Wladimir Klitschko: Tony Thompson is a lethal opponent and cannot be ignored easily – Boxing news
Wladimir Klitschko, the current WBO heavyweight champion, in a recent gathering shared his views about Tony Thompson and said that he is a quality pugilist who has evolved substantially adding that his southpaw stance gave him a tough time in their first
meeting almost four years ago and therefore he is a lethal opponent to brawl with.
The current proud owner of WBA Super World, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles, Wladimir Klitschko, shared these views after the finalisation of the deal with Tony camp. As per the announcement, the bout will take place at July 7, 2012 and the ring will
be stretched at Stade De Suisse situated in Berne, Switzerland.
This will be the second time that both men will meet in the ring. In their first skirmish, Wladimir successfully defended his IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles by knocking out Tony in the 11th round.
Wladimir, who will enter his 12th title defence bout, has been in a total 60 bouts and emerged victorious in 57. He has collected a huge 50 wins by knocking the opponent out cold, the reason why he is widely known as Dr. Steelhammer.
During the bout-settlement gathering, the 36-year-old Wladimir commented, “Thompson is a strong and difficult opponent fighting southpaw. He has a very good technique and gave me one of the toughest challenges in my career. Through his height it is a fight
at eye level and I know that he has gained a lot of confidence through his winning streak.”
Tony, 40, currently resides at the seventh position in the world rankings and has been in a total 38 bouts. He has collected 24 of his total 36 wins by knockout and is on a continuous win streak after his last loss to Wladimir.
Well known as ‘The Tiger’, Thompson has proudly held the WBO Intercontinental heavyweight gold and boasts wins over many big names. Tony, who is looking forward to avenge his previous loss, while putting forth his thoughts said, “I have been waiting a long
time for this rematch. Last time I had an injury which I suffered in training. In Berne, I will complete what I missed out four years ago. I will knock Klitschko out and take all his belts to the US.”
Tony is coming in full throttle and has gained much confidence after recuperating from the Wladimir-loss and the knee injury. His prime form is evident from the fact that he has nailed all of his last five opponents by knockout.
The odds are obviously in favour of Wladimir but if Tony utilises the advantages he possesses over the champion he can defy all the odds to put an end to the six-year long Ukrainian reign.
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