Klitschko vs. Thompson: Wladimir Hoping For July 12th Bout With Tony

By Boxing News - 04/09/2008 - Comments

klitschko3524.jpgBy Dan Ambrose: IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 Kos) is counting on the IBF giving him an exception so that he can bypass his IBF mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin, who recently defeated both Chris Byrd and Eddie Chambers in the IBF’s elimination tournament to come out as Klitschko’s mandatory challenger. However, instead of giving Povetkin a shot at his title, Wladimir has recently decided upon defending his WBO title against the #1 challenger Tony Thompson (31-1, 19 Kos), a tall 6’5” heavyweight known mostly for being an awkward volume puncher with little power.

Apparently, Thompson had been waiting for an extended period of time, with little luck, for the previous WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov to give him a shot at the title. Ibragimov instead decided on taking on high profile bouts with Evander Holyfield and then a unification bout with Wladimir, a fight in which Ibragimov lost his WBO title.

It’s still unknown whether the IBF will give Klitschko the exception to bypass Povetkin, but given the clout that Wladimir has, it’s likely that he’ll be granted permission to skip his title defense with Povetkin for the bout with Thompson. Klitschko had been previously offered a sum of 5 million by the promoter of Povetkin, but that offer failed to interest him, perhaps because Klitschko will be able to make more by fighting Thompson, who presents a far less a risk than the high pressure, hard-punching Povetkin does.

That, perhaps more than anything, is the real reason why Klitschko is interested in fighting Thompson before Povetkin. Thompson is the kind of opponent that Wladimir typically does well against; That is, a slow, cautious fighter, without much power and that mainly relies on jabbing and throwing weak shots. Klitschko would be better in every department – speed, jab, power and accuracy – than the 36 year-old Thompson. At the same time, it gives Klitschko another relatively easy defense in which he can win without having to worry about his chin being tested.

In the past, Wladimir has had trouble against big punchers, losing to Ross Puritty, Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster. Even WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter, had Klitschko down several times in their 2005 bout, and it was perhaps only by luck that Wladimir escaped without being knocked out. With a history like this against hard punchers, it’s no wonder that Klitschko would opt to take the fight with Thompson first.

At least this way, it will guarantee that Wladimir gets to take on both fighters, and hence get paid twice, whereas if he were to fight Povetkin next, there would be a bigger possibility that he might lose to him and lose the opportunity for the easy fight against Thompson. It’s a smart move by Klitschko, and I can’t says I blame him for opting for the fight with Thompson.



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