The Boxing Weekend: Wladimir Klitschko Headlines
By Geno McGahee
ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights
This weekend’s episode of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights presents a rematch between light middleweights Sechew Powell, 25-2, 15 KO’s, and Deandre Latimore, 20-2, 16 KO’s, in a 12 round IBF Eliminator.
The two met in 2008, and Latimore scored the upset knockout win in the seventh round. Powell has rebounded with two victories over mediocre opposition and plans to avenge his worst defeat.
Powell made a name for himself on SHOBOX, most notably scoring a 22 second stoppage of Cornelius Bundrage, after both men hit the floor simultaneously in the first five seconds of the round. Powell would lose to a prime Kassim Ouma, rebound with a decision over Contender star, Ishe Smith, before getting stopped by Latimore. He now looks to get back on track.
Latimore was a relatively untested fighter before stepping into the ring with Powell and he quickly showed that he was the real deal. He recently lost a controversial split decision to Cory Spinks with the IBF crown on the line. He hopes to repeat his victory and get another crack at the title.
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Wlad’s Back
IBO/IBF/WBO Heavyweight Champion, Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko, 53-3, 47 KO’s, defends his title in Germany against American challenger, Eddie Chambers, 35-1, 18 KO’s. Unfortunately, American TV will not be running with this good title fight. Klitschko has been out of the ring for nearly ten months and will have to be on his game to stop the quick and intelligent challenger.
Chambers holds wins over Calvin Brock, Dominick Guinn, and former WBC Heavyweight Champion, Sam Peter. His only loss was an uninspired performance which led to a decision loss to Alexander Povetkin. He was incredibly focused in his last fight, a decision win over Alexander Dimitrenko, and comes into this fight with a full head of steam.
Wlad is 10-0, 8 KO’s, in his last ten outings and plans to make it 11-0 with his incredible jab and right hand. Size may matter when it comes to this showdown, as the 6 foot 6 inch champion towers over the much smaller Chambers. It will be interesting to see how Chambers deals with the size differential. This fight has the potential to be a barnburner, but American fans will have to await the fight results instead of seeing it live, the way the heavyweight title bout should be seen.