Klitschko vs. Mercer - Klitschko Shows No Mercy

By Ed Ludwig

30.06 - There was no ray of hope for Ray Mercer tonight (30-5-1 22 KO's). Wladimir Klitschko (39-1 36 KO's) was lightning in a bottle as he blew away Ray Mercer in the sixth round in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He successfully defended his WBO Heavyweight title for the fourth time.

Klitschko used his jab and left hook well and with twenty-eight seconds left in the first round he dropped Mercer with a solid left hook. This was only the second time Mercer has been down in his career. It was more of the same in the second as Klitschko was connecting at will and Mercer was rocked once by a jab that had him reeling back.

When Mercer tried to move in closer in the third round Klitschko easily picked him off with an uppercut that sent Mercer back into retreat. The native of Ukraine used the ring well and made Mercer come to him. The challenger looked like a heavy bag in the ring. He tried his best to land but Klitschko kept him at a distance with his strong jab.

In the fourth round Klitschko sent the challenger reeling into the ropes again with a solid right hook. Mercer put his gloves up as to taunt the champion to move in and try to finish him off. The fifth round Ray Mercer came out faster then he did in the previous rounds. He landed the occasional shot and Klitschko stood firm and used his jab to push Mercer back. Klitschko landed a hard right, left combination that forced Mercer into a defensive mode.

During the course of the fight the strong jab and hooks thrown by Klitschko were taking it's toll on Mercer. His face was swollen and his right eye was cut in the fifth. Klitschko's left eye had minor swelling when caught by the occasional jab. In the opening seconds of the sixth round Mercer caught Klitschko with a right hook that made him stagger momentarily.

The champion recovered quickly and began to open up. He used his jab effectively and he picked off Mercer with combinations of jabs and hooks. At the two minute mark Klitschko knocked Mercer's head back with a hard right and Klitschko then unleashed a vicious barrage of punches and the fight was mercifully stopped at 1:08 of round six when the referee jumped in and called a halt to the action.

The final punch stats showed Wladimir Klitschko landing 193 total punches and throwing 429. Ray Mercer was 54 of 124. The big difference was the power punches. Klitschko landed 104 of 167 and Mercer 5 of 10. It was lopsided in every possible category. Klitschko said he is aiming for Lennox Lewis and he wants him sooner than later. Ray Mercer said during the post fight interview that he never fully recovered from the knockdown. He plans to continue with his career. For his sake I hope he sits down and thinks hard about it.

Judging the performance by Wladimir Klitschko tonight it is hard to say how a showdown with Lewis would play out. Especially if you base it on there most recent fights. Both Mercer and Tyson have not fought a top contender in six years prior to their latest bouts. Ray Mercer showed he was old, slow and lethargic. Feasting on tomato cans did nothing to increase his chances of pulling off the upset. Mike Tyson on the other hand did fight somewhat better opposition but he was clearly out of his league and not in fighting shape against Lennox Lewis.

There is no doubt the questions will be asked about who will win the dream Heavyweight match up. As we often see in boxing, the fights we all want to see hit snags. In this case it is Lewis being in the twilight of his career and Klitschko is the young rising star. This could have been the Lennox Lewis vs. Riddick Bowe fight that we all wanted but with the difference in age and the continuous improvement Klitschko is showing I really do not see him losing to Lewis when and if they meet.

Tonight it was a beautiful display of power, ring general-ship and most of all, patience by Wladimir Klitschko. Say what you want about Ray Mercer but the bottom line is that he is no pushover and many people over the years avoided him like the plague. Up until running into a battering ram tonight, Ray Mercer gave all the fans many thrilling fights. Congratulations to the WBO champ for a very entertaining evening. In closing I would like to see Max Kellerman of ESPN2 give Wladimir Klitschko his due. He is and will be a dominating force for many years to come.