by James Slater – Ray “The Rain Man” Austin, as amazing as it may seem, could be just one win away from challenging WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko. Last night in Las Vegas, on the under-card of the Perez-Agbeko bantamweight title fight, Austin stopped DaVarryl “Touch of Sleep” Williamson in the 4th-round.
Austin was hurt in the opening round by the 41-year-old, but he came back and decked Williamson in the 4th-round, getting the TKO (Williamson beat the count, but the ref decided to wave the fight off). “Touch of Sleep” is now 26-6(22)..
Reportedly, the next step for the 39-year-old will be a final WBC eliminator against former champion Oleg Maskaev, providing “The Big O” can see off the much younger Nagy Aguilera when the two meet in December. So, if Austin who is now 28-4-4(18), can defeat the 40-year-old, he will be right in line for a shot at “Dr Iron Fist.”
Okay, you will be hard pressed to find many fans willing to give Austin much of a chance against the mighty 38-year-old, but, according to the WBC, Ray will have earned another crack at glory if he’s beaten Maskaev. Of course, Austin has tangled with a Klitschko before, challenging younger brother Wladimir for the IBF title back in March of 2007. Austin didn’t do too well at all, being stopped, somewhat easily, in the 2nd-round. Going by that result, “The Rain Man” doesn’t figure to have much of a chance against Vitali.
After last night’s decent win Austin made it clear he wants the WBC title fight, though.
“DaVarryl was whuppin’ my ass in the first round,” Austin is quoted as saying by FightNews.com. “He came to fight with no fear and no giving up. He forced me to tighten up my defence. Later on, he dropped his head coming in to bring some action. That’s when I tagged him with the right uppercut, left hook, with the right behind it that ended the fight.
“I want another shot at a world title. I want Vitali Klitschko.”
Austin, in an earlier interview with this writer, said he may have lost the fight with Wladimir due to a lack of belief on his part, that he may have lost confidence. Maybe. It’s hard to see him doing it, but if Austin can enter the ring with Vitali believing he can actually win, he might make things interesting for a few rounds. Certainly, he couldn’t do much worse than he did against Wladimir.
To discuss an Austin-Vitali fight is to jump the gun, however. Austin hasn’t gotten past the hard-punching Maskaev yet.