Q and A with wlad klitschko

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Q&A with Wladimir Klitschko
By "Joy" Nesterenko (with special permission from www.klitschko.com)

Wladimir Klitschko’s self-discipline can be compared to that of an ascetic. Not only is he completely devoted to this fight but he also is determined to reach his peak. And to be prepared for April’s fight, Wladimir needs to be productive and trained. He needs:
- A sports gym with all the necessary equipment;
- A good team;
- Experienced sparing partners;
- List of goals that need to be accomplished;
- Decent living conditions;
- And a weather that’s ideal for training.
Well, after being bombarded with emails from fans, we decided to talk to Wladimir about those things during his videoconference.

Wladimir, on behalf of all your fans we send you greetings. All of us are interested in your training?
Preparation for this upcoming fight is going according to plan. The first phase, which consisted of physical training, has ended. Now we are fight training. This can be divided into two parts. First one, developing different strategies and fight plans by analyzing my opponent’s previous fights. The second – sparring, where we can prepare and test our strategies as well as develop new ones.
Both my trainer and I are pleased with our work.

It seems not everyone is pleased with your training…
It would interesting to hear why…

It’s about your sparring partners. Some question their experience and qualifications. Can they really fight like Chris Byrd…
I can answer it this way…there are many singers with wonderful voice that are impossible to copy. But, also, there are parodists who can successfully imitate anyone’s voice.
The primary role of sparring partners is to imitate, as closely as possible, your opponent’s style. That was our main requirement when we were selecting our sparring partners.

Is it possible to find out who are you sparring partners?
My sparring partners are fighters who were part of my prior trainings, and also some new guys who can precisely mimic by opponent’s style. We decided not to release their names until our training ends.

Wladimir, it’s clear that by now you know Chris inside out, so have you and Emmanuel developed a game plan and what can you tell us about it?
Let’s say, we studied enough material and will take advantage of it. Emmanuel and I fully agree on Chris’ strongest qualities as well as his weak points, which every fighter has.
Now our main priority is to find an opportunity to neutralize my opponent’s strengths and take advantage of his mistakes. But we also have to realize that Chris and his team are doing the same. Thus the one with better strategy has bigger chance of victory.

Wladimir, some say that Chris isn’t preparing much since this fight will earn him the highest payday ever, and he’ll retire – win or lose. What do you think?
I think it makes no sense. Chris is not going to stab himself in the back. He’ll enter the ring with one purpose – to avenge his lose in October 2000.

Wladimir, both of you promised a knockout victory. Realistically, there isn’t much possibility for him to knock you out. On the other hand, since your fight in 2000, no one has knock him down…
I’m not going to respond to Chris’ comments. Those are his words and his promises. However I’ll repeat myself again – I’ll be prepared to fight long distance but if there’s even a slightest chance for a knockout, I’ll do what I can to KO him. When and how is not possible to say. My main priority is to win.

Wladimir and how’s everything else going during your preparation?
Everything here satisfies me. I mean, I don’t need much - sleep, food, training and rest time.

And how’s the weather?
It’s warm here. Most of the time sun is up until nighttime. To tell the truth, some days it rains but I enjoy running in the rain.

Wladimir, from all of us we wish you the best with training…and your fight!
Thank you as well. We are moving confidently towards victory.

To see exclusive photos of Wladimir Klitschko training at his camp in Mallorca go to Klitschko.com and read the article "Wladimir Klitschko: We are moving confidently towards victory."

wlad's win over peter may have been a more assured performance from wlad....but peter is lumbering and slow....

chris byrd may very well put up a surprising performance this time out....if he can keep the pace up and be willing to take the fight to wlad as im sure he is more willing to do, then it gets very interesting....its been 5 years since they last met, and we've seen many wlads flaws...he gets gassed and has issues when stunned....

This time Wladimir stops Byrd.He will be the first guy to KO Byrd.Byrd is unmotivated in this fight with his mind on retirement rather than unifying the belts.Wladimir want's to be in the best shape ever for this fight and is very serious and his confidence is very high.Wladimir will be the NEW IBF HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!

Since the Rahman-Toney draw , its clear that Wvlad is the supreme heavyweight out there . I make him a strong favourite to beat Byrd this time infact I cant see how Byrd beats him . I know Wvlads been exsposed in recent fights but if anything , he is better than he was last time tehy fought . He is more accomplished , his jab is better and he has more experience at world level .

If Byrd has any ambition and goes for it , he gets knocked out . If not , he's on a survival mission and loses widely on points .

CC for the read Miles bro.