19.04.06 – by Geoff McKay: Each and every one of us possesses our own unique talents, skills, and physical attributes. As we make our way through the world we attempt to develop strategies for succeeding in our environment that best utilize our individual strengths, while avoiding methods that will highlight our weaknesses. It is very much the same in professional boxing. Different boxers with different physical capabilities will develop different styles. In the end, when a fighter has polished his or her style, they establish what is known as their “ring identity”.
Over and Over again we hear analysts like Teddy Atlas, and George Foreman, speak of “ring identity”, and how important it is to a fighter. A fighter with a well formed ring identity is confident and relaxed. A fighter who hasn’t yet established a ring identity, or has begun to doubt his own, can become hesitant, and unsure of himself..
During his career in the heavyweight division, Chris Byrd has developed a ring identity that has been incredibly successful against men much larger and stronger than himself. He has remained stoic, and confident, come back after being brutally beat down twice, and even fought on to victories after having been knocked down. However, after having watched his fights, listened to his interviews, and even spoken to Chris myself, I have a nagging feeling that he is going to try and shed his well established, “ring identity”; something that I feel is a mistake.
Despite all of his success, Chris is constantly barraged with comments that his style is boring, and in fact, for those that love huge power and impressive knockouts, Chris’ style can be hard to appreciate. Despite the fact that he has been winning, Chris still feels the need to prove himself, and there is a very good chance this will be his downfall against Klitschko.
This afternoon I sat in on a conference call with Chris, Wladimir, their managers and trainers, and was surprised at what I heard. Chris said he was excited about the fight, but you couldn’t hear it in his voice. The only time I ever heard emotion when he spoke, was when he talked about Don King, and when he talked about proving himself. He spoke passionately about how much smaller he is than his opponents, how he is willing to fight any kind of fight, and how he really needs to prove himself as a fighter, as a guy that was willing to mix it up. These sound like the words of an up and comer, a man struggling with his ring identity, but they are the words of the champion.
Chris desperately wants to live up to a public expectation that does not suit the type of man, the type of fighter he is. It is not enough for Chris to know that he is a great boxer; he wants the world to see it too, even if that means changing himself into what the world thinks a great boxer is. There have been reports quoting Chris as saying he will knock Wladimir out. At first, I thought this was just a smokescreen, but after hearing him talk, I really believe he is going to try and do just that. Nothing in his record supports this technique as being sound.
I asked Chris point blank if he felt pressured to change the style that had been so successful for him, and I am not quite sure that he got the true meaning of the question, because he answered that he constantly adapts his style to best suit his opponent. It didn’t really matter, I have a good feeling I know what his answer would have been.
In order for Chris Byrd to defeat Wladimir Klitschko, he must fight confidently, with resolve. He must stick with the “ring identity” that has gotten him this far. I feel that Chris is caught up in the excitement of his separation with Don King, and will look to do something exciting for the fans. He will abandon his tried and true methods, and he will lose because of it.
Wladimir Klitschko W12 Chris Byrd
Comments may be sent to: geoffmckay@monarch.net