By Marcus Richardson: Heavyweight challenger Tony Thompson (36-2, 24 KO’s) plans on putting heavy pressure on IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (57-3, 50 KO’s) tonight to see if he can break him in their fight in Berne, Switzerland. Thompson agrees that he fought the wrong fight last time he mixed it up with Wladimir four years ago in his 11th round TKO loss, but this time he’s not going to stand on the outside letting the big 6’6″ Ukrainian dictate the pace of the fight.
Thompson said “You have to be more aggressive…You have to go out there and knock him out. I think me and my team have put together the perfect game plan to go in there and be more aggressive and be the boss in the ring and eventually go for the knockout.”
Thompson no doubt has seen Wladimir’s losses to Corrie Sanders, Ross Puritty, and Lamon Brewster and noted how Wladimir seemed to fall to pieces when he was put under pressure. The loss to Sanders was so quick that Wladiimr crumbled fast from one sustained assault from Sanders. But Wladimir was definitely worn down by Brewster and Puritty when they pressured the big Ukrainian.
The question here is whether or not Thompson has the power or the speed to wear Wladimir down. He’s not a big puncher like Brewster, Puritty and Sanders, and he’s also considerably slower. He is bigger than all those guys, but the extra size may not mean much unless he’s able to land enough shots to put Wladimir in trouble.
Wladimir has had it pretty easy for the past seven years and has rarely take many shots. Thompson has a chance of winning this fight if he can land his best punches, and get them in before Wladimir grabs him to clinch. We’re likely going to see Wladimir clinching well over 10 times per round and it’s highly doubtful that the referee will life a finger to put a stop to the constant grabbing by Wladimir. It’ll be up to Thompson to try and land his shots first before Wladimir can grab him in one of his many clinches.
Ideally, it would be nice if Wladimir didn’t clinch all night, but that’s how he fights nowadays and he seems to be oblivious to how badly it looks from a fans perspective. His trainer Emanuel Steward will likely be begging Wladimir to stop clinching and start his hands go more, but Wladimir often seems unable or unwilling to follow Steward’s instructions for him to fight more aggressively.