The Big Fight Preview: Anthony Joshua Vs. Wladimir Klitschko

By Peter Silkov

When Anthony Joshua (18-0, 18koes) clashes with Wladimir Klitschko (64-4, 53koes) this Saturday April 29^th at Wembley Stadium, it will be a pivotal fight for both men, and also for the heavyweight division itself. This is a classic match between youth and experience. Can Klitschko derail the ascent of the young Joshua? In many ways Wladimir Klitschko has been one of the most unappreciated heavyweight champions of all time.

Despite his near decade long domination of the heavyweights, which was ended abruptly in November 2015 when he was out-boxed and out-psyched by Tyson Fury, Wladimir has never received the plaudits that his skills really deserve. Part of this is due to his early defeats, which have left a blemish upon his reputation, up until this very day. Forget that Wladimir has not lost a fight inside the distance for well over a decade now, he is still and will probably always be, viewed as a fighter with a weak chin and questionable heart. Many people regard these early blots on the Ukrainian’s record as proof that Joshua can take care of Wladimir in the same manner that he has dispatched his previous 18 professional opponents, yet Wladimir is in a different league to anyone whom Joshua has faced so far in his professional career.

Photo:Boxingnewsonline

Joshua’s severest test so far, was his December 2015 meeting with Dillian Whyte, in a fight that saw him stretched for the first, and only time, and visibly shaken on at least 3 occasions. Although Joshua finally won this clash in impressive fashion, it still left some lingering questions. Especially about the durability of his chin. Quite simply, during his professional career, Anthony Joshua has not been hit enough cleanly, thus far, for us to know whether he really has the durability to make it at the top level. Saturday might should reveal the answer.

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Klitschko has had more world title fights than Joshua has had actual professional fights, and this edge in experience could well prove to be a crucial advantage for the Ukrainian. At the age of 41 years old, Klitschko may have lost the freshness of youth, but the wisdom of experience can often make up for this loss, especially in an athlete who is dedicated to looking after himself.

One line of thought is that Wladimir’s defeat to Tyson Fury in November 2015, was a sign that he was slipping as a fighter. Yet this is a risky assumption to make, due to the fact that in Tyson Fury, Wladimir met the most unorthodox opponent of his career, who was also a man inspired upon that night. Fury’s subsequent out of the ring problems could see him becoming one of the division's saddest stories of wasted talent.

The Tyson Fury of that night would always have gave Wladimir a headache, yet Anthony Joshua is a totally different fighter to Fury, and will not pose the problems for Klitschko that Tyson created.

Photo: Telegraph

Wladimir has often been derided as boring, but much of this is due to him winning so many of his fights in an one-sided manner, such has been his superiority over most of his challengers through the years. Wladimir is one of the most technically gifted heavyweights we have ever seen, but a lack of talented challengers has seen him deprived of the kind of defining fights that might have helped him gain the kind of recognition and popularity, which the heavyweight greats of the past enjoyed. Ironically, Saturday’s clash against Anthony Joshua may well gain, for Klitschko, the kind of plaudits that have always eluded him until now, should he emerge victorious.

This is a clash that will define the shape of the heavyweight division, according to who comes out victorious. Once the most magnetic division in boxing, the heavyweights have struggled over the past two decades to capture the imagination of the public. It could be argued that a Joshua win would be better for boxing than a Klitschko victory, but what the division needs now, above all else, is a definitive world number one. Taking into account the continued absence of Tyson Fury, the winner on Saturday night will have good reason to call himself the best active heavyweight in the world at the present time.

Photo: soloboxeo.com

Already Saturday's fight has turned the clock back somewhat to the golden days of the past when the heavyweight championship commanded vast attention whenever it was fought over. The build up to the match between the two men has also been refreshingly polite and free from the kind of distasteful insults and controversies that have become so common in recent ‘big’ fights.

Many questions will be answered on Saturday, April 29. The biggest questions, being, how much has Wladimir got left, and how good is Anthony Joshua, should provide fascinating viewing. Not many of Wladimir Klitschko’s fights have been genuinely exciting, yet Saturday night may well prove to be different.

Perhaps the biggest question mark hanging over Wladimir is not so much his age, but the affect of him having 17 months out of the ring before this fight. No matter how fit you are, competitive inactivity can be a curse for an athlete, especially a boxer. Yet perversely, it can also be a benefit. The layoff may well have allowed Wladimir to recharge his batteries, rest his body, and renew his hunger. Certainly the indications in the fight's build-up have been that Wladimir comes across as a far happier and more relaxed man than the person who seemed tense and moody in the run up to the Tyson Fury match. Wladimir knows that it is Joshua who will enter the Wembley Stadium ring on Saturday with the expectations of 90,000 fans on his shoulders. All indications are that Joshua will be the favourite to win on Saturday night, despite the huge gulf in experience, and technical ability between the two men.

One aspect that has also been underplayed in the run up to this match is the fact that, despite his so called ‘boring’ fighting style, Wladimir Klitschko has still managed to score 53 knockouts in his 64 victories as a professional. While Joshua enters this match with the reputation as a dynamite punching knockout machine, Klitschko in reality can boast to have proven his own punching power at the highest level for well over a decade. Indeed, it may be the power of Klitschko which is the biggest danger to Joshua in this fight.

With most of his victories coming in the first three rounds, Anthony Joshua will be at his most dangerous in the early part of this contest. At the same time however, he will have to take risks in trying to achieve an early end to the fight. Klitschko’s fast and accurate hands have seen many of his previous opponents picked off and dispatched early, and there is the chance that if he is not careful that this will happen to Joshua. He cannot afford to be caught and hurt like he was by Dillion Whyte. If Wladimir catches him in the same way he is unlikely to be allowed the time to recover. Wladimir has proved himself time and again a cold and efficient finisher when he has an opponent hurt.

Photo: BoxingNews.com

Wladimir’s main vulnerability in this fight will come from Joshua’s strength and power. Yet, Klitshcko has not been stopped by an opponent since 2004, when Lamon Brewster stopped him in 5 rounds. Thanks to the tutorledge of his late trainer, Emanuel Steward, Wladimir became a much smoother, and technically adept boxer, following the Brewster loss. He has built a 22-fight winning streak over the next 11 years, until he ran into the enigmatic talent, which is Tyson Fury.

The longer this fight goes on the more it should suit Wladimir. It is very unlikely that Joshua will be able to out-box Klitschko, especially over a long distance, and while his strength will make him dangerous early, will he be able to carry his power into the later rounds against a boxer like Wladimir.

In the event of the match going beyond the first 6 rounds, Wladimir’s experience will become increasingly important. Joshua is undoubtedly strong, with a big punch, but how will his stamina fare in a longer fight at this level?

Photo: RingNews24

This is a contest with a number of possible outcomes. Joshua will always have a puncher's chance, but Wladimir is not an easy target. Despite his age, there seems to be no reason to suppose that Klitschko has suddenly fallen apart as a boxer. The early rounds will be crucial for both men, and the end could come suddenly for either man in the first 3 rounds. What is more likely though, is that Wladimir negotiates the early rounds, and slowly takes over the contest, as his advantages in experience and technical ability make themselves count. It has been said in the build up to this showdown, that Joshua is getting Wladimir Klitschko at just the right time, but in the end, the opposite may be proved to be true. On Saturday night, Wladimir Klitschko will prove himself to be just a step too far for Anthony Joshua, and will either stop him somewhere between the 6^th and 9^th rounds, or emerge victorious with a clear point's decision.

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The 2015 Boxing Glove Awards: Big Impact 2016 Award: Tyson Fury

The Boxing Glove Big Impact of the Year 2015
Heavyweight
Tyson Fury

In a year where many proposed big fights, such as Mayweather vs Pacquiao and Cotto vs Alvarez, which failed to deliver the kind of excitement that had been hoped, and with many of boxing’s biggest names seemed to be suspended in time, waiting for a big fight that never materialized, one fight that really stands out for its impact and reverberations within the boxing world is Tyson Fury's memorable victory over Wladimir Klitschko.

With this one performance, Tyson created more of a genuine impact in the sport than any other fighter managed throughout 2015.  And Tyson's impact can continue to grow throughout 2016 if his career stays on track.  He is a fighter who can make the heavyweight title and the heavyweight division an interesting and relevant place to be again.

Watch the WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO v TYSON FURY - FULL POST FIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE / FROM DUSSELDORF, GERMAN:

Copyright © 2016 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com

Book Review: Fighting the Demons: The Lester Ellis Story

The Boxing Glove Sunday Night Book Review by Peter Silkov

Fighting the Demons: The Lester Ellis Story

As told to Robert Drano.

First published in 2007, “Fighting The Demons: The Lester Ellis Story” is the searing autobiography of Lester Ellis, former IBF World junior lightweight champion, who also held multiple belts in different divisions in his career. To say that Ellis had a meteoric career would be an understatement. He won the world championship in 1985, one month before his 20th birthday, after just 15 fights, and barely two years as a professional fighter. In the end, it was too much too soon for Ellis. He lost the world title after just five months to friend and archrival, Barry Michael, and although he would carry on fighting until 1996, and win other titles, he would never again win a major world championship.

In fact, when reading this book one can see that in many ways Ellis’s life started a slow spiral downwards from the moment he lost his world title to Barry Michael.  “Fighting the Demons” is more than just a story about boxing; it is a story about a man struggling to cope with a life that is slowly spinning out of control. By the time Ellis retired from boxing in 1996 (although he made an ill-fated one-fight comeback in 2002 against Anthony Mundine) he was in the grip of depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and alcoholism. Things would get much worse before he hit rock bottom and started to fight back.

In many ways, “Fighting the Demons” was a catalyst for the beginning of Ellis’s recovery. He says in the introduction that he was still in denial about the extent of his drinking problem during the writing of the first 10 chapters of the book, then in an incident, which made the news nationwide in Australia in 2006, Ellis tried to commit suicide. From the 11th chapter on, “Fighting The Demons” focuses on Lester’s fight against alcoholism, and his return from a rock bottom that saw him at one point drinking 200 cans of beer a week. 

Ellis was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, on March 15, 1965.  He was born premature weighing only three pounds and two ounces, with under developed lungs.  When he was five years old, the Ellis family relocated to Melbourne Australia, partly because of young Lester’s asthma. Not long after their move to Australia Lester’s parents marriage broke up. This would turn out to be a huge life changing event for young Lester, who went from being happy, and well adjusted to being a troubled, and angry.  Boxing would turn out to be his salvation and a focus and outlet for his rage.

As a fighter, Ellis was, at his best, a very hyper fighter. He could both box, and slug it out, and fought at a pace that seemed to be close to perpetual motion. His trademark two-fisted attacks, with blinding hand speed and knockout power, gained him the nickname “The Master Blaster.”  Ellis was a great in-fighter and vicious body puncher. Ellis describes himself as an angry fighter, someone who fought with emotion and anger, rather than a cool head, which you are supposed to do inside a boxing ring. Despite what the experts might say, this approach certainly worked for Ellis, and for a time he was simply overwhelming his opponents. This is one of the reasons why he got a world title fight so quickly; because many fighter were refused to fight him and so he was fast-tracked to the very top.
  
This is an extremely vivid book, written as if Ellis is talking to you. Overall, the book is captivating, entertaining, moving, and disturbing. Despite some of the harrowing subject matter, there is a lot of humour within the book. Ellis comes across as having a good line in black humour. There are also fascinating insights into the world of boxing, and the whole merry-go-round of fame and success, which young boxers can experience so suddenly during their careers, and then just as suddenly, have taken away.

“Fighting The Demons” gives a fascinating insight into the pressures that come with success and the fickleness of many of the so called ’friends’ whom befriend fighters when they are at the top, only to abandon them when they start to lose.

Like many of the best boxing autobiographies, “Fighting The Demons” is far more than just a book about boxing. It is a fascinating story of a life lived on the edge, in fast forward, which eventually spins into self destruction.  It also shows the courage that is needed to turn away from the brink.

Lester Ellis’s autobiography resembles the way in which he fought in the ring, exciting, fast paced, and hard hitting. This was one of the most moving autobiographies I have ever read and made me admire Ellis even more both as a man and a fighter. 

Copyright © 2015 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com