(Photo credit: K-MG) By Eric Thomas: IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (59-3, 50 KO’s) will be looking to capture his 60th career win over his former sparring partner Francesco Pianeta (28-0-1, 15 KO’s) at the SAP-Arena, in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Wladimir, 37, had been attempting to get a fight with WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin, but when he was unable to nail down the fight, he chose to get in an easy fight against the light hitting southpaw Pianeta just so that he can keep the rust from forming.
Wladimir said to ESPN “I was totally frustrated [at not getting a fight with Povetkin]. I decided to stay busy. It was six months, a long break, so I wanted to fight. I already remember what [former trainer Emanuel] Steward would tell me – ‘stay busy, knock people out.’ And that’s what I am doing.”
Although Pianeta, 6’5”, doesn’t have much of a chance to win the fight due to his lack of power, Wladimir isn’t taking him for granted. He’s treating this as a very serious fight despite Pianeta not having the credentials to deserve the fight in the first place.
In the week that he used Pianeta as a sparring partner to get ready for his title defense against Tony Thompson last year, Wladimir observed that Pianeta was an “aggressive fighter”, but who couldn’t land his shots on him. Perhaps with Wladimir’s titles being on the line and with thousands of boxing fans watching the fight, Pianeta might be able to land some of his shots tonight.
Wladimir had a tough time against southpaws Corrie Sanders and Tony Thompson in the past. Wladimir was stopped in the 2nd round by Sanders in 2003, and he struggled with Thompson before stopping him in the 11th round in their first fight in 2008. However, those are much different fighters than Pianeta, and it’s hard to imagine Wladimir having to work hard to defeat a guy like Pianeta.
Look for Wladimir to soften Pianeta up with his jab before going for the knockout in rounds five or six. Wladimir doesn’t jump on his opponents early anymore after having a couple of bad experiences against Sanders and Lamon Brewster, so you can expect for Wladimir to take his time against Pianeta.
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