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American heavyweight titlist Chris Byrd’s four-and-a-half year reign – the longest of the current heavyweight ‘champions’ – came to an abrupt halt in the 7th round of his rematch with Ukrainian heavyweight Wladimir Kitschko. The end came at 0:41 of the round as ‘Dr. Steel Hammer’ connected with a right hand that sent Byrd hard to canvas. He quickly rose on shaky legs and wandered away from the ref towards the ropes. Referee Wayne Kelly mercifully halted the action as Byrd turned toward him and revealed a face covered in blood.
The fight started with an uneventful feeling out round that saw Byrd, 39-3-1 (20), try to get inside the 81” reach of Klitchsko to no avail. The second saw Klitchsko, per his corner man Manny Steward’s advice, establish his hammer like jab while dropping in the occasional painful right. Byrd’s offensive options seemed to dwindle as the 6’5 Klitchsko kept him easily at bay with both his left jab and looming power. Round three saw more of the same as Klitchsko was in full control. His preternatural accuracy and newfound mental focus came to the fore as he began to dominate the division’s premier defensive specialist. Klitchsko landed three consecutive rights and despite Byrd shaking his head, the impact was felt throughout the arena and certainly on the judges’ cards.
Round four began like déjà vu all over again as the Ukrainian’s jab continued to land with forceful regularity. Klitschko continued to step it up as Byrd continued to look flummoxed with his wife at ringside screaming at him to walk down his opponent. A task easier said then done as Klitchsko dropped Byrd with a crisp and powerful one-two a minute into the 5th. Byrd held on under intense enemy fire. To his credit , Klitschko did not seem to punch himself out or flurry aimlessly as Byrd tried to lure him into tiring. Byrd took a lot of punishment to finish out the 5th frame but escaped a stoppage despite throwing virtually nothing in return. Manny Steward kept Klitschko calm in the corner as he explained that “it was a matter of time”.
Indeed it was. The 6th round saw Klitschko employ a safety first beat down of Byrd as he stayed behind the jab as he had all night, occasionally hooking of it and dropping in a right here and there. Byrd still found himself searching for a way into the fight but was more or less surviving with a long way to go. As it turned out, the end was not too far off. In the first minute of the seventh, Klitschko landed the killing blows. A series of shots that ended with a big right that sent Byrd crumpling onto his face on the canvas . He rose but to avail as Wayne Kelly halted the proceedings with the customary complaint from Byrd but none from press row.
With this win, Klitschko has not only taken out the most established of the current crop heavyweight titlists but has taken yet another step to re-establishing himself as the man to beat in his division. At 6’5 and 241lbs with a skill set most smaller men would envy, it is hard to envision anyone taking Dr. Steel Hammer out anytime soon. Klitschko looks more and more like Lennox Lewis every time he fights. A jab that can go from pawing to telephone pole in a heart beat, a brutal hook off of it and a right hand that would make Tommy Hearns proud. With former Lewis trainer Manny Steward guiding him, Wladimir Klitschko could be the top man in these waters for years to come. As for Byrd, this loss sends him back to the drawing board. While in his prime it was difficult to get anyone of note to fight him as a southpaw cutie content to go the distance is never an easy matchup, perhaps now that he is slowing down and showing vulnerability a more gatekeeper like role is likely. Make no mistake, Byrd is nowhere near a shot fighter. In many ways he is still quite viable. Just not against a Super Heavyweight like Klitschko who seems to be putting it all together more and more each fight.
In-Fighting
It has been a few weeks since I have written anything so a bit of catch up is in order. Lost somewhere between the 10th round near-riot and the IBF’s ruling that shall be ignored later, was a brilliant performance by Floyd Mayweather. Tested as he has rarely been before, he showed exactly why he is the best in the game today. His slow dismantling of Zab Judah was a thing of beauty. It is fighters like Floyd that put the Sweet back into the Science. Sad to see that boxing has not lost it’s penchant for giving itself a black eye on the night it should be rising from the ashes. The more I watch Floyd solve whatever puzzle lays in front of him, the more I wonder if the man who will beat him exists. I do wonder as well, seeing him not gain a pound at the unofficial weigh in, if perhaps he has gone up one division too much.
Seeing Kermit Cintron (yet another Manny Steward fighter) not only weather the early storm from David Estrada on Wednesday Night but also win impressively was a breath of fresh air. I have followed The Killer for some time and was saddened to see him go down in flames against Antonio Margarito so easily. Estrada looked to answer press row’s questions about Cintron’s heart and toughness under fire and Cintron answered them all – perhaps not with ease but with power in both fists and the mettle of which champions are made. While I think it is a bit early to put Cintron in the upper echelon of his division, I will say he is a serious threat to any of the other contenders like Joel Julio, Kendal Holt, and Carlos Quintana to name a few. A few more tests for this young man, and the skies the limit for Cintron.
The more the IBF opens it’s mouth, the more I realize that boxing will never regain its former glory until the Alphabelts are abolished. The problem does not lie with PPV (though it is a problem), it does lie with getting fights on network TV (though that would help), and I won’t even blame the promoters (though I can name at least two that need to go soon). No, the problem lies with the WBC, IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO and any other combination of letters that adorn these meaningless championship belts. Plain and simple, if our sport is to once again appeal to the masses, we need one champ per division. I am sick and tired of explaining to friends that “this guy is a titlist and he needs to unify“ and all that entails. We need one recognizable champion in each division. It will up the competition level while forcing the top men to challlenge themselves with the best possible opponents. All the other problems will fall in line once we cure ourselves of the cancer that is the Alphabelts.
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2006
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By Gabriel Montoya (April 23, 2006)
