By Jason Kim: IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (58-3, 50 KO’s) is well stocked with huge heavyweight sparring partners to get ready for his November 10th title defense against undefeated 6’7 1/2″ contender Mariusz Wach (27-0, 15 KO’s) at the O2 World Arena, Altona, in Hamburg, Germany. Klitschko’s sparring partners are as follows: 6’7″ Deontay Wilder, 6’6″ Jameel McCline, 6’8″ Richard Towers, 6’6″ Vladimir Tereszkin, 6’6″ Nicolai Firth and 6’9″ Yevgeny Orlov.
Those guys should get the 6’6″ Wladimir ready for the size of Wach, and definitely the power. Wilder is easily a bigger puncher than Wach, but he’s a really different fighter. That part might be hard to duplicate because Wach is kind of slow and deliberate with his punching style. I don’t know that any of the sparring partners that Wladimir has in this camp is anything like Wach. They’ll be able to prepare Wladimir for Wach’s size but not his unusual fighting style. For that, Wladimir will have to figure it out as he goes and try his best to avoid running into any of Wach’s big right hand shots.
Wach is more dangerous early on in his fights. That’s usually when he scores most of his KOs. However, he’s still plenty dangerous late, especially against a fighter with a weak chin like Wladimir Klitschko. Wach has the power to knock anyone out in the division if he can land his shots flush. For him, it only takes one big shot and he’s capable of hurting you bad enough to where you won’t be able to survive.
Wladimir’s been knocked out by Lamon Brewster, Corrie Sanders and Ross Puritty in the past, and Wach can punch with the same kind of power that they all can. He doesn’t have the quick hands or the southpaw stance like Sanders, doesn’t have the big left hook that Brewster hurt Wladimir with in their first fight in 2004, and he doesn’t have Puritty’s great jab and excellent left hand, but his right hand is plenty dangerous.
If Wach can land that punch against Wladimir he could make it a short night. Wladimir has looked clumsy recently, missing with countless shots in his last two fights against Tony Thompson and Jean Marc Mormeck. He’s fighting like he’s lost his hand-eye coordination for some reason. If Wladimir fights like that against Wach, he could get knocked out for his troubles. Wladimir can’t be stumbling around, missing and looking clumsy against a big puncher like Wach because he can stop the show with one big shot.
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