byrd: wlad...is klitschko a shot fighter?

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17.04.06 - By Tim Neilson: Wladimir Klitschko, 30, will be fighting Chris Byrd this Saturday, April 22nd in Mannheim, Germany. Based on what I've been reading, many people are under the impression that Wladimir (45-3, 40 KO's) will simply be too much for Chris Byrd, who at 6'ft, is a liliputian compared to compared to the 6'7" Klitschko giant.

Based on size alone, you would think that this will be an easy fight for Wladimir, right? Wrong! Although Wladimir beat Chris Byrd, winning a 12-round decision in October 14, 2000, Wladimir is nowhere near the same fighter, having been knocked out twice since then and on the verge of another knockout in his last fight against Sam Peter, in September 24, 2005.

Let's return, then, to the point in Wladimir's career where, I feel, he was ruined as a fighter and that was in his fight against Ross Purity, on December 5, 1998. Purity, a hard punching journeyman with a dismal 24-13-1 record, was punched silly by Wladimir for 10 rounds, but then the fight suddenly changed late in the 10th, when Purity landed a hard right to Wladimir's chin, hurting him badly.. The round ended with Wladimir taking vicious head shots from Purity. In the following round, Purity immediatley pounced on Wladimir, who out on his feet and almost helpless. His corner, seeing that Wladimir couldn't do anything to keep Purity off of him, ran into the ring and stopped the fight before Wladimir could take any further punches to the head.

At the time of the fight, Wadimir had a record of 24-0 with 22 knockouts, which spoke volumes about his punching power. However, what the record didn't show was that Wladimir hadn't really been tested during any of those earlier fights. I mean, he had fought essentially 3rd tier fighters who were not even close to being in the same league as Wladimir. So, basically, you could call Ross Purtity, a 2nd tier fighter, Wladimir's first real fight and it marks where, in my opinion, Wladimir was ruined physically and mentally as a fighter. A lot of people point towards Wladimr's fight with the South African, Corrie Sanders (38-2, 29 KO's), in March 8th, 2003, as the point where Wladimir was beaten down and destroyed as a credible fighter, however, I disagree strongly with that opinion. True, it obviously didn't help that Wladimir was brutally chopped down in two rounds by the Sanders, a knockout artist of the first order.

However, I think Wladimir had never gotten over the Puritty loss, mostly from the chin standpoint but also with his confidence, which took a major nose dive following his loss to Puritty. To Wladimir's credit, he did what he could after his loss to Puritty, to steer his career back on course, by winning his next sixteen fights over mostly soft opposition. However, Wladimir was carefully brought along, keeping him away from really hard punchers, other than Derrick Jefferson, who despite having tremendous punching power, had a chin much like Wladimir's.

When the decision was made to fight Corrie Sanders, in my mind, Wladimir didn't stand a chance and was not even close to being ready, if he ever could again. For one thing, Sanders was a southpaw, with extremely fast hands, much faster than Wladimir's. For another, Sanders was almost the same size as Wladimr, meaning that in order for Wladimir to win the fight, he would have to be able to take a certain amount of hard punches to the head, something that I feel that he could no longer take. His only chance, then, was to run from Sanders, jab like crazy and protect his eggshell chin, but unfortunately for him, Wladimir decided to go right after Sanders and try to knock him out. It was a foolhardy decision, in my opinion, and those close to Wladimir, his trainer and management, should have warned him about doing such a thing.

Following Wladimir's fight with Sanders, he had two easy victories over light punching opponents, Fabio Moli and Danell Nicholson, before being put in with another huge puncher, Lamon Brewster (29-2, 26 KO's), in April 10, 2004. Again, Wladimir showed that he couldn't take a big punch, when after giving Brewster a sustained beating for four rounds, the fight suddenly changed when Brewster landed a left hook to the chin of Wladimir and hurting him badly. Wladimir was saved by the bell that ended the fourth round. However, in the next round, Brewster quickly put Wladimir away, winning the fight by 5th round TKO. Just as with his fight with Corrie Sanders, it was only a matter of time before Brewster knocked out Wladimir and, strangely enough, I think Wladimir might have known that himself because he seemed incredibly nervous all throughout the fight. By the time Brewster finally landed his final huge left hook to win the fight, Wladimir looked to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. All I can think was, he was deathly afraid of getting knocked out again, after feeling Brewster's power early in the first round. Nevertheless, it was one more indication that Wladimir didn't have it anymore, whether it be physically or mentally, and that he should be considering another type of career.

In Wladimir's next fight, he was, for some strange reason, matched up with another hard puncher, in DaVarryl Williamson (20-2, 17 KO's). I suppose Wladimir thought it would be an easy fight, considering that Williamson had been destoyed a year earlier by Joe Mesi, losing by 1st round knockout. However, after chasing the timid Williamson around the ring for 4 rounds, Williamson suddenly stopped in his tracks and briefly returned fire, landing a big right hand that landed on the tender chin of Wladimr, knocking him to the canvas. Wladimir made it up on weak legs and somehow made it to the end of the round without going down again. In the next round, thankfully for Wladimir, the fight was stopped after Wladimir experienced a cut over his eye when he dumped heads with Williamson. The fight went to the cards and Wladimir won by technical decision.

Finally, we get to Wladimir's last fight against Sam Peter, a fight that many of his fans, for some odd reason, like to point out, saying that Wladimir has progressed. However, believe me, there was no improvement in Wladimir, and he showed that his ability to take a punch was still deeply suspect, after getting knocked down three separate times by Peter in the bout. Honestly, the only thing I can really consider an improvement is his ability to clinch and thus, avoid taking punishment. Wladimir, also showed that he can run, since that's what he did for most of the fight because when he stood his ground, Peter would bore in on him and land big shots. To be fair, Wladimir returned fire quite often, and landed some beautiful rights, and left hooks, but for the most part, he was always in danger of being stopped.

So, with a weak chin and shattered confidence, can Wladimir win against Chris Byrd on Saturday night? The answer is, No! Sorry, but Wladimir is too far gone, in my opinion, to beat someone as skilled as Chris Byrd, who has improved steadily over the past 5 years. Based on what I’ve seen of Byrd in his past several fights, I predict a stoppage win by Byrd, probably by the 8th round. It’s too bad, because Wladimir could have been a great one, maybe even a Hall of Famer, who knows?