Klitschko is a BUM boxer…
Ben Pierce
09.03 - It would appear the title of this article is the theme of the boxing world today after Corrie Sanders soundly defeated Wladimir Klitschko from Hannover, Germany on Saturday evening. Sanders caught Klitschko with a solid left hand near the end of the first round and used the same punch to send Klitschko to the canvas four times before the referee, Genero Rodriquez rightfully called a halt to the bout in the second round.
Such is the Heavyweight division…with the exception of a few, most any Heavyweight boxer that lands the right punch, with the right timing and placement can win a fight with only one solid punch. Only the heart and determination of Klitschko made him continue to rise from the canvas last night on legs that were clearly betraying him.
But the same theory applies to most any weight division in boxing and is something I have preached to the faithful for several years now, it is not the chin, and not necessarily the power of a punch, that makes it effective…timing and placement are the key to a knock out punch.
I would venture to say that many who are now labeling Wladimir Klitschko a BUM would fall to much less a punch than he did last night; they would probably drop to the canvas at just the thought of getting hit with such a punch.
But do not try to tell the self-righteous boxing fans that are so quick to label boxers who participate in the sport they claim to love. These fans may love boxing, but they fail to show any respect for the sport or any understanding or insight into what the combatants face...any understanding into what the sport of boxing is all about.
Wladimir Klitschko suffered a brutal knock out at the hands of Corrie Sanders. He was battered in the ring and sent to the canvas four times, bravely continuing to get up and battle on after each knock down.
Klitschko made no excuses for his loss, he did not blame the referee or his trainer…or anyone but himself. He praised his opponent, shouldered the blame and spoke of obtaining revenge in a rematch.
Is this is the boxer that many would label a BUM? A man who conducts himself in only the most respectable manner, does so much to help others in the community and brings nothing but honor to the sport of boxing.
The boxing faithful who would label Klitschko a bum are the same ones who worship the every move of Mike Tyson. It matters not that Tyson is a many times accused and once convicted rapist, that his every fight is a fiasco of some type and that he shows nothing but disrespect to so many around him. The fact that Tyson has not defeated a top foe in more than eight years, that he is erratic and unpredictable in the ring, that his behavior is many times disgusting...this does not matter, he is a icon and Klitschko is a BUM.
What has happened to the "Sweet Science" when so many worship and follow the bizarre and turn their backs on the good guys in the sport?
No, I am not calling Mike Tyson a BUM, I personally feel he is a very mixed up individual with some mental problems, a great lack of maturity and is simply a person who has never been forced to face the consequences of his actions.
But that is not the point….
The point is that boxing fans…and boxing journalists can be the most judgmental people associated with any sport.
You can see a prime example of this when you watch Jim Lampley and more so Larry Merchant of HBO heaping praise and laurels upon Klitschko before his fight with Sanders, and then are so quick to distance themselves from those words immediately afterwards. Only George Foreman, a former ring warrior who knows what it is to step in the ring, was there to defend Klitschko. Foreman brought a dose of reality to the situation as he has so many other occasions when Merchant and other commentators have been so quick to label or tear down a boxer with absolutely no personal knowledge about the sport.
Foreman might not be the most educated or polished commentator in boxing, but it is glaringly apparent that he knows so much more about the sport than many of his colleagues. His knowledge was garnered inside the ring, not from the sidelines.
I would urge you to listen to and place more emphasis and faith in what those who have actually participated in the sport have to say, rather than those who simply observe the sport and have an exaggerated sense of their own importance and of their actual knowledge about boxing.
Wladimir Klitschko is BUM boxer….he is a Brave, Universally recognized, Master boxer. He brings honor to the sport with his participation. He should be respected and not labeled. He deserves more than your labels; he deserves your respect.
The very best in boxing, the best that have ever laced up a pair of gloves, have suffered a loss, and many more than one loss in the ring. There is no dishonor in losing, if anything Klitschko has joined the presence of the very select few in boxing. His future and legacy will be determined by what he does in the rest of his career. It will not be defined by one loss in the ring. If boxing history tells us anything, it is a loss in the ring does not define the greatness of a boxer.
A loss many times shows the content of a boxer's character and if that is the case, I think Wladimir Klitschko demonstrated that he is indeed part of the select few in our sport who can lose and maintain their dignity.
It is a shame that more people who claim to love boxing fail to understand that concept, they fail to understand the very basis on which this sport was been built.
Questions/Comments: benp1000@msn.com
