid a let downBy Sean McDaniel: WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (44-2, 40 KO’s) has decided to go soft in what may be his final fight of his career against #7 WBC Manuel Charr (21-0, 11 KO’s) on September 8th at the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex, in Kiev, Ukraine.

It’s an easy fight for the 40-year-old Klitschko on paper, because Charr has never really looked all that good in beating the C level opposition that he’s built his unbeaten resume on. Vitali is taking the fight because of a number of factors, such as Charr’s unbeaten record, his popularity in Germany, and perhaps because Charr is so tailor made for Vitali.

Charr is a slow plodder without a jab, hand speed or power. Picture in your mind a weak version of Dereck Chisora and that’s what you have in Charr. It’s a great opportunity for Vitali to get a nice payday while at the same time getting the chance to look good in front of his home fans in Kiev.

Vitali struggled in his last fight against Chisora last February in a bout in which Chisora gave Vitali huge headaches with his pressure. Vitali tore up his left shoulder in the 2nd round and had to fight using his right hand for the remainder of the fight. It was enough for Vitali to win the fight by a lopsided decision, but he took some heavy shots from Chisora in doing so.

Vitali’s choice of facing Charr isn’t a popular one because boxing fans would rather see Vitali go out on a high note by fighting guys like David Haye, Tyson Fury or Seth Mitchell. Even Chris Arreola would be a huge improvement over Charr.

However, Vitali doesn’t seem interested in facing any of those guys for some reason, and it looks like Charr was chosen specifically for domestic consumption. Like I said, Charr is well known in Germany, and they’re the ones that are Vitali’s biggest fans next to Ukraine. In Ukraine, Vitali’s fights are well received regardless of who he fights, so no one will complain that he’s fighting a soft opponent in facing Charr.



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