(Photo credit: Michaelsterlingeaton.com) By Dave Lahr: If Tony Thompson (36-2, 24 KO’s) is able to pull off an upset on Saturday night against IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (57-3, 50 KO’s) in Berne Switzerland, he could be doing boxing a HUGE favor by ridding the sport of an unpopular champion who fails to entertain fight after fight.

Thompson isn’t known as a puncher, but he may not need to have a lot of power to KO the 6’6″ Ukranian because of his weak chin. Wladimir is one of those fighters that can go at any moment if he’s hit solidly by Thompson. The last time Wladimir fought Thompson in 2008, he beat him by an 11th round TKO. But the win was tainted because Thompson came into the fight with an injured right knee that steadily got worse as the fight wore on due to Wladimir’s incessant clinching.

Since the referee wasn’t about to do anything to keep Wladimir from hanging all over Thompson all night long, it left Thompson out there on his own with just one leg. The predictable thing happened – he got knocked out after being worn down. This time Thompson has two good knees, and he’ll be able to sit down on his punches much more than he did last time he tangled with Wladimmir. As it was, Thompson bloodied Wladimir’s face quite nicely even with only one leg working.

This time Thompson could do a lot more if he can come up with a solution to Wladimir’s chronic clinching. He’s smart enough to know that the referee likely won’t lift a finger to stop Wladimir from hanging all over him all night. This is why Thompson has got to step in and land left hands and right hooks with everything he’s got to get Wladimir out of there.

I’m pretty sure there won’t be any weeping from fans if Wladimir is knocked cold on Saturday. There might be joyous relief because with Thompson holding onto the titles, we could see some interesting fights for a change instead of watching Wladimir fight guys like Jean Marc Mormeck, Hasim Rahman and Eddie Chambers.