KLITSCHKO KEEPS WBC TITLE IN FAMILY ON TKO

Vitali Klitschko, in what he viewed as a three-ply
mission to redemption, lived it to the hilt in wearing down Cornelius “Corrie” Sanders to win the vacant WBC heavyweight championship on an eighth round TKO Saturday at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Most important the victory gave the Klitschko family the sport’s most prestigious piece of the title after an eight-year campaign in becoming the successor to Britain’s retired Lennox Lewis.

The crowd of 17,320 was vocally responsive to what was only Southern California’s second test for the Big Boys in 45 years but most important, it was the heavyweight division taking a step to hopefully revive an era once known as the Sweet Science.

For Klitschko, 32, a Kiev, Ukraine import now living in Los Angeles, phase two in the triumph was erasing his obsession to avenge brother Wladimar, 29, losing his WBO belt to Sanders on a second round kayo Mar.8, 2003 in Hannover, Germany.

And perhaps most pleasing of all, the older Klitschko’s punishing score was in the same venue where he was leading Lewis on points (58-56) through six rounds on all scorecards last June 21 when severe cuts over and under his left eye forced the referee’s stoppage.

Klitschko, improving his resume to 34-2, 33 K0s, told the media in the countdown to the first bell of this scheduled 12-rounder HBO televised “I cannot think now about what happened to my brother (Wladimar) in his fight with Sanders What‘s important for me now is to do what I have to do to be a world champion.”

And that’s what the former WBO heavyweight champion did, almost from the opening bell. Using a steadying jab, Klitschko, fighting straight up in that typical European style, kept the pressure on Sanders, 38, out of Pretoria, South Africa, and rarely let him get untracked with any degree of consistency.

Sanders had a brief moment in the opening round when he appeared to have shaken Klitschko with a left hook but the larger man, who speaks four languages, proved he had a harder chin than his younger brother and rarely let the South African inside to land that kind of power again.

Sanders, who gave up the WBO title for a shot at the more lucrative WBC diadem, didn’t buffalo Klitschko with his southpaw style. There were times when he looked like the boxer who had only fought four rounds in four years and without action since he stopped the younger Klitschko 13 months ago.

Klitschko, at 6’7”, was 245 and 6’4” Sanders at 235, but weight was never a factor. Neither warrior was noted for speed of hand or foot going in, but the action was far superior to that atrocity Apr.17 in Madison Square Garden where John Ruiz and Fres Oquendo wound up with 60 clinches before the former lucked out with an 11th round TKO to retain his WBA crown.

Klitschko, with salvos Sanders could not avoid, started his domination via that rock-n-chair motion in scoring with the jab over the next three rounds. For the most part, Sanders worked with glove high but there were sequences where Klitschko punched right through them. Nevada’s bookmakers had Vitali as a 4-1 choice but off that powerful performance, he should have been1-6.

The Ukraine thunder had one of his best rounds in the fifth when combinations backed Sanders up, followed by a string of eight punches before the bell.

If it wasn’t in the first round, Sanders wouldn’t win another as Klitschko’s points margin grew larger with each succeeding round. Away from boxing, the personable former WBO/ WBU titleholder is a scratch golfer on the pro circuit back home. However, on this epic night, the holder of a doctorate in sports science was turning Sanders into the best catcher since Johnny Bench.
In the sixth and seventh rounds, Klitschko’s unchecked offense had a wearying Sanders bleeding from the mouth and nose and without fire power to call his own.

Wladimar was in the corner assisting trainer Manny Steward. He did not hide the elation in watching big brother deliver the kind of nightmare that Sanders had once laid on him---four knockdowns in two rounds.

Klitschko had said he wanted to get the scenario over early as possible and that was round eight.

The coup de grace started with a TNT right hand that drove Sanders into the ropes. The proud Pretorian never touched the floor all night but when Klitschko’s assault was heavy with right hands, Sanders tried to bend out of harm’s way. No chance.

Referee John Schorle was a hawkeye waiting for
Sanders to punch back. When that didn’t happen, he jumped between the fighters and wrapped his arms around the soundly-beaten target with the cancellation coming at 2:46. There was nary a protest in the house, only standing cheers for the valiant Klitschko who hung
tough to reach his lifetime ambition.

In the mid-ring festivities, the unmarked Klitschko couldn’t help show his respect for his cast-iron victim who may have had his last pro fight.

“I was completely surprised and I couldn’t believe
Sanders didn’t go down. I know I caught him with heavy shots from start to finish. But I knew he was a strong fighter going in and that’s why I was a little cautious for a couple of rounds while I measured him. I wanted to be careful not to make the same mistakes my brother did. There was tremendous pressure leading up to this fight, but now its’ a relief to know it is gone,” said the new WBC heavyweight champion.

Sanders, who was virtually unsung as a journeyman until he upset the younger Klitschko, had no excuse for the hammering he took. Some of the pain he endured was eased by a $952,500 purse as his ledger dipped to 39-3, 29 KOs.

“I just couldn’t get untracked. What else can I say? I was surprised that Vitali was much stronger than I expected. He threw a lot of punches,” Sanders reflected.

Klitschko was scowling during the fight but had a smile from here to Moscow once he had the WBC’s green belt around his waist and was in the ring with HBO’s Larry Merchant.

“I want to thank all the fans who supported me. We had a systematic plan for 12 rounds but I wanted to make it short. Sanders sometimes can be fast with a short burst of speed. I had never fought a southpaw before but it wasn’t such a mystery. This WBC belt is for me and Wladimar. He’s not retired. Sure, I was very disappointed when Lennox Lewis retired. That was his decision and I respect it. I hope Lewis makes a comeback. I know if he did come back, we could have that rematch.”

Klitschko has rarely been more accurate with his punching, according to CompuBox stats. The winner landed more than 50 percent with 230 of 413 thrown on target. Sanders struggled with only 51 of 229 shots landing.

There was an adage in the sport 40 years ago, declaring, “As the heavyweights go, so goes boxing.”
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know we’re not in an era likened to Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Rocky Marciano, and even Lennox Lewis.

Yet while the current division is questionable and needs to be proven now that the championship roster includes the WBC’s Vitali Klitschko, IBF’s Chris Byrd, WBO’s Lamon Brewster, and WBA’s John Ruiz.

Who knows but right this minute there might be a big muscled farm boy with gloves on his shoulders. He’s hitching to a metropolis and just maybe, with enough raw talent to scramble any of the above kingpins.

Farfetched, sure. But It’s happened before and it may happen again. Promoters reputedly of value, line up on my right.........

(Jack Welsh is a syndicated columnist headquartered in Las Vegas and a regular contributor to Ringsports.Com and other sports publications.)