Boxing

 

Klitschko-Donald: Vitali's Time To Shine

By Paul Barker

22.11 - Poor Vitali Klitschko. He's a whole inch taller than his brother Wladimir, yet so often in the latter's shadow. I submit their respective upcoming fights as a fer instance - everyone's buzzing about Wladimir Klitschko and Jameel McCline, but largely ignoring the damn-near-as-intriguing match-up between Vitali and Larry "The Legend" Donald. Of course, it's "intriguing" every time Vitali steps into the ring, for the simple reason that he's capable of knocking anyone he faces into orbit.

Larry Donald may not be Jameel McCline, but he's a slickster who's recorded wins over Terrible Tim Witherspoon, Ross Puritty, and Jeremy Williams. He even looked good in the two defeats he suffered (against Kirk Johnson and Riddick Bowe.) At its best, this might just be a classic "boxer-puncher" match-up.

Vitali, however, is more than just a pure puncher. This proud bearer of a PhD (in physical education) exhibits genuine ring intelligence when necessary, and inadvertently betrays his kickboxing heritage in the way he MOVES inside that ring. His record as a professional is, at first glance, astonishing: 31-1, with a staggering 30 KO victories. Only Timo "German Oak" Hoffmann was man enough to go the distance with Vitali (in November of 2000) and he was trounced.

Hell, Chris Byrd was trounced, and he BEAT Vitali! The big Ukrainian was by all accounts pretty far ahead in this fight, until his torn rotator cuff apparently became too much to bear, compelling him to do the unthinkable: concede defeat. Disenchanted fans angrily dubbed him "Quitali." (It's interesting to note that brother Wladimir later exacted a measure of revenge by stopping Byrd himself, and that Vitali returned the favor by stopping Ross Puritty, who'd defeated Wlad in '98.)

The Byrd fight raised eyebrows, and questions concerning Vitali's toughness. But Vitali himself has never looked back, and no fewer than four credible opponents have been ground under his heels since then. His most recent victim was Vaughn Bean, a skilled fighter who'd never been stopped (i.e. knocked out) before.

"Ironfist" Klitschko graciously introduced him to the experience.

Okay, let's get real. Does Larry the Legend really stand a chance in hell of defeating Klitschko? Perhaps we should examine the facts beneath the Legend. Larry Donald is a largish heavyweight but a comparatively light-hitting one. For such a sizable fellow, he's as slippery as an eel; neither Witherspoon nor "Big Daddy" Bowe were able to inflict the kind of damage on him they would have liked. At age 34 he ain't getting any younger, but he's a pretty well preserved boxer in that he hasn't been in too many "ring wars." His multitude of victims do not comprise the most prestigious group of athletes ever assembled, but many were tough, gifted fighters - Tyrell Biggs, Phil Jackson, Bert Cooper, to name but a few.

A distinct advantage for Vitali is the fact that the fight will take place in Germany, his adopted homeland. (Larry Donald hails from Cleveland, Ohio, USA.) Originally scheduled for July 20 of this year, the bout was cancelled when Vitali sustained a severe back injury requiring immediate surgery.

Has the ruptured disc healed satisfactorily, as Vitali's camp maintains, or is it the kind of nagging injury that can be exploited by a wary, hungry fighter?

Both Larry and Vitali are expected to enter the ring November 23 hungry for victory. Thirty-five-year-old Larry Donald can kiss his dreams of winning a major title good-bye if he loses this one, and Vitali Klitschko simply has to win if he expects to keep pace with his prodigy of a younger brother, Wladimir. People are utterly captivated by high achieving sibling athletes - and to my knowledge only the Williams sisters of tennis are as dominant at such an elite level as Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko.

Prediction: KO 4 Klitschko

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