SOMETIMES Wladimir Klitschko must feel like a benevolent king observing wryly the foibles of his subjects and pretenders alike. As the imperious leader of the heavyweight division enjoys the new contentment of fatherhood, he can cast a bemused eye at the parade of unlikely challengers lining up to face him.
Small and limited fellow Ukrainian Vyacheslav Glazkov recently captured a contentious decision over Steve Cunningham to secure the IBF mandatory slot, while strong but raw Australian Lucas Browne will soon meet WBA โregularโ champion Ruslan Chagaev, an Uzbek Wladimir dealt with handily back in 2009. Only WBO No. 1 Tyson Fury and new WBC ruler Deontay Wilder present more plausible threats, but even those two young, ambitious, undefeated fighters would start significant underdogs in a two-horse race with the thoroughbred Klitschko, who celebrated his 39th birthday this year and remains ensconced in a glorious prime that looks like never ending.
While Klitschko surely longs for sterner tests than โจKubrat Pulev, โจwho was vanquished โจin five rounds โ maybe even yearns for the days of David Haye and his provocative t-shirts โ it is the championโs duty to talk up his uninspiring future foes, thus creating interest where there may be little and ever-greater fortunes when his earning potential could start to dip. Klitschko will likely always sell out huge venues in Germany where an educated audience appreciate his prowess, even if the shallow well of sellable rivals ultimately runs dry, but globally the market for his brand of pugilism is more likely to fluctuate.
โThe heavyweight division has always had ups and downs at different times,โ he reasons, taking his time but proceeding โจin fluent English. โOn the European โจside, people didnโt complain about โจit because we filled out stadiums โ โจVitali [his brother] and my fights were like seven or eight stadiums in a row โจsold out and the TV ratings were great โ but in the US people were saying heavyweight boxing is bad so thereโs no interest โจor nothing was happening, even though Vitali โจwas fighting in 2009 against Chris Arreola on HBO. Itโs all questionable. There was a lot of talk about the Klitschkosโ โboring dominanceโ, you name it, always something was wrong. But now Iโm happy to have more people being involved at heavyweight, more names, exciting young fighters like Deontay Wilder became champion, Bryant Jennings and your countryman Tyson Fury. It all works well with timing. Iโm still young enough to compete and show to my young competitors that age doesnโt mean much; actually itโs more โจof an advantage than a disadvantage. โจIn Europe the hype was high, in the US it was low but now the US picked up.โ
Any unification showdown with Wilder would probably be staged Stateside also. Additionally, โจ a Fury fight could generate big bucks in Britain, so Wladimir should maintain the family stock of nappies and wet wipes for some time to come, but itโs perhaps telling that he is looking even further ahead and waxing lyrical about โจthe potential of one Anthony Joshua, โจthe 13-fight pro who succeeded him as Olympic super-heavyweight gold medallist by 16 years. This illustrates Klitschkoโs belief in his own longevity but also perhaps an underlying fear that the marketable match-ups could soon grow thin.
โI believe the future belongs to Anthony Joshua,โ he tells me, with apparent sincerity. โจโI havenโt seen an athlete as athletic, as big, as fast, as talented as Anthony and if heโs going to continue the way he is, developing himself, the future belongs to him. โจThatโs my prediction and trust me, I know what Iโm talking about.โ
Klitschko is an authority on boxing although his sentiments regarding Joshua are of course laced with self-interest. โจHe appears far more cordial towards the British prospect than Wilder, even though both men have previously joined Klitschko in camp. Chagaev and Tony Thompson are two of the other men to spar with the king โ Fury trained alongside Wladimir but the pair never opposed each other โ only to be found severely lacking when they went at it for real. The pattern is easy to discern, at least for this cynical hack: Klitschko gets an intimate portrait of a potential future rival, but this is characterised as an opportunity for said fighter to learn from the champion. If Klitschko should also gain a psychological advantage through what occurs in the sparring ring, all the better. Lennox Lewis wrote words to that effect in this publication only recently. Wladimir, to his credit, refuses to dodge or deny the implication, but chooses to view the situation from another angle.
โIn a certain way, I see that there is a repetition of the history,โ he begins in cautious fashion, similar to the feeling-out process he typically favours in the early rounds of title defences. โI know that Muhammad Ali had Larry Holmes as a sparring partner and other guys. I donโt want to draw these parallels because Holmes beat Ali in a fight. I think itโs great experience for the young fighters and great competition for me in the ring. I want to โจbe the best in the ring while Iโm fighting โจso I need the best sparring partners. Iโve already had a sparring partner in Tony Thompson, who was later twice my opponent. Francesco Pianeta and Ruslan Chagaev were also my sparring partners. โจIโve been there, done this experience and โจIโm not afraid to fight these guys at all. โจIโm not afraid to let them know how โจI prepare. My future opponents can watch me while Iโm working out. One thing is a sparring session but another one is to be across the ring from me on fight night, because Iโm a different animal then. โจIโm dominant in a fight and my sparring partners know Iโm dominant in sparring as well; you could probably ask them better. I donโt know, Iโve never had troubles or problems where I got beat up or my sparring partners were too strong.โ
Iโm happy to take that as a qualified confirmation, but itโs unlikely Wladimir would concur. As my allotted 30-minute slot whizzes by, it occurs to me that our conversation is remarkably, albeit metaphorically, similar to a sparring session. I probe carefully, Wladimir defends himself in composed manner, shooting out the odd jab in response, but on the occasions when over-reach โ and there are a few โ I am punished immediately and conclusively for my temerity. My suggestion that the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao megafight will steal much of the thunder from Klitschkoโs first fight on American soil for seven years meets reasoned resistance; Wladimir believes the match will benefit boxing as a whole, plus early indications โจare that the MSG show will sell out. โจMy contention that Wilderโs rise has made heavyweight boxing more exciting, more viable in the US, and furthermore that Klitschko might not be fighting both in the States and on HBO, if it werenโt for the WBC boss, is rebuffed not once, but twice.
โItโs all about the demand, and demand is better and thatโs why Iโm there,โ Klitschko insists regarding his American return. โจโItโs obviously great to switch the places. Iโve been fighting in Europe for many years now and Iโve had great success, โจIโm so appreciative to all the fans and I know, for them, โจitโs great to see me fighting in New York because theyโre travelling over there. Itโs gonna be end of May, warm, nice and New York is a really exciting city. For me, it was just a question of demand.โ
But surely Wilder and his impressive WBC strap-winning victory over previous holder Bermane Stiverne in January were instrumental in increasing that demand; that a US citizen now owns a portion of the world heavyweight title logically stimulates greater interest in the division as a whole on their shores. This time I have some success and the experienced champion at least concedes space before countering adeptly.
โAbsolutely, yes, Iโm happy that Wilder won the fight,โ Klitschko admits, albeit answering a different, unasked question. โHeโs younger than Stiverne, he has an amazing record and I think heโs going to create a lot of interest. Heโs a marketable athlete. He looks like an athlete โ โจnot kinda heavy and chunky. His age and boxing record creates definitely interest and attention from the US side in the heavyweight division.
โItโs good that he fought Stiverne.โจ I mean, people criticise about a lot of things; Iโm getting criticised all over โจthe place for my style of my dominance. Even when youโre dominant as I am youโre getting โboringโ, which is ridiculous. I think he is a little underestimated, Deontay Wilder, I think he can really do it. Iโm not talking about Anthony Joshua because heโs not a champion yet but I think Deontay has the qualities of a champion.โ
Itโs notable that Klitschkoโs initial praise of Wilder is limited to the younger manโs physique and his startling record of 32 early finishes from 33 victories. His reluctance to afford Wilder too much credit is perhaps indicative of how distant he perceives their eventual meeting to be. When pushed further, however, Wladimir again gives ground, but I am aware that these moments are fleeting.
โI had him in my camp for Mariusz Wach in 2012,โ Klitschko recalls. โThat was the camp during which [his trainer] Emanuel [Steward] unfortunately passed away. โจWe sparred for three weeks. Absolutely talented and ambitious athlete with great speed and punching power. With age he has improved and has showed he can fight for 12 rounds and not just five. I can only say positive things about Deontay and Iโm actually a fan of his record because not many heavyweight fighters or boxers in general have created such an amazing knockout percentage.
โIt [a unification clash] absolutely can become a huge event. It depends how he is going to perform and how much interest heโs going to create. This fight โจwill create a โจlot of attention. โจHeโs on the way up. If that fight is gonna happen, hopefully sooner than later. Iโve heard a lot of talk โ from Tyson Fury and Wilder, in this case โ but unfortunately all the talk you have to kind of filter, because theyโre not promoters and managers, the decision-making process is in the hands of the promoters. I can speak for myself because Iโm my own promoter/manager, you can trust what Iโm saying about me. These guys can say something, but can they deliver such fights for the fans? Itโs not only their decision. But hopefully such an event, with Fury or Wilder, is going to happen sooner than later.โ
Like Mayweather with Pacquiao, โจKlitschko is keen to distinguish himself from his lesser rivals as his own boss. Klitschko is clearly as savvy an operator in the boardroom as he is within the ropes. When the time comes to meet Wilder or Fury โ whom he surprisingly describes as โquiet, funny โ a regular guyโ โ you sense it will be on his terms. An honourable but rigid man, Wladimir only truly relaxes his guard and opens up on two subjects โ the birth of โจhis daughter and โจthe passing of Steward, long-time trainer, trusted confidant and close personal friend. Wladimir has looked every bit as authoritative in competition since Manny died, recording five comprehensive wins, but it seems the loss of Steward is still keenly felt.
โI miss him every day,โ he laments, offering his first instinctive reply of the chat. โItโs not about Emanuel being my coach, โจhe was my friend and we had a very special relationship. He was fun to talk to, it doesnโt matter which topic. I got a lot of wisdom of life from Emanuel and in boxing he was an absolute genius. We didnโt even do much padwork or anything like coaches do. โจI trained myself, Emanuel was coming to do the fine-tuning. And you know what the fine-tuning was? We talked, we talked, we talked a lot. We talked more than we did padwork, for example. That was his way of training and guys that worked with him know exactly what Iโm talking about. Emanuel was programming different ways than any other coach, itโs not physical programming but talking and delivering the message.โ
With Emanuel alive in spirit and memory but sadly and irrevocably absent from the gym, his protรฉgรฉ, Johnathan Banks, has taken the reins โ while still competing as an active heavyweight. Itโs an anomaly and one Klitschko does not appear entirely supportive of. While Banks has experienced mixed fortunes as a fighter, his form as a coach, judging by Klitschkoโs perennial excellence, has been exemplary. But will his bond with the boxer ever be as strong as the one he cultivated with Steward or is that simply asking too much?
โI always said that Johnathon is a talented coach that knows how to have an analytical mind for boxing,โ Klitschko points out. โจโI know heโs trying to be a good fighter, โจhe has a lot of knowledge but Iโm sure โจheโs a better coach than a fighter and โจIโve been saying it many, many times. โจI want to remind you of that and remind Johnathon too. Not many coaches out there are good and Johnathon has learned a lot of stuff from Emanuel. I know Johnathon as much as I knew Emanuel. Emanuel came with Johnathon and Johnathon is seven, eight years younger than I. He was my sparring partner for โจa very long time, He was around me, โจhe knows how I function; there is no better coach for me than Johnathon. I do not train regularly like any other fighter and their coach. Itโs creative co-working between coach and me. Itโs not like is usually the case where the coach is telling the fighter what to do, Iโm telling the coach what to do. The coach needs to just give me the guidance from the side, because you can see better from the side.โ
While that assertion may well be valid, Klitschko has no intentions of moving to the sidelines himself any time soon. At 39, and with a dearth of challengers perceived to warrant the term, Klitschko is summarily presented with questions about his retirement date. Engaged to actress partner Hayden Panettiere and now a dad, Klitschko could be forgiven for eyeing a life outside of the sport and enjoying his hard-earned wealth with his young family.
โNo, no, no,โ he states, ducking one last fanciful haymaker, before uncorking that huge right hand. โThatโs my job and I wanna be an example for my kids, and how can I be an example if Iโm not doing what Iโve been doing for 25 years โจnow. Iโm enjoying myself โจand the boost of energy โจIโm getting from being a parentโฆ my brother said one line and itโs true, because Iโve had a brief taste of it. He said as a father he punched harder.โ
But once the structure of training and the thrill of competition is removed, what will remain, what will the archetypal modern heavyweight champion do?
โWhen the day comesโฆ I will tell you,โ โจhe vows. โIโm not there yet.โ
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