Round by Round: Wladimir Klitschko vs. Eliseo Castillo.

ByJim Cawkwell
The stage lay before Wladimir Klitschko to make his return in Germany, the country in which he and elder brother Vitali achieved much of their current reputations. An elaborate ring entrance utilizing pyrotechnics and giant electronic images sparked reminiscence of SKY network’s trademark shows

featuring innumerable priceless showmanship moments from former featherweight champion Naseem Hamed. When the lights went up and the excited noise reverberating through the arena calmed, Wladimir Klitschko looked to rebuild a shattered career in the hopes of one day regaining the heavyweight championship of the world. This is what happened when the Ukrainian giant met Cuba’s Eliseo Castillo in Germany’s Saturday night fight.

Round one: The ring measures twenty-four-feet in length, an extraordinary size by today’s standards; the theory is that Castillo should be able to box and move from Klitschko and he tries it for the majority of the round here. Weighing only 215-pounds, Castillo is seriously outweighed by Klitschko who looks all business in the opening frame. Klitschko looks fleet of foot and looking very athletic and able to cut off the ring very effectively. Klitschko’s jab is in full effect and Castillo stays outside. Klitschko attempts to jab and hook and does not try the right hand throughout the round which is largely uneventful to its end.

Score: 10-9 Klitschko.

Round two: Klitschko tries to trap Castillo on the ropes but to little effect as Castillo is slippery enough to evade serious punishment. Klitschko sticks out his jab and manages to land a decent left hook. The jab-hook combination is flowing well for Klitschko as he dominates behind his lead hand. Castillo is not fighting at this point and simply using the sheer size of the ring to move out of punching range. Towards the end of the round, Castillo lands a decent left hook followed shortly after by a right hand; these punches land cleanly enough but without the power needed to test a chin even so moderately regarded as Klitschko’s

Score: 10-9 Klitschko.

Round three: Klitschko begins to get closer with his jab and starts to really boss Castillo with it. Finally, Klitschko attempts a right hand. Klitschko postures and poses with his left hand hanging down, inviting a counter that will never come because Castillo looks petrified. Klitschko lands a jolting counter right hand. It is obvious now that Klitschko is pacing himself to avoid another stamina blowout early in the fight.

Score: Klitschko 10-9.

Round four: Castillo still will not fight and Klitschko ominously moves into position with the left closely followed by the right hand. Klitschko now doubles and triples the output of his jab at a time and they all seem to land. A Klitschko right followed by a swift left-right combination puts Castillo on the seat of his pants. Castillo gets up and tries to appease the referee but his legs say something else as he staggers to the opposite corner where referee Daniel Van De Wiele stops the fight.

Result: Wladimir Klitschko wins by TKO in the fourth round.

Summary: Wladimir Klitschko looked solid enough but it has always baffled me as to why he does not use his right hand for rounds at a time. He has a good left hand but not one that is beyond the reproach of a fast counter-punch. Klitschko did well in pacing his attack but if he offered this little offense towards a less inhibited foe with some power. This was the perfect opportunity to take Klitschko out once more and if a more live opponent than Castillo were present, I believe a much more difficult night would have been put to the Ukrainian. Emanuel Steward has Klitschko using the jab to great effect as this fight represented a virtual clinic on left hand domination throughout a fight. However, I must protest against Steward’s claims that Klitschko is ready for anyone. I believe that translates to the fact that at twenty-nine, Wladimir will not likely improve much more; if anything, Klitschko throws his right hand even less than his pre-meltdown phase. I think the theory is that it makes more sense to aim Klitschko at a title before his career vaporizes at the hands of another modestly talented opponent.

Jim Cawkwell can be reached at jimcawkwell@yahoo.co.uk