By Scott Gilfoid: If the heavyweight contenders were hoping that IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitachko (61-3, 51 KO’s) would disappear and go off into retirement so that they could get a chance at winning his titles, they might not be happy to read the news that he plans on fighting for another decade until he’s 48-years-old like Bernard Hopkins.
Wladimir is currently 38-years-old, and not showing any signs of having lost anything from his game at all. If anything, Wladimir seems to be getting better defensively and that bad news for guys like Dereck Chisora and Tyson Fury, both of which likely benefit with the 6’6” Wladimir being gone into retirement.
“I just turned 38, but that’s only a number,” Wladimir said via Sky Sports. “I am still extremely hungry and better than ever. A few years ago, I thought I couldn’t improve, but my mission is still a long way from over. I want to box on for ten more years.”
I wouldn’t doubt that Wladimir can fight another 10 years. But he’s going to have problems against the young lions like Deontay Wilder. Wladimir can pretty much beat everyone else, but he’d probably against someone his own height with huge one-punch knockout power. Wladimir would have to be incredibly careful against someone like him. The rest of the heavyweights are either two short or two week to give Wladimir any problems.
Wladimir faces Australian challenger Alex Leapai (30-4-3, 24 KO’s) this Saturday night on April 26th at the Koenig Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. On paper, this shapes up to be another easy fight for Wladimir. It’s going to be up to the very short 6’0” Leapai to prove people wrong and fight well above the level that he’s shown during his 10-year pro career. I mean, we are talking about the same heavyweight who was stopped in 9 rounds two years ago by journeyman Kevin Johnson. With the way that Johnson has been beaten recently in losses to Chisora, Fury and Manuel Charr, it doesn’t make Leapai look good that he was beaten by them.
It also doesn’t make the World Boxing Organization look good either for ranking Leapai at No.1 over talents like Deontay Wilder. If Wladimir totally destroys Leapai like a lot of boxing fans think he will, it’s going to make the WBO look clueless for ranking him so high and setting him up against an unproven Denis Boytsov instead of a more solid – and more active heavyweight.
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