22.04.05 – By Ali Mohammed: HE’S BACK- That was the most repeated sentence last night in Dortmund, Germany as the former WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko destroyed Cuban Eliseo Castillo in the fourth round of their non title fight. Eliseo looked confident and relaxed when he came into the ring. Wladimir ring entrance was another story; It was so big, with a lot of lights and laser works accompanied by soft music. In my opinion, it was like a king coming back victorious to his throne after a terrible war.
Michael Buffer was in the ring in as the ring announcer of the fight, and started off the fight by his famous quote “Lets get ready to rumble”. When Wladimir and Eliseo faced off each other in the middle of the ring to listen to the referee’s command, each one of them looked into the other’s eyes with confidence and no fear.
The fight started with Wladimir immediately dictating the pace with his world class jab. It was clear that Castillo wanted to take the fight to the later rounds where he could wear Wladimir down and knock him out after his stamina fades. Eliseo kept circling and moving around the ring with Wladimir following him with his jab. There weren’t big punches in this round except a hard left hand from Wladimir, which landed on Eliseo’s ear. In between rounds, Emanuel Stewart praised Wladimir about his effective jab.
In round two, it was almost the same scenario repeated all over again; Eliseo moving and Wladimir following with snapping jabs. It was obvious that Wladimir was cautious about his stamina this time, as he didn’t waste many of punches, and punched only when he found a good opportunity to land. Castillo looked confused out there, as he couldn’t figure out how to get inside the Ukrainian giant. Castillo finally landed a left hook to Wladimir’s chin, but unfortunately it was so weak that no body noticed this punch, even Wladimir himself. At the end of the round, Castillo almost stopped moving as he started to confront Klitschko in the middle of the ring.
Round three started with Wladimir landed hard left jabs to the face of Castillo. After a few seconds, Wladimir got Eliseo against the ropes and cautiously landed a few jabs. Castillo tried to block the jabs with his gloves, as he seemed to want to waste Wladimir’s energy. Meanwhile, Wladimir tried to get to the inside of Castillo, but the Cuban prevented this by landing a couple of weak left hooks. At the end of this round, a big left-right combination from Wladimir made Castillo back off a little. In between rounds, Eliseo’s nose was bleeding, a clear consequence of Wladimir’s unstoppable jabs.
In round four, Castillo started to rely on moving the upper part of his body instead of the moving around strategy that he followed since the beginning of the fight. This tactic didn’t work and ultimately led to more of Wladimir’s domination. After a big right hand from Wladimir, Eliseo tried to reply but missed badly with some big right hooks.
As Castillo stopped moving, Wladimir started to target him with a big right hand to finish him off. After Wladimir landed two left hands to Castillo’s temple, he tried to keep his distance by quickly backing away to prevent further punishment. However, he was severely caught by a big straight right hand from Wladimir that sent the Cuban directly to the canvas. Castillo tried to get up quickly but he was clearly out on his feet. The referee finished the fight with Wladimir raising his arms outstretched and then hugging his hall of fame trainer Emanuel Stewart.
It was a pretty easy fight for Wladimir. The biggest change that was noticed in Wladimir’s style was the caution and patience that he displayed as he surgically took Castillo apart with a precise left jab and heat seeking laser right hand..
With this victory, Wladimir gets himself back into the heavyweight mix. So, who’s next? Well, Calvin Brock looks awfully good as a potential opponent, especially in light of his 10 round decision over Jameel McCline on Saturday night. This fight will keep Wladimir active, while at the same time, give him another fight under his belt to help hone his new fighting style under Emanuel Stewart.
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