THERE’S A LOT TO LIKE….
Pittsburgh, PA– Two giants, arguably the best brothers to ever lace up the gloves, so thoroughly dominate the heavyweight landscape today that no challenger stands more than a long shot of defeating either, and they are frighteningly close to cleaning out their division. Add to that their class, dignity, intelligence and championship titles, and Vitali (38-2, 37 KOs) and Wladimir Klitschko (53-3, 47 KOs) should at least garner American support if not revelry. Why then do Americans treat them with ambivalence, disdain and disrespect? Why haven’t these post-Perestroika versions of Ivan Drago satisfied our needs for the next big thing(s) in the sport’s most recognized division? Just look at the history of American fans and heavyweights, and the negative reaction to the Klitschko brothers makes perfect sense.
…. SO WHY DON’T WE?
Think of the heavyweights who have most captured this country’s imagination: Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. Noticing a trend here? No foreigner has ever sparked our interest to the degree of any of those names. True, American boxing has declined in the past twenty years while the rest of the world has improved, but while our heavyweights have been inferior for well over a decade, those from Europe and elsewhere have fizzled in terms of popularity. Whatever the fixable flaws, the Klitschkos will never be the one thing we most want in our heavyweight kings: Americans.
THEIR STYLES ARE FOREIGN TOO
Should the Ukrainian brothers and their fans dismiss their unpopularity here as purely a result of nationalism, they would be only partially correct. Look at the list above and consider what other characteristics differ from the Klitschkos. With the exception of Ali (and no one should question his warrior spirit), they all entered the ring to stand toe to toe, go to war and try to take their opponents’ heads off. Gene Tunney boxed circles around Dempsey for twenty rounds, save “The Long Count,” but it was the “Manassa Mauler who America loved, not the distinguished Tunney, who did more moving than sticking. Forget about the matador versus the bull – Americans want to see the bull versus the bull.
WE SHOULDN’T COMPLAIN, BUT NEITHER SHOULD THEY
Vitali and Wladimir have proven themselves as excellent heavyweight titlists who have won a combined 17 bouts in a row – almost all title bouts – while compiling a combined knockout ratio of 88%. They avoid no challenges, and they decimate the best the division has to offer. Vitali will next face the best remaining young American, Kevin “Kingpin” Johnson (22-0-1, 9 KOs) on December 12 according to BoxRec.com, while Wladimir will likely next defend early next year against the other remaining American hope, “Fast Eddie” Chambers (35-1, 18 KOs). Their opponents deserve more even more blame than them that their defenses have recently consisted of one-sided snooze fests, until mercifully but belatedly ended by the Klitschko’s. They and their supporters complain that we reject them in spite of their achievements and character because we don’t appreciate their style and ring mastery. Maybe there’s some truth to that, but complaining about the way we want boxers to compete is like a woman who complains that Artie Lange from the Howard Stern show parties too much – it’s not like we’ve hidden who we are.
Brian Gorman