By Kent Appel - Smokin Joe Frazier seemed undisturbed by the giant presence of Wladimir Klitschko at the weigh in so much so, that right after leaving the weigh in at which he tipped the scales at 205 pounds, he did a short set at a local restaurant with his band the knockouts. In between rock and roll oldies he would sing things like; "I am gonna knockout out that big man tomorrow night, I am gonna knock him out so fast it aint even gonna be a fight." It was usually Joe's arch nemesis Muhammed Ali who would spout poetry about what he was going to do with his opponent once they stepped into the ring but Joe was in rare form and looser than anyone could remember going into the fight. Wladimir, who's weight was recorded at 248 pounds, was strangely subdued in that he said very little except he was going to fight his heart out and do everything he needed to do to win the fight.

The first round started out slowly with Wladimir boxing from the outside behind a long left jab and Frazier bobbing and weaving, trying to work his way inside. There was not much action throughout most of round one until right near the end of the round when Wladimir suddenly exploded with a terrific right hand that deposited Frazier right on the seat of his pants. Frazier was up at the count of five but Frazier seemed badly hurt and he seemed ready to go as the bell sounded to end round one. Wladimir tried to start out fast in round two to finish the job he started at the end of round one as the book on Frazier was that if he was to be knocked out, it was best to try and catch him early as Frazier was usually a slow starter. Wladimir was sloppy in his effort though and he missed most of his shots in the first minute of the round giving Frazier much needed recovery time. Towards the end of round two though Wladimir put Frazier down again with a strong left/right/left combination. Frazier started to get up at the count of three but then decided to take the mandatory eight count on one knee. But just as Wladimir moved in to try to finish his opponent, Frazier leaped in with a hard left hook that slowed Wladimir's forward momentum. The bell sounded ending the second round with Wladimir feeling the vaunted Frazier left hook for the first time. Frazier recovered well and started smokin in rounds three and four, moving in and scoring with combinations to the body and head. Wladimir couldn't seem to get untracked in these rounds and although he scored with some hard left/right combinations to the oncoming Frazier's head and he landed some hard jabs that were designed to make Frazier think twice about rushing in, the rounds clearly belonged to Smokin Joe as Wladimir found his opponent a hard man to discourage. Wladimir began round number five moving to his own left behind a series of hard left jabs and he had a clear advantage in the first half of the round while Frazier turned the tide to almost a mirror image of rounds three and four in the second half of the round and this reporter saw the round as even. Frazier turned up the pace of his attacks again in rounds six and seven but Wladimir, with his back against the ropes, matched him in the second half of round seven by going toe to toe with Frazier in some of the best action of the fight. Frazier seemed to need a much needed rest in round eight as Wladimir did most of the scoring from a distance to win the round on all three judges' scorecards. While in round nine a refreshed Frazier stepped up the tempo once more by digging hard left hooks and right hands to both the head and the body as Wladimir tried to counter punch but missed more than he landed in the round. Round number ten started out slowly but by the middle of the round, both fighters took turns buckling each other's knees in the fiercest two sided action of the fight for the remainder of the round. Smokin Joe had the edge in round eleven and he came the closest to putting Wladimir down with one of the best left hooks he had ever thrown at the two minute mark of the round. What kept the bigger man up from this punch and the barrage that followed for the rest of the round was a mystery but there was one thing for sure, and that is although there had been doubts about the Klitschko heart in the past, those doubts were put to rest by Wladimir's valiant performance against Frazier. Both corners told their fighters to go all out in the twelfth and final round as no one could be sure how the judges were seeing this fine bout. Frazier seemed to have used up most of his ammunition in round number eleven and Wladimir controlled the action from the outside by jolting the head of Frazier several times in the round as Frazier ineffectively tried to work his way inside. At the final bell both fighters raised their hands in victory but neither man had the look of confidence that comes with the knowledge of a sure victory. As with some of the other bouts in this series of Wladimir Klitschko verses the greats, the audience awaited the verdict with a hushed uneasy silence that turned into loud cheers for both men as the verdict was read. The winner by a split decision, Smokin Joe Frazier. Two of the judges scored the fight 114 to 112 for the winner Frazier while the third judge had the same score 114 to 112 for Klitschko. I agreed with the third judge based on two 10 to 8 rounds in the first two rounds that saw Klitschko score the only knockdowns of the fight with the rest of the bout being even. This really was a great fight and even though this is somewhat of a cliche, there were no losers in this fight.

A very weary Joe Frazier had nothing but praise for his opponent. "He surprised me a lot. He was much more skilled than I thought he would be and I am going to bet my money on this young man against Clay when the two of them fight." "You mean Muhammed Ali don't you?" One of the reporters asked Frazier. "Yes, I think he can beat Clay, I mean Ali." Said Joe with a wink. "We will have to wait and see on that one Joe." reminded one of the reporters, "because Klitschko is fighting George Foreman next." "Oh," said Joe, "but George will be in for a tough time too." A somewhat dejected Wladimir Klitschko left the ring area without saying much other than that he thought he won the fight and it was time for him to get home and rest for a while before getting ready for his fight with Foreman.

Wladimir Klitschko Verses The All Time Greats-Bout Number Three

By Kent Appel: Rocky Marciano didn't seem concerned with the challenge of Wladimir Klitschko. "Although I expect a tough fight, I have met every challenge that has ever been thrown at me and beating Klitschko should be no different," said Rocky when he was asked by reporters if he thought there was a possibility he could lose the fight. Klitschko was his usual respectful self and he had this to say when he was asked about his great opportunity of stepping into the ring with the Brockton Blockbuster. "I have learned a lot by defeating Jack Dempsey, and by nearly defeating Joe Louis, and I feel I have a good chance of defeating the great Rocky Marciano." When the two fighters met in the center of the ring for the referee's prefight instructions, the crowd gasped at the size difference between the two men. Klitschko had towered over Dempsey and Louis in the first two bouts of the six bout series, but his size advantage over the 5' 11" 186 pound Marciano was much more pronounced. It was as if the fictional characters Ivan Drago and Rocky Balboa from the Rocky IV movie had come to life. Rocky nonchalantly appeared to be staring into Klitschko's chest, not because he was avoiding looking into the bigger man's eyes, but because that is about how far his gaze seemed to look up to! Let's see if Rocky had anything up his sleeve to help him in this David verses Goliath scenario.

The first round saw Marciano stalking his opponent, moving in and bending from side to side as he looked for an opening. Wladimir continually speared Marciano with hard left jabs that jolted the smaller man's head back and on two different occasions, he caught Marciano coming in with hard lef/right/left combinations. Marciano didn't seem to be badly hurt but the round clearly belonged to Wladimir as Marciano showed very little offense. Round two followed the same basic pattern until near the end of the round when Marciano caught Wldaimir with two hard three punch body shot combinations designed to bring the big man's hands down making him vulnerable to shots to the head. But each time Marciano launched an attack to the head, he was not successful as his punches grazed Wladimir's face. All three judges also awarded round two to Wladimir but the momentum seemed to change slightly as Marciano became more active than he had been in the first round. At the start of round three, Marciano charged across the ring and he bulled the bigger man to the ropes. Surprised by his opponent's strength, Wladimir allowed Marciano to keep him on the ropes for a large portion of the round where Marciano ripped hard body shots with both hands to the sides of Wladimir's body and in addition to the body shots, Marciano cut loose and pounded Wladimir on the arms, looking to inflict punishment any way he could. But as in round two, when Marciano tried to switch his attack to the head, he again was just grazing Wladimir's face as the big Ukrainian leaned back to avoid the onslaught. In the corner between rounds Wladimir's trainer, Fritz Sdunek, told him to not let Marciano bully him. "Each time he tries to muscle you into the ropes, step to his outside and use your strength to spin him around and attack him with both hands. Come on Wladimir, you are bigger than him so use your body to your advantage!" Exhorted Wladimir's trainer. Marciano came out again in round four stalking his opponent and leaning from side to side as he tried to work his way in but each time Marciano would get Wladimir into the ropes, Wladimir did just as his trainer had told him by stepping to his own right outside of Marciano's left foot and then leaning on the smaller man and pushing him with his body to force the smaller man off of him. In addition to his refusing to be pinned against the ropes, Wladimir started to unleash powerful right uppercuts, one of which landed hard under Marciano's chin, forcing Marciano to momentarily take a couple of steps back to clear his head. Wladimir didn't follow up on this advantage to try and go for a knockout but, he did throw three long left jabs, the last of which snapped Marciano's head back. Wladimir spent the rest of the round moving from side to side behind effective jabs to win another round. Wladimir continued to control the action from the outside in rounds five and six and Marciano appeared to be getting a little frustrated for being unable to effectively work his way inside. But at the beginning of round seven Marciano rushed in behind a hard left hand to the body followed by a tremendous right hand that landed on the jaw of Wladimir that drove him into the ropes. The crowd roared its approval as Marciano teed off with hard combinations to the body but as before, he was unable to land another effective punch to the head and after the midway point of round six, Wladimir had pushed Marciano off of him to find comparative safety from long range. Marciano followed him and did land hard body shots from time to time but he could not land the one blow that might chop the bigger man down for good. Wladimir's head had cleared sufficiently to allow him to again control the action from a distance with his long jabs in rounds seven and eight and at the midway point of round eight, he landed a hard left/right combination to Marciano's face drawing blood from Marciano's nose and also splitting Marciano's lip, turning his face into a bloody mess, much to the dismay of the crowd. The ringside doctor checked Marciano in between rounds eight and nine but he didn't advise the referee to stop the fight, much to the relief of Marciano. and although the blood flowed for the rest of fight from both sources, it didn't seem to distress Marciano enough to warrant stopping the bout. Marciano regained the advantage in round nine as Wladimir appeared to be tiring. Wladimir spent most of the round with his back to the ropes and instead of spinning off of the ropes as he had done earlier, he mostly clinched and tried to get some much needed rest as Marciano continued to club him on he arms and the sides or anywhere else he could reach. It was the sloppiest round of the fight with both fighters tugging at each other along the ropes like wrestlers. There were very few effective blows landed by either man this round. Seemingly refreshed, rounds ten and eleven belonged to Wladimir as he did what was most effective throughout the fight, boxing from a distance. Marciano continued to stalk Wladimir, and he did land some hard body shots during these rounds, but he couldn't seem to land the one big punch that would assert his dominance. Both corners, unsure about how the judges were seeing the bout, gave their fighters instructions to give the best possible showing they could in this last round, round twelve and the two stood toe to toe and punched each other for almost the entire round. Wladimir again drew even more blood from Marciano's nose and lip while Marciano managed to land two four punch combinations to the body and the head which caused Wladimir to hold on momentarily both times. This was a round that was sure to go down in heavyweight history as one of the best of all time and the crowd roared its approval for the entire round and of course at the final bell. As the judges scores were tallied, the reporters at ringside debated as to who was the most effective in the bout. They were split about evenly as to who they thought had won the fight. Some thought Wladimir had won on the basis of his strong jab and combinations from long range while others felt that Rocky aggressively pressing the action and his strong body attack would give him the nod. They found out when the ring announcer gave the scores as follows: two of the judges saw the bout at 115-113 and the third judge scored it 116-112, for the winner by unanimous decision, Wladimir Klitschko. An overjoyed but exhausted Wladimir just sat on his stool in the corner of the ring as he told reporters, "I think I am going to go home and sleep for two weeks. Was he ever strong, much stronger than I thought he would be! I don't think I will be able to lift my arms for a week after the way he pounded them." Rocky Marciano was hardly in a festive mood as his handlers tended to his wounds as he talked to reporters. "I don't have a problem with the judges decision as I thought it was a close fight that could have gone either way. But even if I was behind after twelve rounds, I have been behind late in fights before but I always came back to win. I don't see how they can consider this some sort of championship fight if it doesn't go the full fifteen rounds. Those last three rounds are when you see who the real champion is and even though I think Klitschko is a fine fighter, I would have pulled the fight out by the fifteenth round." When asked if his bleeding was a factor in the fight, Rocky had this to say. "I've cut myself worse shaving, it wasn't a factor at all," said a somewhat disgusted Rocky as he was leaving the ring.

Seated at ringside was Wladimir's next opponent in this series of bouts verses the all time greats, Smokin Joe Frazier. A reporter asked Joe if he would have a hard time beating Klitschko as Klitschko had already beaten two fighters in the series with similar styles to his own. "Klitschko isn't fighting Jack Dempsey and he isn't fighting Rocky Marciano. He is fighting Joe Frazier and even though they are great fighters, they are not Smokin Joe! I'm comin a smokin and I am gonna to burn that tree down!" Sang Smokin Joe in his gruff rock and roll singing voice as he was leaving the ringside area.

Wladimir Klitschko Verses The All Time Greats - Bout Number Two

By Kent Appel: Joe Louis said he and his trainer had noticed some things Klitschko did in the Dempsey fight that were going to help him defeat Wladimir when the two squared off in the ring. Apparently the Brown Bomber and trainer Chappie Blackburn didn't want to tip their hand so they conducted training sessions in secret with the public, the press, and anyone associated with the Klitschko camp barred from attending any of Louis' workouts.

Joe Louis said very little to the press about his up coming bout with Wladimir Klitschko. About the only thing he said was, "Klitschko seems like a nice fellow but in the ring business is business and this man will be trying to hurt me so I will have to hurt him first." Chappie Blackburn on the other hand was all talk and even though he never said anything of substance when he spoke to reporters, he told anyone and everyone who would listen; "Joe Louis is the best heavyweight there ever was, bar none" and when he was asked about how Louis would cope with the huge size advantage that Klitschko would have over Louis he said; "Joe fought and destroyed three men who were at least as big or bigger than this guy, Buddy Baer, Abe Simon, and Primo Carnera." Wladimir was as down to earth as always by saying, I have a lot of respect for Mr. Louis and I have trained very hard for what I expect to be a very difficult fight." But when asked about his chances of victory; Wladimir had this to say, a lot of people said I could never defeat the great Jack Dempsey and I did just that so I feel I have a good chance of defeating Mr. Louis also."

Wladimir Klitschko towered over Joe Louis as the two met face to face at the weigh in where the 6' 7" Wladimir tipped the scales at 248 pounds to the 6' 2" Brown Bomber's 202 pounds. The size difference was also very apparent in the ring during the referee's prefight instructions. Louis didn't seem concerned though and his trainer Blackburn echoed those sentiments by saying to a reporter at ringside, "just another day at the office." The reporters themselves occupied the time leading up to the opening bell by discussing with each other what the so called secret plan was that the Louis camp had cooked up to deal with Klitschko. They would soon find out.

The bell rang for round one and the combatants slowly circled each other for the first ten seconds of the round. Wladiimir flicked out a harmless left jab that was meant more to see how his opponent would react than to do actual damage. Suddenly Louis bent his knees into a crouch and he charged in behind three hard left jabs, one of which found its mark, snapping Wladimir's head back. What was different about Louis' stance was in addition to him fighting out of a crouch, which is what he and Blackburn must have been working on leading up to the bout, he was moving his head from side to side as he moved in to avoid Wladimir's punches and when he got inside of Wladimir's reach, he banged the body with hard left and rights until Wladimir tied him up. Louis seemed to be taking a page out of another all time great's book who is not on the list of greats fighting Wladimir, Iron Mike Tyson. The referee broke the fighters and Louis continued his bobbing and weaving instead of his usual stand up stalking style. Louis controlled the action for the remainder of the round using this curious new strategy. Fritz Sdunek in Wladimir's corner told him between rounds that he had to use his jab to keep Louis from working his way inside and that is exactly what Wladimir did in rounds two and three to win both rounds on the judge's scorecards. Also round three saw Wladimir throwing his right uppercut for the first time in an effort to catch Louis coming in and although he didn't land it solidly in the round, he was able just by throwing it, to keep Louis honest. Wladimir continued to control the action from outside until the middle of round four. At 1:30 of the round Louis out jabbed Wladimir with three consecutive jabs to trap Wladimir in his own corner where he then landed a hard five punch combination that caused Wladimir to slide down into a sitting position for the first knockdown of the fight. Wladimir, not appearing to be hurt too badly, was up at the count of four and after taking the rest of the mandatory eight count he was able to move out from the corner where he met Louis with two very hard jabs of his own followed by a good right hand that had Louis holding on momentarily. Wladimir again controlled the action from outside with his left jab for the remainder of the round but the judges all gave the round to Louis, with two of them scoring it 10 to 8 for the Brown Bomber. After getting hit with a hard right upper cut while coming in at the start of round five, Louis went to his usual stand up style but he continued to move in behind multiple left jabs while still using side to side head movement to avoid Wladimir's punches. Louis controlled the round until the 2:30 mark of the round when Wladimir suddenly struck with a classic left/right/left combination that dropped Louis for the first time in the fight for the count of five. Louis after taking the mandatory eight count, grabbed onto Wladimir to clear his head but Wladimir pushed Louis off of him and narrowly missed a right upper cut that might have put down the still groggy Louis down a second time. Louis lasted the round but walked slowly back to his corner, still feeling the effects of the Klitschko onslaught. Seemingly refreshed, Louis charged out of his corner at the start of round six and the two stood toe to toe in the middle of the ring trading heavy leather. Louis got the better of the exchange which he capped with a four punch combination that dropped Klitschko for the second time in the fight. But instead of jumping on the dazed Klitschko in an effort to finish him off, Louis who seemed to need a moment's rest from his fierce effort, let him off the hook and little action occurred until the last minute of the round when the two rejuvenated fighters again traded bombs until the sound of the bell in some of the best action in the fight. Round number seven saw Wladimir again controlling the action from afar with his left jab and every time Louis got in close, Wladimir would hammer him with hard right uppercuts or a straight right hands. Wladimir continued his dominance in round number eight and the momentum seemed to be shifting in his favor. But at the start of round nine Louis jumped on Klitschko nailing him with a classic six punch combination that had Wladimir hurt and appearing to be about to suffer a third knockdown in the fight. But somehow Wladimir stayed on his feet and summoned the strength to score with a hard left/right combination of his own that caused Louis to back off from his assault. Wladimir then retreated to the outside and he used side to side movement behind his strong left jab to keep Louis at bay for the remainder of the round. The trend continued in rounds ten and eleven and the outcome appeared in doubt by the start of round twelve. Both corners told their fighters that the last round may decide the fight and the two put on a fine display of give and take action for almost the entire round much to the delight of the crowd who gave them both thunderous applause at the sound of the bell ending the fight. The crowd then fell into an almost hushed silence as they awaited the judge's verdict with bated breath. The official results were met with a mixed chorus of cheers and boos as the ringside announcer revealed the winner of the bout, Joe Louis by unanimous decision.

A tired Wladimir Klitschko was gracious as the reporters asked him questions after the bout. "Yes I felt I won the fight but it was a close one and I can't help but learn from this experience." "Plus," added his trainer; Sdunek, "if there is a doubt as to Wladimir's heart, this fight will forever erase the Purrity fiasco from the minds of the fans. Wladimir showed tonight that he is a true warrior." Joe Louis had nothing but praise for his opponent. "I can't remember when I have been hit harder. This young man can't help but go far in this game. Now I think I am ready for a much needed long vacation." Said the Brown Bomber as he was leaving the ring.

Sitting at ringside for the fight were Charlie Goldman, Rocky Mariciano's trainer and Rocky's long time friend and Co trainer, Allie Columbo. Rocky himself was said to be at home watching the bout on live television. Goldman and Columbo said little as they sat there exchanging knowing smiles. Maybe they had seen something that will help them prepare the Brockton Blockbuster for his up coming fight against Klitschko.

Wladimir Klitschko Verses The All Time Greats - Bout Number One

By Kent Appel: Wladimir Klitschko trained hard for his bout against legendary slugger Jack Dempsey because he knew he had to be in his best possible condition for the expected grueling contest against the Mannasa Mauler. Klitschko tipped the scales at 245 pounds on his 6'7" frame and while some critics said that he was about five pounds below his ideal fighting weight, Wladimir wanted to make sure he had as much speed and mobility as possible to counter one important advantage the much smaller 6'1" 193 pound Dempsey would probably have in the speed department.

Dempsey himself was about six pounds above his normal ideal weight as he tried to bulk up to offset his disadvantage in size. Dempsey tried to shrug off the disparity in height and weight though by saying, "I have chopped down huge trees before and I am sure I can chop down one more after all, Jess Willard was just about as tall as this guy and just a little bit lighter and I destroyed him in three rounds." Wladimir to his credit was humble by saying, "I have a lot of respect for the great Jack Dempsey and I have trained hard to be ready for this honor of fighting him."

The bout started out with Dempsey rushing in and punching wildly with both hands to the sides of Wladimir's body. Each time Dempsey would charge in Wladimir would tie him up and when the referee broke the fighters, Dempsey would try to hit his opponent on the break drawing two warnings for doing so. Wladimir didn't show much offense in this first round and he missed often with his long left jab but at the end of the round, he landed a tremendous right uppercut that stopped Dempsey in his tracks. That Dempsey was stunned could be seen as he actually took a step backward for the first time as the bell to end the round sounded. All three judges gave the round to Dempsey but something had changed by the hard uppercut at round\'s end. Dempsey suddenly knew he was in for a tough fight. Rounds two and three followed the same basic pattern but with some subtle differences in that Dempsey seemed to be crouching more to make himself a smaller target and he didn\'t rush in with raw abandon as he had done throughout most of round one. A second difference was that Wladimir seemed to be finding his range more and more as the bout wore on with the left jab which also made Dempsey think a little more before charging in. Dempsey was also awarded rounds two and three on the judges scorecards but there seemed to be a change in the momentum that started at the end of round one that was becoming more and more pronounced by the beginning of round four. Round four saw Wladimir moving from side to side for the first time with most of this movement to his own left to stay out of range of the Dempsey left hook. This movement along with his increasingly accurate left jab won Wladimir his first round of the fight. But he had a close call near the end of the round when he shifted directions and moved to his own right just as Dempsey was leaping in with a left hook to the chin that had Wladimir hurt for the first time in the fight. Wladimr wisely held on to Dempsey to clear his head and he was able to survive the round and get his much needed minute of rest before the start of round five. The punch by Dempsey at the end of round four did no lasting damage as Wladimir appeared fresh and alert as round number five began. Wladimir controlled the action again from a distance for most of the round until Dempsey exploded with another hard left hook to the head with thirty seconds to go in the round that caused Wladimir to hold on to Dempsey once more to clear his head. But as the referee was breaking the fighters, Dempsey landed a hard right hand to Wladimir's body that caused the referee to deduct a point from Dempsey for again hitting on the break. Dempsey stepped back for a moment and he muttered something that usually is only said in the heat of battle that luckily the referee didn't hear. The round ended with Wladimir still boxing at a distance behind his left jab and Dempsey still in pursuit but somehow less aggressively than before. Round six found Wladimir opening up with hard left/right combinations to the head that caught Dempsey coming in on several occasions and the end of the round found Dempsey holding on to Wladimir for the first time, hurt by the big Ukrainian's onslaught. It was at the end of this sixth round when Dempsey's corner noticed that Jack's right eye was starting to swell badly. They did their best with an ice bag and a metal endswell to try and keep the eye from puffing up too badly but when Wladimir kept raining in a steady diet of hard left jabs in rounds seven and eight that landed repeatedly on the eye, Dempsey\'s corner could not stop the eye from being almost completely swollen shut. The ringside doctor examined Dempsey's eye after round eight and he determined that Jack was unable to continue giving Wladimir Klitschko the victory by a TKO.

Jack Dempsey was beside himself as the reporters peppered him with questions after the fight. "I can't believe they stopped the fight. I was busted up a lot worse when I used to fight in the mining camps and I usually came back to win. I know the doctor was only looking out for my safety but I know I was able to continue and that I would have got this guy in the end. Another thing is, I don\'t have any sour grapes about what happened, and I think Klitschko is a good fighter, but the referee kind of threw me off of my game by enforcing these silly new rules that won't let you hit on the break. In my day, the referee didn\'t get in the way and he let the fighters fight. Oh well, I hope I can get a rematch and next time I will knock the guy out so there will no doubt about who really would have won the fight." Wladimir Klitschko was overjoyed by his victory and he gave the reporters little to quote. All he said when he was leaving the ring with his arm around his smiling brother Vitali when asked if there will be a rematch, "we will talk about it later because for now I am going off to celebrate this great victory with my family and my friends."

Seated at ringside for the Klitschko/Dempsey fight were Joe Louis and his trainer Jack "Chappie" Blackburn. Louis who is Klitshcko's next opponent in this series against the all time greats had this to say when he was asked about the fight he just saw, "Klitschko is a fine fighter but me and Chappie noticed some things that are going to help me defeat him when we meet in the ring