The End of an Era: My Appraisal of Dr. Ironfist

By Jay McIntyre - 12/20/2013 - Comments

vitali3432By Jay McIntyre:

The Abdication

On Monday December 16th, Vitali Klitschko vacated his title as the WBC heavyweight champion of the world and has made vocal his desire to run in the Ukrainian presidential election of 2015. While he doesn’t intend to return to the sport which made him so famous, the World Boxing Council responded by declaring him ’emeritus champion’.

This basically means that if he every steps through the ropes again, it will be into an instant title shot for the WBC strap. According to cbc.ca, Klitschko himself has been quoted as saying that “This offer makes it theoretically possible to return to the ring, which I cannot at all image happening right now.” The WBC’s decision may leave some scratching their heads, but I can’t disagree with this move because the heavyweight division isn’t exactly teeming with prospects and talent at this time. Given that his leaving the boxing world is perhaps the last piece of news linking Vitali Klitschko to the sweet science, let’s look back both his technique and portions of his career to give it a worthwhile appraisal.

Height isn’t enough, but it sure helps!

Standing at 6′ 7″, with a reach of 79 inches, Vitali Klitschko was a giant among men in the heaviest division in boxing. When it comes to organized combat sports, size does indeed matter (that is after all, why there are weight classes), and Vitali Klitschko – much like Lennox Lewis – was able to make the most of his size. Sometimes though, a boxer’s imposing figure lends itself to the hasty conclusion that they are only good because of their size. I would dispute this, as there have been plenty of large lousy fighters throughout boxing’s antiquity and one needs to look no further than Primo Carnera, (‘The Ambling Alp’) to realize that a large fighter sometimes just becomes a large target. To put it simply, Vitali Klitschko was able to fight in a way the maximized his advantages and minimized his disadvantages – and to be blunt, isn’t that the point of boxing?

Fighting Tall

Klitschko was a crafty boxer who fought tall and knew how to play the hand he was dealt. You would never see Mike Tyson fight tall because it didn’t suit who he was in terms of size. Similarly, you will never see Vitali Klitschko fight out of a peek-a-boo style – bobbing and weaving toward his opponent – because he sacrifices his advantages for no reward. When an opponent stepped into the ring with him, his height forced his opponents to punch upward. In boxing you are always told to “sit down on your punches”. What this means is that as you rotate into your punch, your weight drops slightly to give added power (as a sidebar: Jack Dempsey mentioned that his ‘lead jolt’ – an almost stomping jab that closed the distance – was predicated on this need to sit down on the punch). Being taller, Klitschko had no problem sitting down on his shots, as he could punch downward or straight at his opponents. His opponents, however, would often find themselves lunging in to close the distance (affecting their balance), and also punching upwards to his face. Punching upwards invariably brings you up onto your toes and diminishes your power.

The mainstay of Klitschko’s arsenal was his dreaded 1-2 punch combination (a jab followed by a straight right hand). His footwork was never flashy, but it was effective in that it kept him at the right distance for his straight punches. Given that he was also a tremendous power puncher, if his opponents simply tried to impose themselves on his personal space they would either endure a thudding blow, or get clinched by his taller, heavier frame right away. While his clinching may have made for some tiresome moments throughout his career, his knack for finishing fights was both enjoyable and redeeming. Given the apparent predictability of his 1-2 combination, you would think that people would adapt but if you watch him you will notice that he has an incredible grasp of the fundamentals (and boxing is all about the fundamentals). Vitali was exceptionally good at drawing the attack from his opponents by feinting his intentions to throw a punch. If you have seen much of Klitschko’s fights, he usually leans back after his opponent attacks off his feint, and either ties them up or makes them pay with a counter. The ‘sway back’ is what this backward leaning motion is known as, but it must be followed up with something else so that you don’t get caught by a combination. Typically a boxer wants to evade by getting off his opponent’s line of attack while slipping, blocking, rolling, etc., but if a fighter has a particular advantage in speed or size then they can ignore this reality – to a point. Muhammad Ali used the sway back on a criminally frequent basis, but he had the speed (especially early in his career) to sneak in a counter before his opponent could follow up.

Klitschko would lean back, and because of his wide stance, he would coil his body to return fire with a clubbing left hook or a patient right hand. You will also notice his pawing lead hand which served to offer feints, and different angles from which his left could connect with his opponent. Milling the hand involves circling the lead hand in and out from your body, and is something you often associate with the old-fashioned, upright, bare-knuckle fighters. It’s purpose was to confuse the opponent between anticipating the hook, the jab, or nothing at all. It also served to act as a measuring stick in order to gauge the distance from your right hand to the opponent’s face.

Dropping the Lead Hand

If he wasn’t actively using his lead hand to control the distance, it would occasionally be hanging from his side and this served to accomplish a couple of things. First of all, the jab would be able to flick up from an unexpected angle. When you fight you look at your opponent’s centre – typically their clavicle – in order to determine any movements that may be threatening in the ring. Flicking the punch upward can catch an opponent unawares. Sugar Ray Robinson, fighting out of his ‘Blackburn Crouch’ had his lead hand down at his side, firing a steady jab at his opponents. Although they were vastly different fighters (the semi crouch of Robinson compared to the upright posture of Klitschko), the effectiveness of landing a jab from that almost ‘blind’ angle is something that both exploited. The other advantage to having the lead hand at his side was that it allowed him to effect a clinch if his opponent had a tendency to close the gap and get inside. Once on the inside he would be able to get an under-hook and control their upper body movement and their punching arm on their right side. Some may think hanging the lead hand was complaisant disregard for his opponent, but this is of course not necessarily true. Klitschko was able to control the distance through the threat of his power, and his lead hand techniques.

His Losses

Klitschko was a surging force in the heavyweight division, on his way to stardom, when he suffered his first loss to Chris Byrd. Punching effectively and winning on all the judges scorecards (89-82, 88-33, 88-33), his corner shockingly threw in the towel at the end of the ninth round. While it seemed as though he quit on his stool between rounds (an often unforgivable act in combat sports), the reality was that he tore the rotator cuff in his left shoulder. It is easy for us, as fans, to look on incredulously as a fighter suddenly quits, but the alternative was Klitschko potentially suffering brain damage because he chose to fight with one arm. Many fighters persevere through injury, but who am I to say whether or not an injury is really “that bad”? Klitschko vowed to become a champion again, and – not to be deterred – he racked up a five win streak to become the number one contender for Lennox Lewis in 2003.

Klitschko was a 4-1 underdog going into his bout against Lennox Lewis, but from the opening bell it was clear that not only were oddsmakers underestimating Vitali, so was his opponent. Lennox Lewis weighed in at an all time high of 256 pounds and clearly had trouble adjusting to the size and methodical approach of Vitali Klitschko. In the third round a right hand from Lewis sliced across the brow of Klitschko and opened a savage cut over the left eye. Klitschko had made great use of rolling his head underneath his left shoulder to avoid Lewis’ dreaded right hand, but some invariably found their mark. If you have seen the fight you would have  noticed some gnarly damage underneath his eye, and while this is gruesome, it is less concerning for the ringside physician. A fighter must be capable of protecting himself at all times and if a cut is over his eye and bleeding into it (obscuring vision), or at risk of causing long term damage to his vision, then the fight can stopped. It was this cut over his brow that was the beginning of the end for Dr. Ironfist. Lewis – ever the opportunist – continued to work on this wound with lefts and rights for the next three rounds, hoping it would separate and bleed more profusely. While Klitshcko was able to win four of the first six rounds on the scorecards (all three judges scored it 58-56 for Klitschko), the fight was stopped between the sixth and seventh due to the severity of the cut.

Lennox Lewis was losing a very tough fight and got lucky, but we one cannot walk away from this event with any ill will toward the outcome. This fight brought out the best in both men. Klitschko’s resolve had been questioned several years before as many felt that he had quit when his corner threw in the towel after the ninth round of his fight against Chris Byrd. Lennox Lewis, on the other hand, was criticized for being overly cautious and methodical, and here he stood toe to toe with a fellow giant, giving as good as he got. Although a rematch would have been ideal for all parties (especially the fans), when a fighter has lost the desire to compete – even a little bit – he should walk away from the sweet science. There is no room for someone that sort of wants to punch someone else in the face when that someone else has nothing but ‘bad intentions’ coursing through his veins. This setback for Klitschko was unfortunate but only momentary as he went on to become the WBC and The Ring heavyweight champion. Although he lost the opportunity to become the lineal champion (meaning he was the man who beat the man), he still developed into a dominant and respectful figurehead at the top of the heavyweight division.

Final thoughts…

With forty-five wins (forty-one of which came by way of knockout), and only two losses, we see a man that has largely been in control of the ring for the majority of his career. The quality of talent in the heavyweight division during his tenure certainly was questionable, but can that be held against him? Many of our favourite champions such as Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis and Mike Tyson (during the 1980’s) have all reigned over relatively empty divisions. But people love knockouts, and all of these men were known for their punching prowess. Vitali Klitschko shares nearly the same knockout win percentage over his opponents as the undefeated Rocky Marciano (Vitali’s 87.23%, compared to Rocky’s 87.67%), and he was just as dominant in the ring as the Brockton Blockbuster. Rocky Marciano is still remembered as the undefeated champion who brutalized his opponent’s, but will Klitschko be remembered with the same nostalgia? Will posterity smile on him the same way it has for the other greats? Only time will tell.

Follow me on twitter: @JayMcIntyre83
Go to my boxing blog: a-neutral-corner.blogspot.com – it is more in-depth and has pictures for the visually engaged.



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