By Gerardo Gomez: Wladimir Klitschko dominated David Haye to unify the titles in the heavyweight division on Saturday night at the Imtech-Arena, Altona, Hamburg, Germany. There was nothing spectacular in this fight. I had the fight 117-109 Klitschko. This was the heavyweight version of the Timothy Bradley vs Devon Alexander fight.
All high expectations and potential fight of the year but for now is the most boring fight of the year. Klitschko was in control throughout the fight. He didn’t do much either as neither fighter decided to go to war with each other. Haye during his Larry Merchant interview revealed that he suffered a broken toe in his right foot 3 weeks before the fight but injury aside, he appeared to try to land that big punch and knock out Klitschko. Wladimir on the other hand, was very robotic in this fight. Not a single body shot was thrown by Klitschko. Although, he appeared to be the chaser throughout the fight, I guess he did the best he could given the circumstances that Haye presented.
This was supposed to be the fight that boxing fans became interested in the heavyweight division and it didn’t delivered. Once again, we are left without much excitement in a division that will continue to be dominated by the Klitschko brothers. Our next opportunity to see if things change in the heavyweight division is September 10 when Vitali Klitschko takes on Tomas Adamek.
Boxing fans are getting used to seeing “big” fights turned into mediocre fights. The more promoters try to build a fight up, the more boring the fight actually becomes. Worst case scenario is that fights lose interest in the eyes of boxing fans. A good example is the Lopez vs Gamboa fight. That fight would have been a great fight last year. Now, it doesn’t have that same spark. It will still be a good fight but I don’t think its PPV material anymore. I guess this should be a reminder to promoters and the sanctioning bodies that the best fights are the ones that make more sense at the present moment rather than building potential big payday fights.
In other action on the card:
Ola Afolabi KO 1 Terry Dunstan
WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
Ashley Sexton SD 8 Mike Robinson