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Do you remember the teacher that you had in high school that graded your class on a curve? It was a pretty nice deal. Rather than your tests being graded traditionally, 100-90% = A, 89-80% = B, 79-70% = C, 69-60 = D, 59% and lower = F the teacher would take the highest scoring test and begin the grading curve at that point with 10% intervals. For example if you scored the highest with a 92% the grading curve would begin with you, 92-82% = A, 81-72% = B, 71-62% = C and so on.
After rating Wladimir Klitschko’s performance on Saturday night a solid B or 85%, I felt compelled to use that same grading curve for the heavyweight division.
Before I comment on the rest of the heavyweight division, let me review how I came up with a score of 85% for Wladimir Klitschko’s, 47-3 (42), seventh round TKO victory over Calvin Brock, 29-1 (22).
The fight started at a cautious pace. Brock came out of his corner very nervous, losing his balance after a grazing right from Klitschko. Brock fell later in the round while trying to throw a jab. Although Klitschko easily won the first frame with his jab, he could have taken advantage of Brock’s inability to get his balance.
Brock seemed to settle down in the second and was the busier fighter, landing a few lefts to the body. Although Klitschko added a left hook to his jab, he still seemed reluctant to throw his right. Rounds three and four seemed like a John Ruiz tribute of hitting and holding. Although I gave the rounds to Klitschko, he still was not letting his hands go and that allowed Brock to build confidence.
Brock began the fifth round landing three consecutive jabs. Klitschko would answer with his own jabs and finally landed two straight rights that hurt Brock. The excitement continued into the six round when Klitschko received a large gash from an accidental headbutt, similar to the cut his brother Vitali experienced when his fight was stopped against Lennox Lewis.
Klitschko dominated the next round, landing a big right hand and then hurt Brock with a lead left hook and huge right. This would be the same combination that would knock Brock down face first into the canvas. Although Brock would beat the eight count, referee Wayne Kelly would stop the bout at 2:10 of the seventh round.
I was compelled to give Klitschko his grade of 85% because it was a good performance, but with some obvious room for improvement. He should have been able to take advantage of Brock in the first round and also let his powerful right hand go much earlier in the fight. But a lot of credit should be given to his performance late in the contest and his ability to finish in a convincing manner with a TKO victory.
I believe putting the heavyweight division on a grading curve puts Klitschko at the head of the class. Recent performances such as Shannon Briggs’ twelfth round stoppage victory over Sergei Liakovich for the WBO title may have had a dramatic finish but you would have had to been awake from sleeping through rounds two through eleven to see it.
Oleg Maskaev twelfth round stoppage victory over Hasim Rahman for the WBC title was a little more entertaining, but he is following that up with his first title defense against the unknown Peter Okhello in an untelevised bout in Moscow.
Klitschko is the IBF title holder and has made it clear to the media and the public that he will not consider himself a champion until he is able to unify the division. The four major alphabet titles in the heavyweight division, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO, have seen a total of eight different belt holders in 2006.
If Wladimir Klitschko can continue to build on his recent performances and fight some of the other title holders in 2007, we may finally be on our way to a heavyweight unification.
