Wladimir Klitschko vs Samuel Peter
Five years ago, the giant Ukrainian, Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko fought Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter for the NABF heavyweight title. It was an epic battle that saw Klitschko go down twice in the fifth round and another time in the 10th. Somehow Klitschko rose above it all to beat Peter in a unanimous decision. Now, five years later Peter is out for blood.
Klitschko is the IBF, WBO, IBO and Ring Magazine Champion of the world. He earned his first world title in October of 2000 and he hasn’t stopped making his mark on the boxing world since. Now he faces an old rival and the last time they met he came out on top. Expectations this time around are high.
When asked what he thought of the first fight Klitschko said, “It was one of the most difficult and important fights I had at the time, it was a milestone in my career. But what doesn’t kill me only makes me harder. I’ve become much more harder over the years and much more consistent in implementing my game plan of how to control a rival.”
Klitschko is powerful but his style is cautious and unspectacular and this seems at odds with the large crowds he attracts. When asked what he thought of the upcoming fight he told reporters that fans should not go to the refrigerator to pick up a beer because they might miss the knockout punch. Klitschko’s current record is 54-3 with 48 KOs. His height is 6ft 6in.
Samuel Peter began his ascension in 2004 with a victory over Jeremy Williams on 4 December. It was a knockout within 27 seconds of the second round. It got him the NABF Heavyweight title. He was derailed by losses to each of the Klitschko brothers, but in March of 2008 Peter defeated Oleg Maskaev at the bullfighting venue in Cancun. He won by TKO after the referee stopped the fight with only a few seconds left in the sixth round.
He’s a boxer with a strong triple jab and his use of combinations is devastating. When asked what he thought of his opponent Peter said, “What they do belongs to lighter divisions, not the heavyweight.” He even went as far as calling Klitschko’s technique “girls’ fighting.” Peter does have the power, if not the technique advantage.
His past four bouts were won by knockout and the Nigerian now feels ready to take on the man who defeated him all those fights ago. “I have a lot to prove,” Peter said, “I have a chance to redeem myself from the 2005 fight. I am getting another chance to prove that I am the best heavyweight champion in all. There will not be a decision this time around. This time, he will not get up from my left hook. This time around, anyone I touch will not be standing up. So I don’t think Wladimir will be able to stand up to me after four rounds.”
This time around Peter is a lot slimmer, faster, and a lot stronger than he was then. He’s also developed his technical game, whereas he used to rely strictly on power. The one thing that is going against him, other than Klitschko’s obvious experience, is his even more obvious size. Klitschko has four inches on Peter.
The only way Peter can win this one is by violating Klitschko’s standard approach. As a big guy, Klitschko controls the fight by keeping his opponents at a distance. Using jabs he scores points on the card and he wears them down slowly. But by avoiding the threat of proximity he can rarely go for the early knockout.
If Peter wants to win this thing, he needs to work his inside game. If he can break Klitschko’s reach, move inside and use his power to hurt Klitschko badly, the world might be shocked on Saturday night if the Nigerian hopeful topples the Ukrainian giant. While most pundits are all but writing him off, look for Peter to pull off an upset on the Ukrainian.
Tags: