For most boxing fans, undefeated Ukrainian Alexander Dimitrenko (27-0, 17 KOs) remains an unknown, a fighter that they’ve neither heard of or seen in action before. Even the vast majority of boxing insiders, as a whole, have never seen the 25 year-old Dimitrenko in action. For those who have, such as myself, they have had the pleasure of seeing the future of the heavyweight division. Dimitrenko, a former amateur star in the Soviet Union, has slowly been making a name for himself in Germany, where he now lives and fights.
Unfortunately, up until recently, the Germans have been avoiding pitting him against a tough fighters, mostly focusing on matching him against journeyman, the type of fighters that Dimitrenko will learn little from beating. However, this month, Dimitrenko was finally put in against a tough German fighter Timo Hoffmann, who stood at roughly the same height – 6’7″ – as Dimitrenko, and their bout turned out to be one of the most exciting fights in heavyweight history.
Both fighters traded tremendous shots for much of the bout, only rarely showing much in the way of defense. A spirited Dimitrenko essentially controlled the entire fight, except for a couple of rounds in which Hoffmann, fighting all full bore, pressed the action and landed some good shots. Dimitrenko was dropped in the 4th round, but it was more of a case of him slipping to the canvas than actually being hurt. From that point on, though, Dimitrenko put on an incredible display of offense, throwing punches from all angles and moving around the ring like a featherweight.
In some ways, Dimitrenko resembled Wladimir Klitschko, the International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion, except that Dimitrenko used much more movement, switching to southpaw at times, and fighting impressively on the inside with uppercuts. It was nothing short of sensational boxing from the huge super heavyweight Dimitrenko, as he showed skills as a heavyweight that, quite frankly, I’ve never seen before. He does, however, have to work a lot on his defense, because he was wide open for any shot Hoffmann threw during the bout. I suppose Dimitrenko sees his offense as his defense, but that’s something he’s going to have to change when he steps it up against better opponents in the near future.
His promoter is rumored to be thinking of putting him in against another German-based fighter Luan Krasniqi, a fighter with a lot of power and vast experience. If this bout comes off, it should be a good yard stick on how much Dimitrenko has progressed as a fighter.
Besides his defense, he needs to focus on staying away from fouling his opponents, because that was something he’s prone to do in his bouts when he loses his temper. Against Hoffmann, for example, Dimitrenko quite often was seen pushing him roughly, and trying to throw him to the ground. It wasn’t needed by Dimitrenko, since Hoffmann wasn’t in his class. Perhaps more than anything, this remains as one of the most important problems that needs to be changed, because Dimitrenko will likely be penalized in future bouts should be continue with his fouling tendencies.