By James Slater: It may or may not be his last fight, but Vitali Klitschko’s next fight has been officially announced today – the reigning WBC heavyweight king will meet the unbeaten but largely unknown Manuel Charr on September 8th in Moscow.
Set to enter the ring as a huge betting favourite, “Dr. Iron Fist” is doing his best to talk up his latest challenger’s chances, the 41 year old referring to Charr as a young and dangerous fighter who will keep coming forward all night long (at least until he is caught by a Vitali right hand or left hook to the jaw!).
In truth, though not too many fans are thrilled by this match-up, there aren’t too many challengers out there; not guys one of the Klitschko brothers have not already beaten, anyway. And at his current age, Vitali could conceivably “go” at any time. It would be some enormous shock if Vitali fell apart under the pressure “Diamond Boy” Charr brings, but that may be just what the challenger and his team are banking on.
Charr, who is naturally aggressive as Vitali said, will come to fight (unless he freezes, a possibility for any young, somewhat untested fighter), yet the age factor aside, it is almost impossible to make a case for the 27 year old winning.
Not a murderous puncher and not too hard to hit, Charr looks to me like a game fighter who will basically make Vitali look good. There have been heavyweight shocks before, as we all know, and maybe Charr has some special game-plan up his sleeve (it really would have to be special!) but this fight looks like one that will be over by the mid-rounds stage.
Vitali, who looks a dead cert for his next KO win, says he will wait until after the Ukraine elections in October before he makes up his mind about whether or not he will fight on. So, it could be a case of enjoy Vitali while you can. The future Hall of Famer will go out with an emphatic win if Charr is indeed his final ring foe.