Klitschko likes being challenger for Joshua

By Boxing News - 12/20/2016 - Comments

Image: Klitschko likes being challenger for Joshua

By Eric Baldwin: On April 29, Wladimir Klitschko will be a challenger for the first time since his 7th round knockout victory over Chris Byrd in 2006. Byrd was the IBF heavyweight champion at the time, and the 6’6” Wladimir imposed his huge 5 ½” inch height and 28 pound weight advantage over the American to dominate and eventually stop him.

After Wladimir lost his IBF title to Tyson Fury last year, he now finds himself the challenger against the current IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs) at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Klitschko finds it an exhilarating experience for him to be challenger once again rather than the champion.

It’s a different experience for the 40-year-old Wladimir. He likes being on the other side for a change where he’s the hunter and he doesn’t have as much pressure on him than he did when he was the champion. It’s a different mentality being the challenger, and Wladimir finds it appealing.

Nevertheless, Wladimir is not the same fighter he was when he fought Byrd 10 years ago. He’s older, slower, less accurate with his punches, and less willing to throw power punches than he was back then. Joshua, 6’6”, 249lbs, is a lot better and stronger than Byrd was when he fought Wladimir for the second time. Everything is different now for Wladimir. The outcome could be a much different story for Wladimir this time compared to in 2006. It might not end the way Wladimir wants it to.

Wladimir said this to skysports.com about him enjoying being in the role of a challenger:
“I have an adrenaline rush in the blood, and I love it,” Klitschko said. “Life is an interesting thing – I’m getting to the press conference, I’m waiting for the champ, and in a certain way, it’s a déjà vu.”

It may seem like déjà vu for the Ukrainian Wladimir, but it’s a completely different situation with him fighting Joshua rather than Byrd, who was smaller, older, lighter and weaker than Wladimir. Joshua and Wladimir will for all intents and purposes be the same size when they get inside the ring on April 29. Joshua might have a slight weight advantage four or five pounds. Other than that, Joshua will have a one inch reach advantage. Wladimir might be slightly taller than him. The main difference is the youth advantage that Joshua has, and maybe his superior chin.

“I’ve been missing it. I was very comfortable where I was,” said Wladimir. “I look at it philosophically, in a certain way. How fast life turns around, and how quickly it can happen.”
No one in boxing stays champion forever. If you’re lucky, you can keep a title for nine years like Klitschko did with his IBF belt. But the heavyweight division was very weak during Wladimir’s time as the champion. He didn’t have to worry about guys like Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, and Riddick Bowe.

The division had been emptied out of the talented fighters during the nine-year period that Wladimir held the IBF title. At the same time, Wladimir was matched pretty carefully by his handlers in putting him in with a lot of weaker heavyweights when he would make a voluntary defense. Look at the guys Wladimir fought during the last nine years before his loss to Tyson Fury:

Bryant Jennings

Kubrat Pulev

Alex Leapai

Alexander Povetkin

Francesco Pianeta

Mariusz Wach

Tony Thompson x 2

Jean Marc Mormeck

David Haye

Eddie Chambers

Samuel Peter

Ruslan Chagaev

Hasim Rahman

Sultan Ibragimov

Lamont Brewster

Ray Austin

Calvin Brock

Out of all the fighters that Wladimir has fought in the last nine years, only three of them – Haye, Povetkin and Pulev – would be considered relevant fighters today. The rest of them are guys that Wladimir fought in what an easy payday without much danger involved.

“I look at this IBF title and it’s so familiar! I’ve been looking at you in this bag and in this suitcase for decades, so it’s so familiar!” said Wladimir about his old IBF heavyweight title.

Wladimir looked very bad in his last fight against Fury. If Wladimir wanted to hold onto his IBF title, then he should have been able to throw some punches to get the decision. He couldn’t or wouldn’t do it. Wladimir appeared afraid of throwing shots against Fury due to danger of him being countered.

If Wladimir wasn’t willing to throw punches against Fury, then he probably won’t want to do it against the much harder hitting Joshua. If Wladimir gets countered by Wladimir after a missed punch, then he likely will get dropped. Wladimir is a courageous fighter with great boxing skills and heart, but it might not matter if he gets back up off the deck.

Joshua will put him right back down on the canvas. Joshua is a great finisher once he gets his opponents in trouble. If Wladimir gets hurt against Joshua, then he’s likely going to get knocked out right away no matter what round it is.

it’ll be big news if Wladimir can find the fountain of youth for him to get back to the fighter he was 10 years ago for him to pull off an upset. Can it happen? It’s always possible that Wladimir can land something big in the fight to get a knockout victory. But with the way that he fought against Fury and Bryant Jennings in his last two fights, it’s improbable that he’ll pull off the upset. Wladimir must let his hands go for him to win the fight, and he doesn’t seem willing to do that at this late stage in the game. Wladimir’s fight against Joshua could be little more than a golden parachute for the Ukrainian fighter. He gets one last BIG payday in losing in front of a stadium full of boxing fans at Wembley on April 29th.