(Picture credit: Public Address) By John F. McKenna (McJack): It’s down to crunch time for undefeated Polish heavyweight contender Marius Wach (27-0, 15 KO’s). Marius faces WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO and Ring heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (58-3, 51 KO’s) on Saturday night in Hamburg, Germany. To his credit Wach has not ducked Wladmir, who after taking on the late Emanuel Steward as his trainer has become one of the most dominant heavyweight champions in boxing history.

Some boxing pundits have been critical of Klitschko’s choice of opponents over the last couple of years. But the fact is that the Klitschko’s have pretty much cleaned out the heavyweight division in a manner that has not been seen since the days of the great Joe Louis. It should also be noted that a number of top heavyweight contenders appear to be in no hurry to take on “Dr. Steelhammer” in the hope that he retires before they have to face him in the squared circle. Alexander Povetkin, Tyson Fury, Robert Helenius and David Price are among the fighters who have appeared reluctant to say the least, to climb into the ring with Klitschko.

Wladimir was forced to reach down in the barrel in search of a suitable opponent when he fought Jean-Marc Mormeck (36-5, 22 KO’s) last March. Mormeck was totally out of his league and offered no resistance to Klitschko before he was KO’d in the 4th round. Last July Tony Thompson (36-3, 24 KO’s) was Wladimir’s IBF mandatory challenger. He too put up little resistance before he was methodically destroyed by Klitschko in a 6th round KO.

Wach promises that things will be different when he faces off against Klitschko, but that is pretty much what you would expect a challenger to say who will be embarking on the hugest fight of his life by far. Going for Marius is his size and his undefeated record. At 6’7 ½” Wach is a full 1 ½” taller than the 6’6” Klitschko and will most likely outweigh him by approximately ten pounds. Most importantly, Wach will be relying on his powerful right hand, to take “Dr. Steelhammer” out of the game.

The harsh reality for the “Viking” however is that he comes up way short of Klitschko’s skill level. This fight will prove to those who attribute Wladimir’s success in the ring to his huge size that he is more than just a big heavyweight. He reigns supreme over all the present heavyweights on the scene with the exception of his brother Vitali.

Wach will quickly realize that he is woefully inadequate when matched against Klitschko. We have no way of knowing how well Marius takes a punch. Wladimir will in all probability play it cautious in the opening rounds, wary of Wach’s right hand. Klitschko will play it safe until he decides to pull the trigger ending the one sided match.