Fury vs. Klitschko: Wladimir not concerned with titles

By Boxing News - 06/28/2016 - Comments

wladimir100

By Scott Gilfoid: Former world champion Wladimir Klitschko says he doesn’t care about the titles when it comes to his rematch with Tyson Fury. Wladimir’s focus is on beating Fury and avenging his loss from last November.

The world titles Wladimir lost, IBF, IBO/WBA/WBO, straps are secondary to him. The Fury-Klitschko 2 rematch was supposed to be taking place on July 9 next month at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, UK. However, Fury suffered an ankle injury recently, and the injury is expected to keep him out of the ring for the next four months until the end of October if then.

The possible date for the Fury-Klitschko2 rematch is on October 29 at the Manchester Arena.

Wladimir just wants to face Fury and beat him soundly so that he can prove that he was always the better fighter of the two. Fury defeated Wladimir by a very close 12 round unanimous decision last November in Dusseldorf. Germany. There was very little to separate the two fighters other than a few extra slaps from Fury in most of the rounds.

If Wladimir had been able to land at least three clean right hands in every round, then he would have soundly beaten the 6’9” Fury, but he wouldn’t let his hands go for some odd reason. It appeared to me that Wladimir had a bad case of stage fright, and that cost him the bout.

“It’s not about the belts,” said the 40-year-old. “The belts are secondary. It’s a man that put a defeat on your list, so I’m fighting not for the belts, honestly,” said Wladimir via eurosport.com. “Belts are secondary, it’s about Fury in this case and I am emotional about it, and I love it, I’m excited about it.”

Of course, the belts are secondary. They have to be secondary because if Wladimir doesn’t beat Fury in the rematch, then his career is pretty much sunk. To be sure, Wladimir can continue fighting if he wants to and go after IBF champion Anthony Joshua or WBC champ Deontay Wilder, but you have to figure that if he can’t beat the light hitting Fury, then there’s little chance that he’ll be able to compete with those guys.

There’s a huge difference in power between those guys are Fury, so Wladimir can’t be losing to a him a second time. This really is the end for Wladimir if he can’t quickly solve Fury’s style and take him out the way that Deontay or Luis “The Rea King Kong” Ortiz would if they were to be fighting hm.

“Honestly, in this case, with or without the belts the fight is going to be as big with Fury,” said Wladimir. “I’m fighting a man that I lost to and I’m totally putting the belts to one side. Am I upset about it? I didn’t get it, but it is what it is,” said Klitschko.

I wouldn’t lose too much sleep over his lost straps if I were Wladimir, because it’s not the important thing. If he has the talent to beat Fury, then it means he’s not over-the-hill like a lot of boxing fans think he is. Wladimir has a lot to prove to himself and to the sport in general because he didn’t look like he still has his skills the last time he fought Fury. Wladimir looked and fought like a 40-year-old fighter who didn’t have his hand-eye coordination any longer.

Wladimir couldn’t pull the trigger on his shots, and when he did throw punches, he missed badly. It kind of reminded me of watching an old basketball or baseball player in his 40s that couldn’t play the game any longer. I would like to think that Wladimir has had enough sparring sessions in his current training camp to identify whether he still has it or not.

I’ve seen Wladimir working with some taller fighter that in training camp that mimics the style of Fury. But those guys weren’t really sparring. The taller fighter was just moving around the ring trying not to get caught by Wladimir. If Wladimir can’t handle sparring with decent sparring partners, then it stands to reason that he’s not going to be able to beat Fury in the rematch.

I’m giving Wladimir a very, very good chance of beating Fury whenever the fight takes place. The big question will Fury even take the rematch. There are some boxing fans who think his injury is the start of him coming up with some additional injuries that keep him out of the ring for an extended time. I’m not sure whether Fury’s going to go through with the fight, because I don’t think his heart is in the sport any longer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wz1DW5KCOI

Fury made a bundle off his fight against Wladimir last November, and he doesn’t need to work another day of his life if he doesn’t want to. When you have no real motivation to continue fighting, then the end can come at any time. If Fury does wind up facing Wladmir, then I see him bowing out the same way Buster Douglas did in getting destroyed by a young Evander Holyfield 26-years ago in October 1990. Douglas was blasted to smithereens in three rounds in his first fight after pulling a major upset in stopping Mike Tyson in the 10th round in February 1990.

“You keep the titles for all these years and then boom, you lose one time and everything you were doing before is in the hands of another person,” said Wladimir.

If I’m Wladimir, I wouldn’t waste time trying to win or hold down world titles at this point in his career. Believe me, Wladimir will be better off if he never holds another world title ever again because if he does win a title, he’ll get stuck fighting mandatory defenses against a bunch of no name fighters that will be little more than time wasters for him. By Wladimir electing not to hold onto any of the title belts, he can save money on paying the expensive sanctioning fees for the straps, and he can fight whoever he wants in the division.