(PHoto credit: K-MG) By Allan Fox: Francesco Pianeta (28-0-1, 15 KO’s), the former sparring partner for IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (59-3, 50 KO’s), says he’s spotted Wladimir’s weaknesses from their sparring sessions and he intends on using his knowledge to defeat the 6’6” Ukrainian this Saturday night in their fight at the SAP-Arena, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
I hope for the 6’5” Pianeta’s sake that his plan is for him to try and KO Wladimir because that’s about the only chance Pianeta has in winning this fight. He’s not going to be able to out-box Wladimir because he doesn’t have the hand-speed, jab or the power to win by a decision.
On top of that, Wladimir is the name fighter and this bout is taking place in Germany. Pianeta is also a German based fighter, but there’s a big difference between his popularity and Wladimir’s. If there are any close rounds, and I don’t think there will be, Wladimir will be the one that wins those rounds.
There’s no question that Pianeta doesn’t deserve a title shot against Wladimir. He’s not faced anyone remotely good enough to say he deserves to be in the ring with him. But being that he is Wladimir’s ex-sparring partner, and Wladimir needed a soft opponent that was a non-risky fight for him, it gave Pianeta the opportunity to get the fight.
Pianeta is no different than Wladimir’s opponents Jean Marc Mormeck and Mariusz Wach in that regard. They were spotted and likely picked out specifically because they were easy options for Wladimir, and the outcome was predictable.
It would be huge if Pianeta were to pull off a big knockout win over Wladimir on Saturday, but it’s just not likely. The southpaw Pianeta pushes his punches instead of throwing them with authority and he always seems to be fighting in slow motion, as if he’s in the 12 round and totally exhausted. He always seems to look tired and that’s going to make it tough on him to be able to do anything with Wladimir.
Wladimir’s former trainer Emanuel Steward did a great job of shaping Wladimir and turning him into a very good heavyweight. Steward realized that Wladimir’s chin would be a continual problem for him against bigger punchers, so he taught him how to box, tie his opponent and move to keep his opposition from being able to land their big shots on his suspect chin.
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