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Vitali Klitschko Vs Dereck Chisora, Paul Williams: The Boxing Weekend

By Geno McGahee

This Saturday, the WBC Heavyweight Champion, Vitali Klitschko, 43-2, 40 KO’s, will defend against the British challenger, Dereck Chisora, 15-2, 9 KO’s. Vitali has held some version of the heavyweight title since 1999, when he crushed Herbie Hide, another British fighter, in 2 rounds, capturing the WBO crown.

He would defend the WBO version twice before an injury would force a forfeit to American, Chris Byrd. It was a fight result that he had a hard time living down. The fact that he quit made him a coward in the eyes of many of the boxing fans.

In 2004, Vitali would avenge the loss of his younger brother, Wladimir, by stopping Corrie Sanders in 8 rounds to take the vacant crown. He would defend the title once against another British fighter, Danny Williams, stopping him in 8 rounds, before leaving the sport for four years to heal up.

When Vitali returned, he immediately took his right to have a title shot, facing the powerful Sam Peter for the WBC Title. It was a one-sided destruction. Peter took a severe beating and quit in the 8th round. Vitali, once again, ruled the heavyweight scene…at least part of it.

Since his return and title winning victory, he has defended the title seven times, against some very respectable opposition. The collective record of his last 7 title defenses was: 250 wins, 9 losses, and 2 draws. He has beaten top contenders: Kevin Johnson, Chris Arreola, Odlanier Solis, and Tomasz Adamek. Dereck Chisora is another top contender, despite his two defeats. He is the most dangerous opponent to Vitali’s title since Arreola.

To the credit of Vitali, he saw injustice and opted to make things right in boxing by giving Chisora the shot at the crown. Twice, Chisora was offered a shot at the WBO/IBO/IBF/WBA Champ, Wladimir, only to be pushed aside by David Haye. Chisora would balloon up to 261 pounds and lose an uninspired decision to mediocrity, Tyson Fury. Chisora went from contender to journeyman overnight.

On the fast track to heavyweight stardom is Robert Helenius. Undefeated, huge, and carrying a monster punch, he has devastated his opposition. Chisora was picked as the next victim, but to the surprise of many, including Helenius, Chisora fought very hard and was incredibly aggressive, winning the fight in the eyes of the majority of the public. The split decision nod would go to Helenius, but Vitali Klitschko saw the true winner and awarded him the shot.

The bold prediction that he will knock out the champion is 8 rounds has raised some eyebrows, but he believes it. Chisora is mentally ready for this fight and will be there to take the title. The big question will be: can he take the incoming shots and remain aggressive? So many Klitschko opponents go into survival mode and usually find a soft spot on the floor when they’ve had enough punishment. Chisora, in order to win, must stay on Vitali and keep him backing up. Vitali is so used to controlling the range and if he is in his comfort zone, the show is over. What makes this fight exciting is that Chisora is a brawler and a puncher and he will be going after the bigger man. He will need to find success early and withstand some pretty tough shots, but it’s no walk in the park for Vitali. He will have his hand full.

Klitschko – Chisora is the big fight this weekend, and EPIX will be broadcasting it, but we also have a bout on Showtime between Paul “The Punisher Williams, 40-2, 27 KO’s, trying to rebuild his career against Nobuhiro Ishida, 24-6-2, 9 KO’s. Ishida was an unknown for the most part until he faced off with a returning James Kirkland on April 9th, 2011.

Ishida, not a big puncher, but very durable, was able to land the right shots at the right time on a rusty and ill-prepared Kirkland, stopping the power-puncher in the very first round. Since then, he has been missing in action, unable to land a big fight, until now.

If you are only as good as your last fight, Paul Williams should probably hang up the gloves. Although he got the majority decision win over Erislandy Lara, it was obvious to most that he lost the fight. Prior to that fight, he was starched in two rounds by Sergio Martinez. He is in dire need of a spectacular win, but Ishida may be the wrong guy.

Williams is not a big puncher and has a tendency to admire his work, leaving opportunities for counter punchers. He can be timed, as Lara and Martinez had done. Even Kermit Cintron found success staying in the pocket and timing Williams, landing on the chin of the tall fighter. Ishida is not a huge puncher, but he has proven that he can bang under the right circumstances and if he catches Williams, he has a shot to drop him.

Williams – Ishida is an interesting fight. The supporting bout features Tavoris Cloud, 23-0, 19 KO’s, defending his IBF Light Heavyweight Title against Gabriel Campillo, 21-3-1, 8 KO’s. Cloud is developing under the radar, but he has wins over Glen Johnson, Julio Cesar Gonzalez and Clinton Woods. He is a legitimate champion at 175, but he is being virtually ignored. He has called out Chad Dawson, but there has been no reply. He has to settle for Campillo.

Campillo is from Spain and his opponents are not incredibly notable with the exception of Beibut Shumenov, the current WBA Champion at 175. Campillo won the first fight by majority decision and lost the second fight by split decision. Shumenov is a big puncher and Campillo was able to withstand the incoming there. If he keeps his composure, he may be able to make it interesting.

Chris Arreola, 34-2, 29 KO’s, returns to the ring Saturday, taking on the unknown Eric Molina, 18-1, 14 KO’s. Arreola has put together six straight victories since his loss to Tomasz Adamek in 2010. He has come into the fights in better shape and is ready to become the first Mexican heavyweight champion. He is battle-tested, powerful, and deceptively quick. His problem has always been his dedication, but with his recent weights of 235 or so, he may have found that lacking element and is now in a realistic hunt for heavyweight gold. A fit Arreola beats Alexander Povetkin and gives either Klitschko a fight.

Molina, the big underdog, faces his moment of truth Saturday night. His level opposition has been very mediocre with a collective record of 141 wins, 217 losses, and 17 draws. He’s been beating up on guys that are very used to it. His record is incredibly padded and even the victories against opponents that had winning records, they too were also fighting career losers. Arreola is a legitimate top contender. He is a top 5 heavyweight and will be coming to do damage early to Molina.

Boxing fans get ready for a fun weekend of pugilism. It’s a good Saturday to stay home and watch some fights.

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