Okay...so Wladimir Klitschko's jab didn't make quite the pulp of Sultan Ibragimov's face that I predicted it would. My tenth round mercy stoppage by the referee didn't come to pass, but Ibragimov's predicted inability to elude Klitschko's jab was downright prescient. Of course, everyone and their brother saw this coming a mile away, but I humbly think that ought not dull the shine. Klitschko picked up his 50th win, unified the two alphabet heavyweight belts at stake and did so on auto-pilot.
After a dancing with the stars first round where at least Ibragimov showed he tried to engage two or three times (giving him the round), Klitschko pitched a shutout on my card. I will describe round two and you can just imagine it repeated over and over until round ten when the tedium was interrupted by Ibragamov frustratedly (and literally) tackling Klitschko to the canvas in an effort to disrupt the repeating reel. It didn't work.
In the second round, Wladimir Klitschko got his left jab working. He stepped on Ibragimov's foot and the fighters were warned to avoid stepping on each other's feet by the referee. Ibragimov threw a few wild looping punches that missed. The round ended. Rinse, repeat.
It wasn't quite that bad, but that was truly the story of the fight. Ibragimov was in fact hurt once or twice and the ropes obviously saved him from hitting the canvas in the 9th, when Klitschko landed a couple of flush consecutive straight rights and lefts, but the referee didn't see it. I should add here that I find that kind of thing baffling, unless the referee was so far out of position behind the fighters that he didn't see Ibragimov sit down on the ropes and be launched back to a standing position. I suspect that's the case because there really is little other explanation.
In the 10th, Ibragimov had figured out how far behind he was and did his best to frustrate Klitschko by grabbing on to him, bullying him (as best he could for being outweighed by 25 or so pounds) and generally roughousing. It failed rather miserably though, because Klitschko's style really doesn't allow it. Equally quick, far bigger and stronger and resistant to engagement (except on his terms) Klitschko was able by and large to dance away from Ibragimov's efforts. If he didn't dance away, he (astutely) leaned in and tied up and since he's so much stronger than Ibragimov, the smaller man ended up being bullied himself.
That brings me to Klitschko's major failing as a boxer, in my judgment. Keeping in mind that the criticism comes in the context of a virtual shutout by "Dr. Steelhammer" (119-109 on my card), it's that Klitschko clearly doesn't like to get hit. Now, I can hear the counterpoint...who does? Isn't boxing (as voiced by Joe Calzaghe recently), "the art of hitting without being hit"? well, sure it is. But no boxer can actually avoid being hit entirely. That seems to be Klitschko's aim. He dances away from Ibragimov as if Ibragimov has the power to hurt him, where if he stood his ground and stayed in the pocket, he could exploit the opportunities borne of overextension and desperation by the smaller man. He could slip and counterpunch occasionally. Instead, he skips away to re-set and try to move forward and exploit his reach and strength advantage on his own terms. That works well against smaller men who can't reach him to compete with him and who don't have staggering power... but he'll be exposed (again....and again?) by big punchers who will pursue him, even at their peril, as he backs away.
I presume that his dance-away style was crafted to accomodate the reality that he can't withstand power punches. Well...that's a problem in the heavyweight division. It's a problem that's going to find him again and again against bigger punchers. It was evident against Sam Peter and if he is forced to fight Peter again (and odds are, that will eventually happen, hopefully sooner than later), we will see whether Peter can knock him out rather than down (three times, as before).
The best boxers make their livelihood living in the pocket, slipping punches, turning away from punches and minimizing damage while targeting their opposite, making their opponent pay for standing in with them and wearing them out. They are relaxed at their work. Peter had to learn how to beat that kind of boxer to convincingly stop James Toney in their rematch. He did. Will that help him against Klitschko who still looks on the verge of panic when pressed? Well...not exactly, but if he can change for Toney so distinctly, then there's hope that Peter can change in a different way for Klitschko.
The way to beat Klitschko is to come at him at rapidly changing lateral angles and be ready to exploit having put him off balance. He fights poorly off his back foot and gets off balance too easily. That's the downside of being so tall and muscularly top-heavy. From one angle (the front), he's rock solid and light on his feet (at times), but from the side, he's unsteady. A good unexpected shot as he tries to adjust, even to the chest, would put him on his rump. Is there a boxer out there right now that can do it? Maybe Peter. Probably noone else.
The official judges were unanimous, but I fail to see how one came up with 117-111. The other two at 118-110 and 119-11 make more sense. I tend to think that the size differential prompted some sympathy for Ibragimov such that when he showed activity, even when it wasn't particularly effective, it was rewarded over the continuous but markedly unsexy connected jabs of Klitschko.
The HBO broadcast was solid and I can only assume that as many as two of the official judges must have sided with Harold Lederman in the 6th round when he gave Ibragimov the round. I could not believe it because almost nothing different had occurred in the round, but my eyes must decieve me? In any case, Jim Lampley slipping in a very funny football reference in the 10th was a highlight: "credit for the tackle goes to Ibragimov!" One knock is that I think they could actually stand to give Klitschko a few seconds of airtime to trumpet his charitable work post-fight because, as they acknowledged prior to the fight, Klitschko sees his responsibility as heavyweight champion to extend beyond the ring. I think they ought to encourage that instinct. It elevates the sport and turns boxers into ambassadors of and for the sport. It's good for Klitschko and right now what is good for him is good for them and good for the sport.
Emmanuel Steward's advice to Klitschko between the 11th and 12th rounds seemed downright foolish. Only Lennox Lewis' proposed interpretation saved Steward from looking frankly stupid. Perhaps indeed Steward was trying to motivate a Wladimir Klitschko that only he knows when he told him that it would be "really bad if [he] didn't knock him out..." in the 12th and final round. Perhaps indeed Steward knew Klitschko would want that kind of motivation planted in his head to spur him into the final round. But...that's a very dangerous opinion to voice to a fighter who has essentially dominated the action all night and who, going into the last round against a desparate championship caliber opponent about to lose his belt and his undefeated record, has shown a pre-disposition in the past to being knocked out by one punch. I guess Steward was so certain that Ibragimov had no chance to hurt his fighter that he could revert to fight announcer mode. Were I a trainer (and I am not), I don't think I could ever be that comfortable, given those circumstances.
Wladimir Klitschko continued to establish himself as the heavyweight to which all roads lead if any other heavyweight is looking to establish dominance. Given the interesting revival of Nicolai Valuev, could we see that giant giving Wladimir a little taste of his own medicine down the road? I wonder. Until then (and here's hoping Vitali stays retired), Wladimir smartly remains the class of the division, jabbing his way to a new belt. As Max Kellerman of HBO mentioned a couple of times in the course of the evening, Larry Holmes and Lennox Lewis were widely criticized at times for their use of a heavy jab to win decisions. What Kellerman didn't add wasn't perhaps quite as obvious to the uninitiated...that company like that is the kind of company that Klitschko is surely seeking and that Lewis and Holmes, though criticized at the time, are now widely considered to be the best heavyweights of their respective generations. Klitschko is starting to look like he deserves mention in that company. If he beats Sam Peter more convincingly, he'll deserve it. I wonder if he can. I hope we get to find out.
After a dancing with the stars first round where at least Ibragimov showed he tried to engage two or three times (giving him the round), Klitschko pitched a shutout on my card. I will describe round two and you can just imagine it repeated over and over until round ten when the tedium was interrupted by Ibragamov frustratedly (and literally) tackling Klitschko to the canvas in an effort to disrupt the repeating reel. It didn't work.
In the second round, Wladimir Klitschko got his left jab working. He stepped on Ibragimov's foot and the fighters were warned to avoid stepping on each other's feet by the referee. Ibragimov threw a few wild looping punches that missed. The round ended. Rinse, repeat.
It wasn't quite that bad, but that was truly the story of the fight. Ibragimov was in fact hurt once or twice and the ropes obviously saved him from hitting the canvas in the 9th, when Klitschko landed a couple of flush consecutive straight rights and lefts, but the referee didn't see it. I should add here that I find that kind of thing baffling, unless the referee was so far out of position behind the fighters that he didn't see Ibragimov sit down on the ropes and be launched back to a standing position. I suspect that's the case because there really is little other explanation.
In the 10th, Ibragimov had figured out how far behind he was and did his best to frustrate Klitschko by grabbing on to him, bullying him (as best he could for being outweighed by 25 or so pounds) and generally roughousing. It failed rather miserably though, because Klitschko's style really doesn't allow it. Equally quick, far bigger and stronger and resistant to engagement (except on his terms) Klitschko was able by and large to dance away from Ibragimov's efforts. If he didn't dance away, he (astutely) leaned in and tied up and since he's so much stronger than Ibragimov, the smaller man ended up being bullied himself.
That brings me to Klitschko's major failing as a boxer, in my judgment. Keeping in mind that the criticism comes in the context of a virtual shutout by "Dr. Steelhammer" (119-109 on my card), it's that Klitschko clearly doesn't like to get hit. Now, I can hear the counterpoint...who does? Isn't boxing (as voiced by Joe Calzaghe recently), "the art of hitting without being hit"? well, sure it is. But no boxer can actually avoid being hit entirely. That seems to be Klitschko's aim. He dances away from Ibragimov as if Ibragimov has the power to hurt him, where if he stood his ground and stayed in the pocket, he could exploit the opportunities borne of overextension and desperation by the smaller man. He could slip and counterpunch occasionally. Instead, he skips away to re-set and try to move forward and exploit his reach and strength advantage on his own terms. That works well against smaller men who can't reach him to compete with him and who don't have staggering power... but he'll be exposed (again....and again?) by big punchers who will pursue him, even at their peril, as he backs away.
I presume that his dance-away style was crafted to accomodate the reality that he can't withstand power punches. Well...that's a problem in the heavyweight division. It's a problem that's going to find him again and again against bigger punchers. It was evident against Sam Peter and if he is forced to fight Peter again (and odds are, that will eventually happen, hopefully sooner than later), we will see whether Peter can knock him out rather than down (three times, as before).
The best boxers make their livelihood living in the pocket, slipping punches, turning away from punches and minimizing damage while targeting their opposite, making their opponent pay for standing in with them and wearing them out. They are relaxed at their work. Peter had to learn how to beat that kind of boxer to convincingly stop James Toney in their rematch. He did. Will that help him against Klitschko who still looks on the verge of panic when pressed? Well...not exactly, but if he can change for Toney so distinctly, then there's hope that Peter can change in a different way for Klitschko.
The way to beat Klitschko is to come at him at rapidly changing lateral angles and be ready to exploit having put him off balance. He fights poorly off his back foot and gets off balance too easily. That's the downside of being so tall and muscularly top-heavy. From one angle (the front), he's rock solid and light on his feet (at times), but from the side, he's unsteady. A good unexpected shot as he tries to adjust, even to the chest, would put him on his rump. Is there a boxer out there right now that can do it? Maybe Peter. Probably noone else.
The official judges were unanimous, but I fail to see how one came up with 117-111. The other two at 118-110 and 119-11 make more sense. I tend to think that the size differential prompted some sympathy for Ibragimov such that when he showed activity, even when it wasn't particularly effective, it was rewarded over the continuous but markedly unsexy connected jabs of Klitschko.
The HBO broadcast was solid and I can only assume that as many as two of the official judges must have sided with Harold Lederman in the 6th round when he gave Ibragimov the round. I could not believe it because almost nothing different had occurred in the round, but my eyes must decieve me? In any case, Jim Lampley slipping in a very funny football reference in the 10th was a highlight: "credit for the tackle goes to Ibragimov!" One knock is that I think they could actually stand to give Klitschko a few seconds of airtime to trumpet his charitable work post-fight because, as they acknowledged prior to the fight, Klitschko sees his responsibility as heavyweight champion to extend beyond the ring. I think they ought to encourage that instinct. It elevates the sport and turns boxers into ambassadors of and for the sport. It's good for Klitschko and right now what is good for him is good for them and good for the sport.
Emmanuel Steward's advice to Klitschko between the 11th and 12th rounds seemed downright foolish. Only Lennox Lewis' proposed interpretation saved Steward from looking frankly stupid. Perhaps indeed Steward was trying to motivate a Wladimir Klitschko that only he knows when he told him that it would be "really bad if [he] didn't knock him out..." in the 12th and final round. Perhaps indeed Steward knew Klitschko would want that kind of motivation planted in his head to spur him into the final round. But...that's a very dangerous opinion to voice to a fighter who has essentially dominated the action all night and who, going into the last round against a desparate championship caliber opponent about to lose his belt and his undefeated record, has shown a pre-disposition in the past to being knocked out by one punch. I guess Steward was so certain that Ibragimov had no chance to hurt his fighter that he could revert to fight announcer mode. Were I a trainer (and I am not), I don't think I could ever be that comfortable, given those circumstances.
Wladimir Klitschko continued to establish himself as the heavyweight to which all roads lead if any other heavyweight is looking to establish dominance. Given the interesting revival of Nicolai Valuev, could we see that giant giving Wladimir a little taste of his own medicine down the road? I wonder. Until then (and here's hoping Vitali stays retired), Wladimir smartly remains the class of the division, jabbing his way to a new belt. As Max Kellerman of HBO mentioned a couple of times in the course of the evening, Larry Holmes and Lennox Lewis were widely criticized at times for their use of a heavy jab to win decisions. What Kellerman didn't add wasn't perhaps quite as obvious to the uninitiated...that company like that is the kind of company that Klitschko is surely seeking and that Lewis and Holmes, though criticized at the time, are now widely considered to be the best heavyweights of their respective generations. Klitschko is starting to look like he deserves mention in that company. If he beats Sam Peter more convincingly, he'll deserve it. I wonder if he can. I hope we get to find out.
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