13.11.06 – By Geoffrey Ciani @ Ringside: Saturday night, Wladimir Klitschko defended his newly-acquired IBF championship against undefeated challenger, Calvin Brock. For Klitschko, this was his first fight since winning the title from Chris Byrd; for Brock, this was an opportunity to continue his winning streak and a chance at capturing a portion of the world championship.
Boxing fans arrived early at Madison Square Garden in anticipation for this heavyweight championship bout. The under card featured several entertaining bouts which helped amplify the anticipation. Helping further amplify matters, Muhammad Ali returned to the scene where he had first faced Joe Frazier some twenty-five years ago. The crowd erupted into a frenzy when The Greatest arrived on the scene, providing a sensational atmosphere for a heavyweight title fight.
Early on, Brock’s defensive prowess helped dictate the pace of the fight which was both slow and awkward. Klitschko had a difficult time finding the mark with his punches due to the elusive nature of Brock’s style. It appeared that Brock’s strategy was to survive into the later rounds in an attempt to tire Klitschko out. This was evidenced by the fact that Brock attempted to go to the body while trying his best to stay out of harm’s way.
After four rounds, the fight was even at two rounds apiece. In the fifth round, however, Klitschko began finding his mark much more frequently. Working behind a snappy jab, Klitschko started mixing up his punches and he began repeatedly snapping Brock’s head back. Klitschko once again illustrated his versatility and adaptability as a prize fighter as he began to figuring out Brock’s awkward style which enabled him to get his timing down. The more Klitschko began hammering Brock with power shots, the less likely it seemed that Brock would be able to take Klitschko into the later rounds.
An unintentional head butt in round six caused a bad cut over Klitschko’s left eye, but Klitschko was clearly still in control of the bout. When round seven came around, it was more of the same, as Klitschko constantly found the mark with his power shots. Brock’s legs began to seem weary, and Klitschko stopped the bout in the seventh with a one-two combo that dropped Brock face first to the canvas. That was all she wrote. The right hand that Klitschko landed was a loud, thudding shot that could be heard echoing throughout the entire arena.
It was a good win for Klitschko, who’s looked very good in last three bouts. Wins over Peter, Byrd, and Brock help further solidify Klitschko as the division’s top dog. What’s next for Klitschko? Hopefully, a unification bout against one of the other champions. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing Wlad square off against the newly crowned WBO champion, Shannon Briggs. After all, Briggs was originally slated to face Klitschko this past Saturday, and after his impressive win against Lyakhovich, I think this is the most intriguing bout out there for Klitschko at this time.
On the under card, undefeated heavyweight, Derric Rossy, defeated a game Shannon Miller via unanimous decision for the NY heavyweight title. It was a very entertaining scrap that saw both fighters giving all they had. Also on the under card, former five-time champion, Manuel Medina, won a very close majority decision over Kevin Kelley in a bout I felt Kelley deserved victory. The preliminary bouts also saw Laila Ali batter the inexperienced Shelley Burton into submission. The overmatched Burton showed heart and courage before being stopped in the fourth round in a bout where Ali simply outclassed her inferior opponent.
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