Klitschko's rise from obscurity to championship is impressive

Wladimir Klitschko came back from two KO losses to win the vacant RING heavyweight title his brother once held.

Wladimir Klitschko, here struggling to get off the canvas at the end of the fifth round of his disastrous first fight with Lamon Brewster in 2004, has come a long way since that low point in his career. Klitschko, who won 11 bouts in a row after that loss (including a rematch victory over Brewster), fought his way back into contention before winning the vacant RING heavyweight championship Saturday. Photo by Naoki Fukuda.


When Vitali Klitschko announced his retirement in November of 2005 -- thus abdicating THE RING heavyweight title he had assumed from the sport’s last dominant champ Lennox Lewis -- he left an already barren division in even bleaker condition.

Due to repeated training injuries (that helped convince him, along with a desire to enter politics in his native Ukraine, to leave the sport), Klitschko’s brief title reign left much to be desired.

However, there was no debating that the rugged 6-foot-7 power-technician had the requisite skill and physical tools to dominate the division.

Who would fill void Klitschko left? A quick survey of the top heavyweights at the time did not reveal a potential savior, and nobody even thought to include Vitali’s younger brother Wladimir in the discussion, despite the 29-year-old giant’s obvious talent, skill set and athleticism.

That’s because he was only 1½ years removed from a crushing loss to huge underdog Lamon Brewster, who walked through wicked offensive fire for four rounds before brutally whacking out an totally spent Klitschko at the end of the fifth round.

It was the third TKO loss of Klitschko’s career and proof to most boxing writers and fans that he would never realize his considerable potential.

However, the fighter did not give up on himself, and neither did his new coach, Emanuel Steward, who helped rebuild Kitschko (in much the same way the hall-of-fame trainer assisted Lewis after the big Brit’s loss to Oliver McCall) into the seemingly impenetrable juggernaut that he appeared to be Saturday when he dominated Ruslan Chagaev to a 10th-round stoppage in front of a record indoor crowd of 61,000 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

With the victory, Klitschko earned THE RING’s heavyweight title, which had been vacant since his older brother stepped away from the sport.

The 33-year-old heavyweight champ should be applauded for the progress he’s made since the middle part of the decade when he was in limbo after suffering two humiliating losses (a second-round TKO to Corrie Sanders in March of 2003 and then the brutal stoppage to Brewster 11 months later).

When his older brother vacated the title, Klitschko had just begun his long comeback journey, and he appeared to be struggling.

He looked awkward and unsure of himself in scoring a bloody split technical decision over DaVarryl Williamson, who dropped him in his first bout after the Brewster debacle. Although he outclassed then-undefeated Samuel Peter over 12 rounds in his third comeback fight, he only narrowly out pointed the raw slugger because he hit the deck three times from glancing haymakers.

After the Peter fight, Klitschko was only THE RING’s No. 8-rated contender.

Who was in the top five? Chris Byrd (No. 1), John Ruiz (No. 2), Hasim Rahman (No. 3), James Toney (No. 4) and Brewster (No. 5). That motley crew wasn’t without its individual accomplishments and abilities but none of them possessed the right combination to suggest a dominant champ.

Byrd and Toney had the skill and will, but not the size. Ruiz had the determination but not the talent. Rahman and Brewster had the talent but not the consistency.

Klitschko has it all -- size, skill, will, and talent -- and he’s finally putting it all together in the ring.

Klitschko’s determination and consistency has been proven with his 4½-year, 11-bout win streak that has included six RING-ranked contenders, four of whom were unbeaten when he fought them.

And what about his supposed glass jaw, which let him down on three occasions?

Good luck to any heavyweight who attempts to reach it.

With the form the new champ is boxing with these days even Chagaev, the highest ranked and arguably the most technically sound of the RING contenders Klitschko has faced, couldn’t touch it.

Still, it will be fun to watch brash bangers like David Haye and Chris Arreola try.


THE RING RATINGS UPDATE

HEAVYWEIGHTS

With Klitschko’s ascension to the throne, all of THE RING’s heavyweight contenders move one space up, starting with his older brother Vitali, who was elevated from No. 2 to No. 1.

The 37-year-old former champ and current WBC titleholder has looked sharp since his amazing comeback last year. When Vitali un-retired to beat then-beltholder Samuel Peter into submission he and his younger brother realized a lifelong dream to simultaneously hold heavyweight titles (Wladimir held and continues to hold the IBF and WBO belts).

Following Saturday’s victory, the brothers added a piece of boxing history to their legacy.

“Now that Wladimir Klitschko has beaten Ruslan Chagaev, he and his older brother, Vitali, become only the second brothers in history to hold THE RING world heavyweight championship,” said RING editor Nigel Collins. “Vitali reigned from April 24, 2004, when he knocked out Corrie Sanders to win the vacant RING belt, until November 9, 2005, when he retired due to a series of injuries. The title remained vacant until Wladimir beat Chagaev. The other bothers to win the heavyweight title were Leon and Michael Spinks.”

The Klitchko’s have vowed never to fight each other, so fans will not see the No. 1 contender take on the champ.

However, there are plenty of other interesting RING-ranked challengers for Wladimir to choose from, including No. 3 Alexander Povetkin (17-0, 12 KOs), the winner of the upcoming bout between No. 5 Eddie Chambers (34-1, 18 KOs) and No. 7 Alexander Dimitrenko (29-0, 19 KOs), No. 6 Arreola (27-0, 24 KOs), No. 8 Haye (22-1, 21 KOs), and the new entry to the heavyweight ratings No. 10 Denis Boytsov (25-0, 20 KOs), a 23-year-old Russian who looked sharp in dispatching durable Taras Bidenko in six rounds two weeks ago.


LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS:

Jean Pascal (23-1, 15 KOs) crashed the 175-pound ratings at No. 8 on the strength of his rousing decision victory over Adrian Diaconu, who dropped to No. 9. Hugo Garay (No. 9 last week) exits following his decision loss to Gabriel Campillo.


MIDDLEWEIGHTS:

Javier Castillejo (No. 8 last week) departs from the 160-pound ratings as he has announced his retirement. Castillejo’s exit allowed Amin Asikainen to move from No. 9 to No. 8, Anthony Mundine to advance from No. 10 to No. 9, and Daniel Geale (21-1, 13 KOs) to reenter at No. 10.

“I was pleased that we had an opportunity to put Daniel Geale back in the ratings, Collins said about the 28-year-old middleweight from Australia. “He was forced out when Anthony Mundine beat him in a thrilling and extremely close fight. Paul Upham, THE RING’s Australia correspondent and a member of THE RING’s Ratings Advisory Panel, told me that he scored the fight for Mundine by one point watching it from ringside, but then scored it for Geale by one point when he watched a replay.”


DOUGIE’S RATINGS MINI-MAILBAG

NEW HEAVYWEIGHT RANKINGS

Dougie,
I just checked out the new ratings at Heavyweight, mostly to see how far Chagaev would fall. Can you justify keeping him in essentially the same spot behind the Klitschkos? I mean I know he's a better fighter than it appeared on TV, and I know from personal experience how hard it can be to let your hands go against a much taller, bigger, and stronger opponent, but Sam Peter was dropped at least 3 or 4 spots when he lost to Vitali if I remember right, and at least he threw 2 or 3 punches per round, while I'd be surprised if Chagaev threw that many in the whole fight.

If the Klitschkos are really that dominant, that's fine. But I'd expect the #2 contender in the world to do more than stand there and eat every jab and right hand served to him. He barely moved his head or his feet or threw a punch. Heck, he didn't even block very well. At some point, even an outmanned warrior has to decide he'd rather get knocked out by a big hook while taking a chance than to passively accept death by a million jabs. I think Chagaev should probably fall at least 3-5 spots, and I think Valuev is diminished by his conqueror's defeat, as well, if only by 1 spot. If Chagaev is really still the next best thing to the Klitschkos, these ratings mean nothing. They might as well put journeymen in against them. -- Dan, Columbia, MO

THE RING ratings mean NOTHING because Chagaev is at No. 2!? Good grief. Calm down. Take a deep breath and come on off that ledge, Dan.

First, in defense of Chagaev, the man DID move his head and his feet. He still got nailed by Klitschko’s jab because the big man’s left stick is as educated as it is hard and fast. Chagaev threw about as many punches against Wladimir as Peter threw against Vitali. He tried just like Peter tried. The reality is that he and Peter were 6-foot-1 heavyweights in against 6-foot-6-plus athletes who are skilled, experienced and cautious.

It’s easy to sit from your sofa at home watching Chagaev eat those jabs and think that he’s giving up or not trying hard enough. Here’s what you need to realize: Those Klitschko brother jabs would punch giant holes through your living room wall. Catching one Klitschko jab would knock you out COLD. Chagaev and Peter may not have cried out in agony every time they got hit with a jab, but trust me, they were hurt with every punch. It’s hard to come up with a winning strategy or to decide to go for broke when one’s brains are getting scrambled.

Anyway, I digress. You think Chagaev should have dropped two to five places because of his awful, shameful, pitiful (yes, I’m being sarcastic) performance, in part because Peter was dropped that much. However, you must remember that Peter had looked poor in two victories leading into his one-sided drubbing to Vitali. He was floored three times against Jameel McCline and had more than one wobbly moment when he stopped aging and inactive Oleg Maskaev to win the WBC strap. Peter was sliding down the list before he was stopped by Klitschko. Chagaev, although inactive due to illness and injury, hadn’t looked shaky going into Saturday’s showdown.

Still, if you think Chagaev needs to be lower than No. 2 in the rankings, can you tell me who deserves to be ranked ahead of him? There’s just so much talent in the heavyweight division these days it should be easy to find a more worthy contender than Chagaev (yes, more sarcasm). Come on, think real hard.

Surprise! Thaaaaaaat’s right, this ain’t the 1970s, homie! Kenny Norton, Jimmy Young, Ron Lyle, Oscar Bonavena and Ernie Shavers ain’t around.

Like or not, as sad as it is, Chagaev has wins over Nikolai Valuev and John Ruiz, both of whom qualify as RING-ranked contenders these days. The current contenders ranked below Chagaev do not have victories over two RING-ranked heavyweights.

If you think Alex Povetkin or Eddie Chambers or Chris Arreola or Alex Dimitrenko or David Haye deserve to be rated ahead of Chagaev go ahead and make that argument.

But be aware, I can easily shoot that argument down with these four words: “Who have they beat?”


SHOULDN'T WLAD BE AMONG THE P4P?

Hey, Doug!
First of all, I can't say enough about the good work you've been doing over here at The Ring. I read your mailbags religiously and I always enjoy your input.

Now, to the matter at hand. In my opinion, the pound for pound list is a list of the best fighters regardless of weight. I don't see why a guy like Wlad, who utterly dominates his weight class, should be excluded from the list. If you look at Wlad versus his competition, he's head and shoulders above everyone but his brother. I can't think of another weight class that is as dominated by one guy.

You could make a case that Vitali would beat him, but they never fight and anyway Vitali has only fought twice in the last five years. I think David Haye has a punchers chance at beating Wlad, but he's only fought one heavyweight and you have to admit that Wlad's power is something Haye will struggle with. Arreola is the only other guy with even a small chance, but I see him getting utterly demolished by Wlad's jab and right hand. Arreola just doesn't move his head enough, and I think he would be even easier for Wlad than Ruslan Chagaev. Other than that, who is there in the entire division, or even the ones below who has even the smallest chance of beating Wlad?

So the question is this: When do we stop penalizing Wladimir for his size? Thanks. -- Nathan

Thanks for the kind words, Nathan.

I agree that Klitschko “utterly dominates his weight class” and is “head and shoulders above everyone but his brother,” but the question you have to ask yourself before arguing if he belongs in THE RING’s Pound-for-Pound Ratings is how good is the heavyweight division and how talented are those fighters that he’s head and shoulders above?

You can argue that Klitschko has the stats to at least be included in the pound-for-pound debate. He’s defeated six RING-rated contenders and eight former, current or future major beltholders.

However, when the best fighters Klitschko has defeated are arguably Ruslan Chagaev and Chris Byrd, one has to take a closer look at the opposition at heavyweight. Do you think the heavyweight division can stack up to the junior welterweight, welterweight, junior bantamweight and other lighter-weight divisions that are represented in the pound-for-pound top 10?

Think about it: Calvin Brock was a contender when Klitschko beat him. Do think a modest talent like Brock could break into the top 10 of any other division? Do you think a fighter as raw and unconditioned as Samuel Peter could be a titleholder in any other division?

Denis Boytsov just broke into THE RING’s heavyweight rankings. The young man is good. He can fight. He might one day prove to be world-beater, but let’s be real, right now he’s still a prospect. He hasn’t beat anyone of note. Only in the heavyweight division, and perhaps the middleweight division, which is pretty weak outside of the top two or three, can an unproven kid establish himself as a bona fide contender.

So just because Klitschko is the king of the heavyweights doesn’t automatically make him an elite fighter.

But hey, I think he’s done enough to make us think about his consideration, and if he keeps winning he’ll continue to build the argument for his inclusion.


Doug Fischer can be reached at dougiefischer@yahoo.com