Wladimir Klitschko, by common consensus has been the Lineal Heavyweight Champion since 2009, but for the first time during his reign he has finally defeated his number one contender.
The Ring Magazine recognised Dr. Steel Hammer as the Lineal Champion the night he handed Ruslan Chagaev, the world’s number three heavyweight, the first blemish on his record. Although this was a dominating performance against a highly ranked opponent, most boxing journalists and fight folk agreed that Wladimir’s elder sibling Vitali was still in fact the “baddest man on the planet”. So Wladimir, although the Ring Champion was not actually the best boxer in his family, let alone the ruler of the entire heavyweight division. When The Greatest danced around the ring, mesmerizing Cleveland Williams with Ali Shuffles and pummeling him with incessant combinations, he owned the division. When Iron Mike steam rolled Michael Spinks in ninety-one beautifully brutal seconds, we all knew who The Heavyweight Champion was, it was beyond doubt.
