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© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing
So, Wladimir Klitschko is still WBO and IBF World Heavyweight Champion, after a 10th round TKO victory over previously unbeaten Ruslan Chagaev.
But what did this fight tell us that we didn’t already know regarding the stagnating heavyweight division? The answer is very little.
Chagaev, a late replacement for British contender David Haye, was coming into the fight having trained in previous months for a much bigger opponent, in 7 footer Nikolai Valuev.
What would have been their second meeting (Chagaev winning the first), was cancelled in May, due to Chagaev allegedly having Hepatitis B, and threat of passing it on to his adversary.
Klitschko allayed any fears of himself catching it, by stating that he had already been inoculated against the virus.
To the fight then, in the spectacular Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, with 60,000 plus fans inside the stadium, the Champion was expected to put on a show for his adoring German fans.
To a certain degree Klitschko was very slick, catching the challenger with some powerful straight rights, including one flush on the nose midway through the second which floored Chagaev.
With plenty of time to recover, many were hoping Chagaev was conserving his energy for the later rounds. But any remote hint of even a half-hearted assault never seemed to materialise from the Uzbek, as he took countless shots, with the amount of punches coming back in short supply.
When Wladimir opened up a cut above Chagaev’s left eye in the sixth, it was obvious the end was near, with the challenger’s unbeaten record disappearing without a whimper.
When his corner threw the towel in at the beginning of the tenth, there was an air of inevitability about it, as what could have been one of Klitschko’s hardest defences had become almost a stroll in the park.
The most surprising fact at the conclusion of this bout, was that the Champion had just dismantled the no.3 contender in the division, whilst hardly breaking a sweat. This surely tells us everything we need to know about the heavyweights at the moment.
It was safe to say, that Wladimir surely wouldn’t have got this much peace from former cruiserweight king Haye.
The 28-year old Londoner, who is now looking at fighting Vitali Klitschko in Autumn, must have taken minor consolation to find Wladimir’s safety-first tactics were still intact. As there seemed at least more than one occasion where he could have ‘gone in for the kill’, but decided against it.
The 6’5 Ukrainian has now set his sights on fighting joint WBA Champion Valuev, after insisting Haye must wait his turn.
Now it seems that if ‘The Hayemaker’ wants a shot a Wladimir, he will have to do it the hard way, by taking out the Ukrainian’s sibling, who has never hit the mat in 39 fights.
