By John F. McKenna (McJack): WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO/Ring heavyweight champion Vladimir Klitscko (56-3, 49 KO’s) and his older brother WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (44-2, 39 KO’s) have achieved their long time objective of winning all the heavyweight title belts. Vladimir took David Haye’s WBA belt in Germany on July 2.

The Klitschko’s have dominated the heavyweight division in a fashion not seen in decades. During the title reign of the Kltiscko’s there has been a steady stream of criticism directed at them claiming that they are boring. Vladimir, the more cautious and conservative of the two, has received the brunt of the criticism.

The boring accusations are usually accompanied by the charge by their detractors that the heavyweight division is far weaker than in years past. Let’s take a look at the charges and who is making them.

There was no bigger critic of Vladimir Klischko than his July 2 opponent David Haye.
“Dr. Steelhammer’s” July 2 fight with the “Hayemaker” was in fact very boring. And the primary reason it was a boring fight was that Haye refused to engage Vladimir as he boasted he would do prior to the fight. His numerous “Fall Downs” in the fight were an embarrassment not only to Haye, but to all of his English fans who passionately supported him.

There is no denying that of the two brothers Vitali is the more aggressive and entertaining fighter to watch. Vladimir’s over cautiousness undoubtedly stems from the three knockouts he suffered earlier in his career. Vladimir’s trainer Emanuel Steward can sometimes be heard urging his fighter on in an effort to motivate him to fight harder. That is part of who Steward is. He still thinks Vladimir is an exceptionally gifted fighter as do his sparring partners and former opponents.

Both of the Klitschko brothers are in the habit of filling up soccer stadiums in Germany with fans willing to put money down to watch them fight. To their East European and German fans the Klitschko’s are not boring. The Klistschko’s also draw massive TV audiences worldwide even without support from the US.

Boxing in the United States has been on the wane for a number of years. The heavyweight division was formerly the glamour division in the USA. It is a bitter pill, but the really good heavyweights are not coming from America anymore.

Much of the criticism being heaped on the Klitscko’s is coming from fans in the United States. Our perception in the USA was formed when we were growing up. Most of us are not too thrilled when we see these huge unorthodox fighters from the Ukraine who so easily dominate our fighters.

The other criticism of the Klitschko’s is that the talent in the heavyweight division is not what it was in years gone by. Some of that may be true, but it is more likely that it is the Klitschko’s dominance which makes the other heavyweights look so bad.

When Joe Louis was knocking out everybody he fought in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s he got hit with the same charge that his competition was really not up to par. As a matter of fact when Louis defended his title seven times in 1941 some boxing writers and fans dubbed it Louis’ “Bum of the month campaign.”

It is pretty well acknowledged that athletes have gotten better in most sports due to advanced training techniques, conditioning and diet etc. The same is true in boxing. There are training methods being used today that were not available to fighters even twenty or thirty years ago. Detractors of the Klitschko’s would have you believe that today’s athletes and boxers in the lower weight divisions are better, but that heavyweights are inferior.

That just does not make any sense. It is all about our perception.