By Manuel Perez: With the WBC showdown between champion Vitali Klitschko (36-2, 35 KOs) and challenger Juan Carlos Gomez (44-1, 35 KOs) about to take place in just a few moments in Stuttgart, Germany, I thought I’d give my pick of who the winner will be winner in this fight heavyweight fight. Vitali, 37, comes in with a remarkable knockout record of 35 knockouts in 38 fights, and having never been behind in a fight before. In the flip side, Gomez, 35, was one of the best cruiserweights the division has ever seen and would have likely been an all time great if he had stayed at that level.
But, like Evander Holyfield before him, the lure of big money in the heavyweight division was too much for Gomez, who comes from Cuba. Other than one loss five years ago, Gomez has looked unbeatable at heavyweight and is one of the biggest secrets in the division.
I see Vitali dominating the early rounds with his power shots, and keeping Gomez fighting on the defensive. However, when the knockout doesn’t come, you’ll see Vitali wear down steadily round after round and take serious punishment in the last half of the fight.
Vitali’s only hope is that he can pile up a big enough lead in the opening half of the right to enable him to possibly win one of the remaining six rounds to win a decision. I don’t see that happening against the slick fighting Gomez, who will make him miss, cause him to use up his fireworks early and then punish him and make him look old in the latter part of the fight.
Prediction: Gomez by 12-round decision
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