Wladimir Klitschko has triumphed again in commanding fashion, an action which typically raises complaints that the long-time champ fights “bums” rather than “real” challenges.
Of course, this raises an interesting question. Who are the bums and who are the real challenges? If Klitschko avoids a challenge, then name the challenge. And be careful with your answer.
I remember little more than a two years ago when Klitcshko easily KO’d Tony Thompson in six. Critics immediately excoriated him for fighting a geriatric, rather than an unstoppable machine like David Price. Yet Thompson’s name is now mysteriously removed from the retrospective list of “bums” that Klitschko fought and – just as mysteriously – David Price is no longer a “real” challenge.
Every great fighter needs a nemesis to challenge him, and long ago Nonito Donaire’s many critics picked one for him in WBA champion Guillermo Rigondeaux. Two equal champions battling for glory? That sounds much more exciting than the sobering reality that Rigondeaux is a massive underdog.