Samuel Peter will have his sights on becoming heavyweight champion for the second time in his career when he takes on Wladimir Klitschko in Frankfurt, Germany, on Saturday. Wladimir Klitschko has been heavyweight champion since 2006 when he won the IBF title by defeating Chris Byrd with a seventh round knockout. But like all champions, no matter how dominant they have been, a time comes when their reign comes to an end. That is unless they decide to retire undefeated as was the case with Lennox Lewis and the legendary Joe Louis, who to date holds the record for holding the title longer than any other boxer - 10 years, 8 months and 8 days. It happened to Muhammad Ali back in 1978 when he lost the title to Leon Spinks, as well as to other heavyweight greats such as Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson. And after defending the title eight times since claiming the IBF title from Byrd, there’s every possibility that Saturday’s bout against Samuel Peter could mark the end of Klitschko’s reign as IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight king. There is no doubt, Klitschko and his older brother Vitali, stand head and shoulders above the rest of the heavyweight division, even though their cautious approach and their inability to willingly deviate from the repetitive jab and clinch style that after a while wears down the opponent isn’t the most beautiful to watch. It has however been a style that has proven quite effective for the 34-year-old Ukrainian even as far back as five years ago when both fighters met in an IBF title eliminator. First Peter-Klitschko war Back in September 2005 in Atlantic City, USA, Peter fell Klitschko three times but still ended up losing on the score card of all three judges. But no other fighter has been able to push Klitschko that hard, and that is one reason why Saturday’s fight could just be the one to end Klitschko’s reign at the top. That doesn’t mean Peter will be heading into the fight as favourite. That is a honour reserved for the Ukrainian, especially as the fight is taking place at a place both he and his brother have come to regard as home. However, one thing appears almost certain; this fight will not go the distance as both fighters are endowed with devastating punches. Klitschko’s weak chin Peter however has something that Klitschko lacks: a strong chin. That was what proved Klitschko’s nemesis in his last two losses to Lamon Brewster, in April 2004, and Corrie Sanders, back in March 2003. Even his first loss as a professional much earlier in 1998 to Ross Puritty was stopped in the 11th round after the American kept unleashing a flurry of punches on the hapless Ukrainian which caused his trainer back then, Fritz Sdunek, to jump into the ring and stop the fight. Puritty had a round earlier knocked down the exhausted Klitschko with a hard shot to the chin. Klitschko’s current trainer, Emmanuel Steward, has however in the past couple of days been predicting that Saturday’s fight will be a short night. “In terms of one punch power and accuracy, I see a knockout,” he said. “I can’t see it going much more than five or six rounds, and that’s stretching it.” Steward, who was the trainer of former heavyweight champ, Lewis, then added: “Wladimir is one of the few fighters I’ve trained, and I have trained many punchers, that can turn off the light switch in the middle of a big party without doing the dimmer switch first. He has the power to knock out anyone with one punch using either hand, the left (hook) even more than the right.” But nobody has ever knocked out ‘The Nigerian Nightmare.’ The only fight he lost that ended early was against the older of the Klitschko brothers, in October 2008, when he didn’t answer the bell for the ninth round. He also lost his next bout to Eddie Chambers on points, but has gone on to win his next four bouts convincingly. He has also shed a lot of weight and is much more agile on his feet these days, which is probably why Steward declared him as the most dangerous opponent Klitschko has fought in five years. Peter isn’t the complete fighter, but he is now re-dedicated to his career. And even if Peter won’t win on Saturday, the fight promises to be one to remember.
Samuel Peter will have his sights on becoming heavyweight champion for the second time in his career when he takes on Wladimir Klitschko in Frankfurt, Germany, on Saturday. Wladimir Klitschko has been heavyweight champion since 2006 when he won the IBF title by defeating Chris Byrd with a seventh round knockout. But like all champions, no matter how dominant they have been, a time comes when their reign comes to an end. That is unless they decide to retire undefeated as was the case with Lennox Lewis and the legendary Joe Louis, who to date holds the record for holding the title longer than any other boxer - 10 years, 8 months and 8 days. It happened to Muhammad Ali back in 1978 when he lost the title to Leon Spinks, as well as to other heavyweight greats such as Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson. And after defending the title eight times since claiming the IBF title from Byrd, there’s every possibility that Saturday’s bout against Samuel Peter could mark the end of Klitschko’s reign as IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight king. There is no doubt, Klitschko and his older brother Vitali, stand head and shoulders above the rest of the heavyweight division, even though their cautious approach and their inability to willingly deviate from the repetitive jab and clinch style that after a while wears down the opponen
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