By James Slater – In truth, not too many fans are what you could call massively excited about the upcoming July 7th rematch between heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko and southpaw challenger Tony Thompson. Most see “Dr. Steel Hammer” doing a repeat job on “The Tiger;” maybe even stopping him a little quicker this time around (it took 11 rounds back in 2008). Not too many people are picking the upset, that’s for sure.
But 36-year-old Wladimir, 57-3(50) has never once said the return job will be anything near easy.. Wladimir has spoken of his former challenger with nothing but respect, saying the 40-year-old with the 36-2(24) record gave him one of his hardest-ever fights. And, as quoted by ESPN.co.uk, Wladimir went further, stating that Thompson would beat any top-10 rated heavyweight outside of his brother, WBC king Vitali.
“I will tell you this, Thompson will beat everyone,”Wladimir said. “Everyone in the top-ten but my brother. Everyone. He is totally underestimated, nobody wants to fight him. Because everyone knows its a real tough job. The way he fights it’s not impressive but it’s effective.
“It’s not the kind of fight where you can look great. It’s going to be clumsy and look pretty bad. That’s why I think there are a lot of guys out there that don’t want to fight him.”
So, is Klitschko anticipating a fight where he himself looks “clumsy” and “pretty bad,” or does the champ feel Thompson, in his awkward toughness will look clumsy and bad? I think Thompson – beaten only in his career by Wladimir and by Eric Kirkland in a 4-rounder in what was just Tony’s fifth pro bout – will take added confidence from Wladimir’s words.
Thompson knows how good a fighter he is, and now he knows that Klitschko has no doubts about his worthiness as challenger and rates him as a genuine threat. It sounds as though Wladimir is anticipating his toughest test – both mentally and physically – in years.
Trainer Emanuel Steward is certainly expecting no easy night:
“The first three rounds (of the first fight) we were very worried in the corner,” Steward said.
Will Team-Klitschko and Klitschko’s fans be given a reason to get worried on July 7th?