By Jack Dutton: Wladmir Klitschko, the current king of the heavyweight division, alongside his brother Vitali will face David Haye on the night of the 2nd of July. A mighty challenge for Haye and certainly his toughest fight as of yet. But, one thing must be considered. Wladmir “The Steelhammer” has been defeated. Three times to be precise. Despite his impressive 55(49 KO) record, he has been shown to have suffered three, albeit surprise, knockouts.

From observing Klitschko’s three defeats, it is clear there seems to be a solution to ‘de-throwning’ the current champion.

1.) Closing the distance. Lamon Brewster, who fought the champ in April 2004, focused upon one thing since the first clang of the opening bell: closing the distance as quickly as he could between himself and the Ukrainian heavyweight. Brewster determinedly stalked Klitschko around the ring each round, until he found success after wearing down Wladmir enough to not worry about the ‘Steelhammer’ blocking the quick succession of inside punches that dropped him to the canvas. This is why a small ring will favour Haye.

2.) Apply constant pressure. This was what Brewster achieved to a great success. He refused to allow his opponent to take control of the fight, limiting Wladmir to using only his jabs in an attempt to maintain distance between himself and Lamon. Once Klitschko showed signs of fatigue, he simply applied more pressure. Always being the hunter, forcing Klitschko to try and box on the outside. Once Corrie Sanders, who fought the Ukrainian the previous year, had stunned Wladimir he switched from attempting to punch on the outside and instead began to swarm him, not giving him space to breath until he hit the canvas.

3.) Take advantage of Klitschko’s questionable chin. Brewster, Sanders and Purity. All boast a KO dominated record of victories. Wladmir Klitschko has never endured being out pointed; instead he has been stopped in all three of his defeats. David Haye who possesses a respectable 25-1-0 record with 23 KO’s, evidently shows proof of his hard hitting capability, people only need to see his lightning fast round 1 knockdown of John Ruiz to witness the effect his right cross can have. Could this take advantage of Wladmir’s supposedly weak chin?

Hence, by looking at the pattern that has emerged, if Haye uses his skills as a counter puncher, to counter punch on the inside with quick hard hitting punches, rather than attempting to counter on the outside of Klitschko’s jab, whilst applying constant pressure to the Ukrainian, constantly stalking him around the square circle, he will achieve what the three before him have. But who can say for sure what will happen on the night. Yet it certainly is a breath of fresh air to see the two most promising fighters of their division go toe to toe, something that has been missing from the sport on recent years. Perhaps this will tempt a certain ‘Mr Mayweather’ to return from his ‘retirement’ and give boxing fans something they have been awaiting for a very long time.