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The world’s top heavyweight returns to the ring tonight at SAP Arena in Manheim, Germany as Wladimir Klitschko seeks to defend every belt of note, except the WBC, against the challenger of opponent Francesco Pianeta of Italy.
Poor Wladimir. He must envy fighters in lighter divisions; they can move up if they clean out their weight class.
And at 250 pounds, “Dr Steelhammer”, 59-3 (50), isn’t going to drop down to cruiserweight anytime soon. Instead, he must face opponents like Mariuz Wach, Tony Thompson and now, Francesco Pianeta.
Pianeta isn’t a bad fighter, he just has never been anywhere near the level of fighter he’ll be facing on Saturday.
What do we know about Pianeta? He’s a 28 year old tall southpaw, born in Italy, lives in Germany, has come back from Cancer, has held the European Union and WBC Youth titles and sports a professional record of 28-0-1 (15).
The last three opponents he’s faced were Nelson Dario Dominiquez, Frans Botha and Oliver McCall. Botha and McCall are slivers of their former selves and Dominiquez was gunned down in the first.
The trail turns cold after that.
Will Pianeta shake off the yoke of obscurity and give Klitschko a shocking defeat or even a really hard test?
It could happen. But, alas, unlikely.
Pianeta likes to get in close to opponents and throw a lot of hooks and uppercuts. He’s pretty good at it, but has also been facing a level of opponents that can’t do much about it.
That’s definitely going to change in Manheim. Pianeta will likely have difficulty getting past the long and powerful jab of Klitschko, where he will be subject to the very hard right hand of the champion.
If Pianeta does get past the jab, he certainly has a chance. Klitschko isn’t crazy about being pressured and doesn’t fight all that well on the inside, preferring to clinch if his opponents get in close.
Klitschko also has a loss to a southpaw on his record; Corrie Sanders in 2003, but Pianeta doesn’t have the fast hands of the late South African, nor the power, and is unlikely to break down the far more experienced Wladimir.
On the undercard, we have a potential future opponent for Klitschko, heavyweight Mike Perez, 18-0 (12), who goes up against veteran Travis Walker, 39-9-1 (31), in a ten round contest.
Lefty Perez, a former Cuban amateur based in Ireland, has moved through the usual suspects but has been inactive since December of 2011 so he’ll have to shake off the cobwebs against the more experienced Walker.
