By Jason Kim: IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (5-3, 44 KOs) has a lot of ground to make up with boxing fans this Saturday night when he defends his title against American Tony Thompson (31-1, 19 KOs) in Hamburg, Germany. At this point, I’m not so certain that Klitschko, 32, will be able to win back many of the fans he lost in his last fight, a dull 12-round unanimous decision over Sultan Ibragimov on February 23rd) even if he stops Thompson very quickly in the bout. So much damage was done in Klitschko’s last fight, in which he looked almost petrified to throw a right hand against the light-hitting Ibragimov, and ended up winning on a decision by using exclusively his jab.
If there’s one thing fans can’t stomach is seeing fear in their favorite fighters, and in Wladimir’s case, he seemed to show nothing but fear for twelve continuous rounds without letup. What made it much worse than it would have been otherwise, however, was the fact that Ibragimov is a fighter with almost absolutely zero power to speak of and had little chance of hurting Wladimir, much less knocking him out.
By Aaron Klein: It took only one fight, a dull, uninspiring 12-round unanimous decision over Sultan Ibragimov, which appeared to erase three good years of performances in a single night for IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs). This Saturday night, Wladimir hopes to quiet his critics with an impressive win over challenger Tony Thompson (31-1, 19 KOs) at the Color Line Arena, Altona, in Hamburg, Germany.
By William MacKay: If IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs) is expecting his challenger Tony Thompson (31-1, 19 KOs) to sit back and fight him in a jab contest I think he’s sadly mistaken, and in for a much tougher fight than he expected. Thompson, 6’5″ 246 lbs with an 81″ reach, is an excellent puncher, especially at close range where he can use his hooks and uppercuts, and pound his opponents into submission. He may use his jab on the outside, but he often uses it more seldom than you’d think he would, focusing more on getting in close proximity to his opponents and beating them around the head and midsection with constant hooks and uppercuts. 
By Erik Schmidt: Having seen many of Wladimir Klitschko’s (50-3, 44 KOs) early fights in Germany, I can’t say that I’ve been pleased with the changes that have occurred to his boxing style of fighting in recent years. More specifically, I’m referring to Wladimir’s recent reluctance to throw his right hand with any sense of regularity in his fights. I’m not sure what the cause for this growing fear is on Wladimir’s part, perhaps his knockout losses to Lamon Brewster and Corrie Sanders, but I do know that he’s going to have to overcome his dread to throw his right if he expects to defeat his number WBO #1 challenger Tony Thompson (31-1, 19 KOs) in their fight on July 12th at the Color Line Arena, Altona, in Hamburg, Germany. 
By Aaron Klein: Since winning the IBF heavyweight title two years ago in April 2006 with a 7th round stoppage of Chris Byrd, Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs) has been a huge disappointment to many boxing fans, who had hoped that Wladimir would take on the best in the division and cement himself in the minds of people as the number #1 heavyweight in the division. Instead, however, Klitschko has meandered along, fighting Calvin Brock, Ray Austin, Lamon Brewster and most recently Sultan Ibragimov, few of which the fans wanted to see him fight. Perhaps more disappointedly, Klitschko, other than his fight with Austin whom he blew out in the 2nd round with a flurry of multiple left hooks, has looked average to poor in his other fights against very beatable fighters. 
By Eric Thomas: In a move that comes to no surprise to me, the IBF has decided to give IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs) an exception to bypass his IBF mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin (15-0, 11 KOs), in which case Klitschko will now be able to go ahead with his plans to defend his WBO title against the number # 1 mandatory challenger, Tony Thompson (31-1, 19 KOs), about which will likely take place in July. 
By Dan Ambrose: IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 Kos) is counting on the IBF giving him an exception so that he can bypass his IBF mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin, who recently defeated both Chris Byrd and Eddie Chambers in the IBF’s elimination tournament to come out as Klitschko’s mandatory challenger. However, instead of giving Povetkin a shot at his title, Wladimir has recently decided upon defending his WBO title against the #1 challenger Tony Thompson (31-1, 19 Kos), a tall 6’5” heavyweight known mostly for being an awkward volume puncher with little power. 