Will Samuel Peter knock Wladimir Klitschko out?
On 11 September Wladimir Klitschko (54-3, 48 KOs), the unified heavyweight champion of the world, will step into the ring with former WBC champion Samuel Peter (34-3, 27 KOs). The two square off at the Commerzhank Arena in Frankfurt, Germany.
This is an exciting fight for many, and not just because one of the Klitschko brothers is stepping into the ring. Klitschko has managed to avoid a knockout loss in these last six years, and will put it all on the line to fight Peters, a guy who has proven he has the power to take Wladimir out.
In 2005 the two squared off in a 12 rounder. Klitschko won the decision, but to the dismay of many. For starters, he held onto Peter for much of the fight, especially when he was in trouble. Combined with a referee who was hesitant to break fighters up or do anything to set the pace of the fight it’s no wonder the fight was disastrous. By holding excessively, Klitschko was able to regain his composure and stop Peter’s assault. Still, when Peter did get a chance to land the big shots he proved he could by knocking Klitschko down a remarkable three times in the bout, although some would later argue Peter had used rabbit punches to achieve his knockdowns.
In 2008 Peter faced the older Klitschko brother, Vitali, and was routinely defeated in the eighth round, proving, at least, one of those two has his number. But Wladimir won a much more difficult decision, and his fighting style is markedly different than that of his brother.
Whereas Vitali is often willing to stand and slug it out against guys (often to his credit), Wladimir has shown time and time again he’d rather win by getting a shot in and holding, in other words controlling the pace. But as proven this technique won’t do against Peter. Styles make fights, and where Vitali’s is the key to success against Peter, it’s unavailable to the younger, more critically acclaimed Wladimir.
It’s also worth noting that Wladimir is 34 now, and it’s been five years since he handled Peter in the ring—meaning he’s slowed down quite a bit. This isn’t always a bad thing, and Klitschko may well be able to utilize new tactics and the experience he’s gained in recent years, but in this case it does qualify as a potential problem. It means that Klitschko will tire even faster this time around (round five or six), and will look to hold Peter the same way he did last time around, only more.
There’s also the very real possibility, if Klitschko isn’t careful, that he’ll knock himself out by tiring. He’s proven in the past—as with his 11th round knockout loss to Ross Puritty in 1998—that he’s particularly susceptible to this kind of err, and it isn’t out of range this time.
In Klitschko, Peter has a chance to avenge his first defeat. That means something. But it also gets at the way the situation since 2005 has drastically changed, and that could also affect the outcome of this fight. Five years ago Klitschko wasn’t sitting on the heavyweight division with such ease. He was contending, in the thick of it. And so was Peter, who was streaking off the confidence of his then-undefeated climb up the ranks. But if time has made Klitschko soft and vulnerable, it has also brought Peter back to earth. Many have argued that Peter’s only worsened in recent years, and that’s not so hard to believe judging by recent defeats at the hands of Vitali and Eddie Chambers. In order to get the win, he’s going to have to pool all of his talent and hope his muse is praying for him that night.
Klitschko comes into the fight as a 9-1 favourite.
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