Wladimir Klitschko’s victory over David Haye on July 2 means that the Ukrainian heavyweight and his brother, Vitali, hold all four major world titles in boxing’s top weight division.
But critics say their defensive style that has brought so many victories is boring. What do the Klitschkos have to do to become legends on or off the ring?
After Wladimir Klitschko comprehensively outpointed Britain’s David Haye on July 2, the Ukrainian boxer and his elder brother, Vitali, made boxing history. At more than six-feet-six inches tall, the towering boxing duo are the first brothers to jointly hold all four major versions of the world heavyweight title.
Praise flooded in, including from the vanquished Haye: “He’s the best fighter on the planet right now.”
The brothers now have fearsome records. Wladimir has 56 wins, 49 by knockout, against three defeats.
Vitali has won 42 bouts, knocking out 39 opponents. He suffered only two defeats, forced to withdraw once with an injury and once with a cut while leading on points.
Wladimir, 35, and his older brother Vitali, 39, are both well-spoken, fluent in four languages, doctors of sports science, and thoroughly decent and likeable characters.
The Klitschko brothers are great boxers but they are boring. They don’t take risks. You’ve got to go for it in this sport, and give 100 per cent.
– Freddie Roach, trainer
But despite the brothers’ dominance of the sport’s blue-ribbon division over the past several years, which shows no sign of waning, some boxing aficionados remain unconvinced that they can be counted as true legends of the sport, up there with the likes of Mohammed Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman.
Critics say they are robotic, avoid risks and simply don’t have the same razzamatazz of former champions like Ali.
“The Klitschko brothers are great boxers but they are boring. They don’t take risks. You’ve got to go for it in this sport, and give 100 per cent,” legendary trainer Freddie Roach told Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.
The defeat of Haye, who was the WBA champion and widely considered the best non-Klitschko heavyweight, was typical of the brothers’ recent victories. Wladimir kept the shorter Haye at a distance, jabbing his way to victory. Even when it became clear that the Briton had little in his armory to cause concern, he failed to take the fight forward and seriously damage his opponent.
It was supposed to be the fight to reignite heavyweight boxing. Haye, a trash-talking Londoner with a big right hand, had promised fireworks despite making his name at the lighter cruiserweight. His failure to offer a significant threat to Klitschko means he also bears responsibility for the lackluster fight (he later blamed a broken toe for his performance).
Haye’s inability to live up to expectations encapsulates one of the Klitschkos’ main impediments to becoming all-time legends of the sport – the dearth of quality opponents.
Fighters are judged by whom they beat and the brothers have been unfortunate that they have no other stars to test their mettle. The names of recent opponents Eddie Chambers, Albert Sosnowski and even Samuel Peter will not reverberate down the ages.
The first thing I learned in boxing is to not get hit. That’s the art of boxing. Execute your opponent without getting hit.
– Wladimir Klitschko
Some experts, such as legendary heavyweight Larry Holmes, said part of the problem is that big, strong athletes in the U.S. prefer to go into football, basketball or baseball.
Wladimir in particular has been criticized before for not finishing weaker opponents, such as Sultan Ibragimov in his last fight in the United States.
The problem for many boxing fans is that they want to see a show, rather than a sport. The Klitschkos are powerful, technically gifted boxers who have developed a fighting style that allows them to dominate opponents and makes them difficult to hit. They fight to win.
The lack of quality opponents and the brothers’ conservative fighting styles means that none of their bouts can match up with tussles from the past, such as Frazier versus Ali or Riddick Bowe versus Evander Holyfield.
But they are unapologetic.
“The first thing I learned in boxing is to not get hit. That’s the art of boxing. Execute your opponent without getting hit. In sports school we were putting our hands behind our backs and having to defend ourselves with our shoulders, by rolling, by moving round the ring, moving our feet. I’ve knocked out 49 guys so far in 55 wins. That record speaks for itself,” Wladimir said recently.
The Ukrainian boxers face another problem. They are simply too nice and don’t do anything controversial. They don’t talk trash like Ali, or bite another fighter’s ear like Mike Tyson.
Lack of quality opponents damages fighters’ legacy.
Vitali will face Pole Tomasz Adamek on Sept. 10, a fighter who, like Haye, made his name in a lower weight division.
The Klitschkos’ manager, Bernd Boente, told the BBC last week that Vitali could fight Haye later this year or at the beginning of next year.
As Vitali and Wladimir enter the latter stage of their careers, it’s possible they will not get to face an opponent who can challenge them in their prime.
One bout that would get fans excited is Klitschko versus Klitschko. But a bloody clash between the brothers seems unlikely.
“We would have to talk to our mother again,” Wladimir said in an interview with The Ring magazine in 2009. “We know how much interest this fight would create and it would mean that one of us would be the supreme heavyweight champion. Of course our mother would not be very happy.”
Kyiv Post Editor James Marson and Sports Editor Kostya Dovgan can be contacted at [email protected] and [email protected]
