Klitschko Drops The Hammer on the Boxing Banker
by Gabriel Montoya (Nov 13, 2006) Photo © Bob Kolb
For two Saturday’s in a row, boxing fans have been looking for a performance that would cement who is the leading candidate among the four titlists currently holding a piece of the glamour division’s crown. Last Saturday’s snorefest between Sergeui Lyakhovich and Shannon Briggs ended with a surprise knockout of Lyakhovich but only served to make the heavyweight title picture blurrier (though a little spicier with the addition of the power punching, stamina challenged Briggs). This Saturday’s fight between undefeated contender Calvin ”The Boxing Banker” Brock and IBF title holder Wladimir ”Dr. SteelHammer” Klitschko added clarity in spades as Klitschko rebounded from a slow start to dominate and ultimately knock out Brock with a brutal right hand at 2:10 of the 7th round.
During the HBO rebroadcast of the welterweight “showdown” between Carlos Baldomir and Floyd “ The Crying Game “ Mayweather, jr., Calvin Brock seemed very tight in his interview with Larry Merchant. His words seemed strained and his throat tight as he searched for answers to Larry’s rudimentary questions. This tension would play out as the first bell sounded.
The two combatants came to center ring with Brock looking to establish the jab. Klitschko landed a grazing right that seemed to make Brock stumble but he quickly recovered though his legs seemed a bit rubbery from nerves. A few moments later, Brock would fall while jabbing and though ruled a slip, it seemed as if someone might have sucker punched Brock in the dressing room and he was just now recovering. Nervous but game, Brock caught a few jabs from
Klitschko as he tried to figure a way inside the Ukrainian’s long, probing jab.
Between rounds, Klitschko trainer Manny Steward told his charge “ Keep the pressure with the jab. He [Brock] will eventually fall apart.”
Round two saw much of the same, as Klitschko held out his long probing jab, looking to find his range. Brock would stumble yet again while going to the body. Klitschko displayed much patience, which has been an important addition to his game since Manny Steward took over training duties. Brock was the busier fighter and it seemed that he was beginning to find a home for his left to the body. Klitschko would also begin to try and land his lead left hook in this round. By round’s end, the crowd was getting a little restless, as the first two rounds had been nothing more than a slightly aggressive feeling out process.
The next two rounds saw Brock step it up a bit as he began to smother Klitschko and seemed to confuse the Ukrainian fighter with his quickness and ability to go from all the way out of range to right on top of Klitschko. Wlad tried to get his right hand going but Brock slipped and dodged well, winning these two rounds on my scorecard. In the fourth, Klitschko began manhandling Brock more, moving him backwards or pushing his head down when they got into clinches. This wrestling style from both men would prompt Wayne Kelly to warn both to keep it clean.
The crowd was getting even more restless to the point of boos and the fight was in jeopardy of becoming the ugly cousin of Briggs/Lyakhovich. But in between rounds, an increasingly frustrated Manny Steward would implore his fighter to step up his aggression. “ You’re holding too much. Let [your hands] go. You’re letting him get confidence too much.
Round five began and it seemed as if Brock was eavesdropping on Klitschko’s corner because he immediately came out and landed 3 jabs square in Klitschko’s face. But Wladimir would answer with 57 jabs of his own each one increasing in power. In seemed though that the jab would be the only punch Klitschko would throw and thought it was effectively taming Brock it certainly wasn’t thrilling the crowd who certainly wanted more from the heavyweight knockout artist. With roughly 20 seconds left in the round, Klitschko would give them what they wanted as he unleashed two huge right hand bombs that rocked Brock and sent him to his corner with, at the very least, a terrible headache.
Round six saw the drama go up a notch as Klitschko sustained a nasty gash from an accidental headbutt over his left eye between the eyebrow and the lid. Brock seemed a bit worse for wear as he stumbled and tangled up with Klitschko, dragging him to the canvas. Hard right by Klitschko and a good shot to heart by Brock who stepped up his aggression but only managed good body shots in this round. As they went to their corners, the fight’s momentum seemed to going towards Klitschko and the crowd was on it’s feet; perhaps sensing the inevitable.
Manny Stewards implores Klitschko to throw the right hand behind the jab and that is precisely what Klitschko aimed to do as he came out for the 7th round. Perhaps fueled by an urgency created by the cut over his left eye, Klitschko came out and immediately landed a big right hand. Chants of “USA” could be heard throughout the arena but all those near ringside could hear were the sounds of Klitschko landing another big right set up by a lead left hook that hurts Brock badly. It is only a matter of time now as Klitschko patiently waited for another opening and was rewarded an instant later. Another lead left hook followed by one of the most brutally powerful right hands landed since Lennox Lewis knocked Hasim Rahman out cold and Brock was falling face first to the canvas. Brock seemed to be swimming as he bravely willed his body to rise on the wobbliest of legs forcing referee Wayne Kelly to wisely stop the bout.
In his post fight interview, Klitschko showed all the class of a true champion praising Brock as the best heavyweight in the division (besides himself I am assuming) and claimed the knockout didn’t come sooner because Brock’s excellent defense. To this writer’s eyes, Brock defense and willingness to trade and jab with Klitschko kept him the fight. However, it was clear that once Klitschko decided to move into another gear and go for the knockout, there wasn’t anything Brock was going to be able to do about it. With this win, Klitschko has now separated himself from the pack and is clearly the man to beat in the division. With Nicolay Valuev and Shannon Briggs (for those keeping score, tow of the other three titlists) without dance partners at the moment, it will be interesting see which way Klitschko will go on his quest to unify the heavyweight division.
