How to beat Wladimir Klitschko

The reigning IBF, IBO, WBO and Ring Magazine champion Wladimir Klitschko has a record of 55 wins (49 by knockout) and three losses since turning pro in 1996. He has been the longest reigning heavyweight champion in history for the IBF, WBO & IBO titles, both in number of defences and time

 

  Ross Puritty, stopped Klitschko in the 11th round, 5 December 1998, Kiev

"I really didn’t prepare for the fight. I was called on a Thursday night when I was having Thanksgiving dinner and I fought the following Friday, as I think Klitschko’s original opponent pulled out. Going to Kiev was an interesting trip, but it was freezing cold, with around three feet of snow. I hadn’t actually heard of Wladimir Klitschko and it was too short notice to watch any tapes of him, so I had no idea what to expect. My game-plan? To avoid being knocked out, and try to win. He probably won every round until the eleventh. I didn’t do a whole lot except get hit as I wasn’t in any shape to have a big battle with him: I didn’t know what condition I had as I didn’t have time to spar or anything. Basically, he beat the hell out of me until he couldn’t beat the hell 

  "In the eight or ninth round I could see in his face that he’d shot his load, and he realised that he was in a tough fight and that I wasn’t going away. He was tired and I wasn’t: I’d just walked into his punches until he punched himself out. If they hadn’t stopped it [Klitschko’s corner retired him] I would have got him. His corner allowed him to be what he is today. By not allowing him to be knocked out they could say: 'He was inexperienced.' Well, I had no training so what does inexperience have to do with anything? The bottom line is he lost the fight. I came in out of shape and not ready, he was ready and he lost"

 Corrie Sanders, second round TKO, 8 March 2003, Hanover

"David Haye has stopped sparring, I notice [a month ago]. Well, I sparred until the Wednesday before the fight so I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I did a lot of sparring with big guys, and that helped me because Wladimir’s a big guy. For me, a weakness is his footwork, I don’t think he’s got great footwork as he’s so big, though he moves a bit better now. Also, when a fight’s getting tough he tenses up - so you should put pressure on him by being smart: you’ve got to duck, counter-punch him, you’ve got to wait for him, get inside, from angles, and side-points. If you stay in front he’s going to jab you all night, so that’s why we tried him from angles ..."

  "He only lasted two rounds with me, as in the opener I waited for those angles, for him to make mistakes and miss, then counter-punched him. He went down in this round, and I didn’t think he was going to get up. In the next, the mistake he made was that he came straight for me. I don’t care who you are, or what you are: if a guy catches you twice, as I did in the first, you’ve got to recover first ..."

  "He tried to show I didn’t hurt him and he got nailed: I knocked him down and the referee stopped the fight. Why else did I win? I’d only fought once in two years before this, but I wanted it badly as throughout my whole career I didn’t have the opportunities for the big fight, apart from against Hasim Rahman [who stopped him in 2000]"

 Lamon Brewster, fifth round TKO, 10 April 2004, Las Vegas

"I approached this fight from a strategic stand-point as I knew I couldn’t box with him. He is a very smart, smooth operator, so I watched all his old fights and I tried to figure out what his one weakness was. I saw that when he fought Ray Mercer [in June 2002, Klitschko stopped him in the sixth] and other fighters, Mercer kept coming to him, throwing the straight jab, backing him up, backing him up. He beat Ray Mercer, but he was exhausted. So, I said to myself: 'I’m younger than Ray Mercer [by 12 years] and I have a better plan than Ray, so I believe I can beat this guy if I can catch him.' That’s what I did ..."

  "There’s a saying in boxing: pressure busts pipes. So I knew that if I kept the pressure on him he’d make a mistake. And, his mistake was that he punched himself out, because I made him throw him so many, as every second of every round, I was always running to him, I was always in his face. I never let him breathe, or be comfortable, because when he's at his best is when he keeps you at bay and utilises his jab, to set you up for his big right hand. I never gave him a chance, so he melted ..."

  "I was more prepared. That’s why he got beat – they didn’t know how to explain it other than to say he got poisoned [this was never proved]. That was an insult, absolutely. Nobody talked about the four rounds he was winning only the one he lost"