Vitali Klitschko too much for Danny Williams

11.13.04 - By Geoff McKay: History has shown us that trying to predict the outcome of a professional boxing match is difficult to say the least, especially when the contestants are heavyweights.. Perhaps this is part of the reason very few people writing about the upcoming Klitschko-Williams fight have come down decisively on one side or the other. Therefore, at the risk of eating crow, I will make a clear cut prediction!

Recently, there has been an outpouring of support for Danny Williams. Listed among his backers are Lennox Lewis, and Evander Holyfield. A significant number of boxing fans also seem to believe that Williams, the destroyer of Mike Tyson, will vanquish Vitali. I feel this has as much to do with Vitali himself, as it does with Williams’s performance against Tyson.

First of all, let’s take a look at the Williams Tyson bout. The Tyson camp claimed that a knee injury robbed him of his ability to fight, however, it was pointed out that he walked out of the ring without any problems. Tyson is emotionally fragile to say the least. He had Williams hurt, and Williams didn’t fade. Tyson wasn’t able to deal with this mentally, and he crumbled. When he was knocked down did he really look hurt? Cast your mind back to when he was fumbling for his mouthpiece in Tokyo, and still at least got to his feet. Did Williams hurt him worse that Buster Douglas did?

The lack of support for Vitali Klitschko stems from his awkward style. It is unfamiliar, doesn’t look flashy, and as a result we all keep waiting for the axe to fall, as it did with his brother. In a recent television interview Hasim Rahman pointed out that Klitschko leaves his body wide open, and that it should be an easy target, however, no one that has been in the ring with him has found it that easy a target to hit. As Vitali himself once said, “my style is not so impressive, but it is very effective”.

The height difference here is tremendous. A full seven inches. To put that in perspective, this is the same difference that exists between Manny Pacquiao and Danny Williams.

Vitali also has a very impressive chin, and good recuperative powers. Corrie sanders nailed him right on the button, in the first round, with a counter left hook that had all Sanders could muster behind it. It hurt Vitali, but he recovered, and went on to punish Sanders heavily.

There is one other attribute that the elder Klitschko possesses that makes him a dangerous fighter. Vitali has a perpetual rage, always just out of sight, just under the skin but always there nonetheless. He has a mean streak in him that is well hidden by his years of education. Watch carefully how he reacted to being slapped gently on the face by Corrie Sanders after Wladimir had been knocked out. Look at his face when he stormed across the ring and told Lewis he wanted a rematch. Watch his fight with Herbie Hide, where he stood over a fallen Hide and demanded he get up to receive more punishment. The fire burning inside Vitali is the element his younger brother lacks, and it is his key to victory.

Vitali Klitschko TKO over Danny Williams, 9th round.