Wladimir Klitschko Vs Sam Peter II: The Heavyweight Title Breakdown
By Geno McGahee
On September 24th, 2005, an IBF/IBO Heavyweight Title Eliminator took place, featuring Wladimir Klitschko, in his third fight back since losing to Lamon Brewster via TKO in early 2004 and undefeated powerhouse, Sam “Nigerian Nightmare” Peter. HBO would broadcast this collision and it did not disappoint the fans.
Initially, Wlad controlled Peter with his jab, keeping him at distance and holding on tight when he got close. Peter would get too close several times, dropping Wlad to the canvas on three occasions. In the final round, Peter pressed and got nailed with a left hook that nearly dropped him. He held tough and when the final bell rang, the scores were: 114-111 across the board for Wlad, but the fight produced two winners. Wlad was back on track and Peter was a verified force in the division.
Since this fight, Wlad has gone 9-0, 8 KO’s, bringing his record to 54-3, 48 KO’s. He’s picked up the IBO, IBF, and WBO titles along the way and is ranked by most as the top heavyweight in boxing, ahead of his older brother and WBC Champion, Vitali, and WBA Champion, David Haye. Peter has not had the same measure of success. His record since his encounter with Wlad is 10-2, 6 KO’s. He did win the WBC Title with a stoppage of Oleg Maskaev, but would lose it to Vitali Klitschko embarrassingly, coming into the fight at 253 ½ pounds, and quitting after eight rounds of punishment. His next fight, he scaled in at a career high of 265, losing a majority decision to Eddie Chambers. Those on the Peter bandwagon were quick to jump off.
Peter’s record is 34-3, 27 KO’s, and he is 29 years old, young enough to turn it around. He has begun doing just that with four straight knockout victories, weighing in for his last fight at 237 ½ pounds, his ideal weight. He seems focused and perhaps he is upset with himself for throwing away his chances of holding onto the title. Boxing is a mental game and Peter was obviously not mentally into the training or the fights when he stepped into the ring with Vitali and Chambers. This Peter that we have going into this title shot will be, presumably, the best Peter we have seen in years. According to reports, he has been staying fit in between fights and is looking to regain the title. September 11th in Germany is his chance.
There are several questions leading into this bout that may decide the winner and champion at the end of the night. RSR explores them…
Will there be German nightmares?
In 2008, Peter, the WBC Champion, went to Germany to face the returning Vitali Klitschko. Before the fight, you saw the look on Peter’s face…it was a look that I had never seen before with him and that look was fear. He was overwhelmed with the event, the popularity of the Klitschko brothers in Germany and probably not entirely confident with his training. He performed horribly, losing badly, and prompting some in the media to claim that he must have thrown the fight.
On September 11th, he faces younger brother Wlad. HBO has claimed that most cannot tell the Klitschko brothers apart and it’s bad for business. Will Peter be seeing Vitali in front of him when he faces Wlad and will the reminder of that night in 2008 put him back into a shell, a sitting duck for his opponent’s power shots? If Peter allows the magnitude of the event and the memories of his past in Germany to overwhelm him, he will lose again and it won’t even be close.
Is Wlad overconfident?
Wlad has demolished his recent foes. His opponents of late have not put up a championship effort when they faced him and have elected to go into and remain in survival mode, with the exception of a few. He punished and demolished Chris Byrd with ease, knocked Calvin Brock into tomorrow with a right hand, avenged a loss to Lamon Brewster in dominant and knockout fashion, played with Sultan Ibragimov for 12 rounds, and starched Hasim Rahman, Tony Thompson, Ruslan Chagaev, and Eddie Chambers within the distance. The end result was never in question and he’s had it easy, due in large part to his incredible skill and ability to control range.
When Alexander Povetkin was next in line for Wlad and he didn’t show up at the press conference, Wlad joked and had a cardboard standout of the challenger made. He considered him less than a challenge and when David Haye won the WBA title, Wlad went to Youtube and sent out a challenge to him, telling him not to “bitch out” again. The point here is that he is brimming with confidence and many consider him unbeatable at this point and Wlad may be in that group.
The toughest fight that Wlad has had was with Sam Peter, a 12 round grueling bout, and here we are again, five years later. Wlad was quick to accept the fight and after what his brother did to him and after his recent string of opponents left in a heap, will he be overlooking Peter? If he does, we will have a new champion in Germany.
Can Peter get an even shake in Germany?
Although Peter has improved his technique, many of his shots are still rather wide and may stray behind the head of Wlad. In their first encounter, Peter did hit him behind the head on several occasions. Will Peter be penalized excessively if it happens again? When Peter gets close, most believe that Wlad will once again clutch onto him. Will he be penalized for excessive holding? Most likely not.
You have to assume that Wlad will go into the fight with about 4 points on the scorecards before the opening bell rings, but a decision win is not what Peter is looking for. He wants to send a message and stop Wlad in quick fashion. He will most likely have to if he wants to win in Germany.
What should we expect when the bell rings?
Wlad will come out and try to establish the jab early as he did in their first fight. He is a better fighter now then he was then and he avoids trouble a lot better and will try to win the fight on the jab. Peter will put pressure on but will be kept on the outside for the majority. Peter will have to work the body and then go up to the head, put the mental pressure on Wlad and then get him out of there when he’s spent. That is the large task that Peter has. If he can get into Wlad’s head, he wins. If he lets the champion get started and do too much damage in the first half of the fight, you can expect a UD for Wlad or a late stoppage. The emphasis is on Peter. It’s like George Foreman once said: “I don’t prepare for my opponents, they prepare for me.” Wlad will be Wlad and will fight the same fight he’s always fought, jabbing and looking to drop in the right hand. Peter will have to be extremely aggressive and work the body. He cannot let Wlad take and keep the lead. I expect him to do his best and be the best Peter we’ve seen in years, but it may not be enough.
Prediction
This fight is an overlooked gem. This has every indication of being an incredibly remarkable fight and shame on HBO for not picking it up. Before I make my final prediction I would like to see what weight Peter comes into the fight. If he weighs in around 235, I think that we will see a new champion crowned. If he comes in at 245+, he will have a long night ahead of him. I will go out on a limb here and pick the stronger-chinned aggressor to finally live up to his potential and score a dramatic knockout and regain the heavyweight title. It may just be wishful thinking to shake up the division, but for the record, Peter by TKO in 8, unless he comes into the fight in poor condition.