Klitschko wants back respect!
Wednesday, April 19 2006
By Karl Freitag
http://www.fightnews.com/fightnews_2...lFuRmiwMp.html
Since losing his title in 2003, former WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko said today that he has also lost a lot of respect. "Critics say no chin, no stamina, no balls, dead man walking, whatever....let's just fight the fight. That will show how good I am or how bad I am." He added that the only way to get that respect back is to get back to the top on Saturday night against IBF heavyweight champion Chris Byrd. Even though trainer Emanuel Steward has been trying to get Wladimir to box more, with an impressive 40 knockouts in his 45 wins, he told Fightnews.com that a knockout is very much a part of his battle strategy. "That's the best win you can have because if you win by points, after that people have so many questions about who won, etc... To win by KO is the best answer for all those questions before they come." He also commented that his win over highly regarded Samuel Peter proved that "dead men can keep walking and walking."
...and then there's this:
Byrd: No chin check for Wlad!
Wednesday, April 19 2006
By Karl Freitag
http://www.fightnews.com/fightnews_2...FZvOunrhQ.html
Even though Wladimir Klitschko has been down nine times in his last seven fights, IBF heavyweight champion Chris Byrd told Fightnews.com today that that he will not be tempted to deviate from his normal boxing style and try to "check" Wladimir's chin early in the bout. "You try to check somebody's chin you will get checked," said Byrd. "Boxing is boxing. You've got to work on the things you did in the gym, try to make it work for you, execute it the whole fight and not get hit with the big bombs. I'm a small guy in a big man's division. Wladimir Klitschko is one of the big, talented guys. So I have to be very smart in what I'm doing. Just fight a complete fight and not worry about knockouts or trying to check somebody's chin. Just box. Let the cards fall where they may."
Bookmarks