In June 2017 the boxing community was stunned when Anthony Joshua defeated Wladimir Klitschko in an epic 11th-round stoppage at Wembley stadium. For years the imperious Ukrainian had dominated the division with apparent ease, swatting aside all challengers to the throne.

Despite losing his crown in front of 90,000 at Wembley, Wladimir will always remain a legend of the sport. In a career boasting 369 rounds and 69 fights, the Ukrainian triumphed in 64 of those fights, winning 53 by knockout. In this article we look back at some of ‘Dr Steelhammer’s’ most memorable fights.

Source: World Boxing Association

Klitschko’s Top 4 Fights

Olympic Super-Heavyweight
August 1996, Atlanta
Opponent: Paea Wolfgramm

Wladimir announced himself on the world stage at the Olympic Games in 1996, defeating his Tongan opponent with consummate ease. Klitschko had overcome the gold medal favourite Aleksei Lezin previously and was a heavy favourite to win the final. He didn’t disappoint and sealed the gold medal that told the world he had arrived.

Dr Steelhammer sealed all-round nice guy status 5 years ago when he sold his gold medal for $1 million, donating all the funds to the ‘Klitschko Foundation’ a charity designed to help underprivileged children in his native Ukraine.

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It’s been a manic few days for Anthony Joshua in the press, and not all of it has been related to his own boxing career. The recent Twitter spat between fellow British pugilist Amir Khan and his now estranged wife named ‘AJ’ as a potential party to their very public breakup, while the retirement of former undisputed heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko also brought Joshua to the forefront, given that their rematch was on the cards.

The Watford Olympian brushed off accusations from Khan and, with a return bout against the Ukrainian now definitely not happening, talk of Joshua’s next tilt has been ramped up.

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Say Goodbye to Wladimir Klitschko.

The best boxing Heavyweight in an era where people loved to hate Heavyweights, has retired from the game.  Gone are the days where there were numerous all-time greats competing simultaneously in the Heavyweight division and as a result, Klitschko’s impressive career has been overlooked.

The first half of his career was filled with achievements, but segmented by disappointments.  A confidence building win over Sam Peter in 2005 changed all that.  Even though he hit the canvas three times, he was able to decision Peter and go undefeated until 2017, where he lost against Anthony Joshua, a man who may lead Heavyweights for the next several years.

Fights to Watch:

• 2002-12-07 | W-TKO 10 – Jameel McCline
  • Standing at 39-1 and still somewhat raw, Klitschko pounds out McCline and has been undefeated for 4 years.
• 2003-03-08 | L-TKO 2 – Corrie Sanders
  • Sanders shocks Wladimir and the rest of the world, as he bursts onto the scene as a 40-1 underdog and scores the stunner inside of 2 rounds.
• 2005-09-24 | W-UD 12 – Sam Peter
  • This is the fight where Wladimir turned the corner on his entire career.  Edgy fight.
• 2006-04-22 | W-TKO 7 – Chris Byrd
  • A rematch against Byrd, where Wladimir absolutely tattoos a very talented but outsized fighter.
• 2011-07-02 | W-UD 12 – David Haye
  • A showcase fight on the largest stage.
• 2017-04-29 | L-TKO 11 – Anthony Joshua
  • A passing of the torch, but Joshua has to forcefully take it.

Final Record: 64-5-0
BoxRec All-Time Ranking: #6 HW | #16 P4P

Most fans know Floyd Mayweather Jr as ‘Money’ Mayweather: a brash and arrogant superstar athlete who likes to flaunt his undefeated record and his immense earnings. Here’s a short video showing Floyd’s humble roots, a side that many MMA fans may not be familiar with. Keep Reading

Heather

MMA & Boxing Author | Business Development Consultant
I have been a fan and avid viewer of all combat sports for decades. I was once a Judoka, which is what eventually piqued my interest in Mixed Martial Arts. I have been a spectator of the UFC since 2001. For 25 years I’ve worked in healthcare, and now am trying to make something that was a hobby, into a full-time endeavor.

www.fightmatrix.com

Even though it’s a couple months old… better late than never. Here’s some of the best moments from Mayweather vs. Berto:

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — UFC puts on better cards overall, but nothing beats a big boxing match and that’s what we’ve got this weekend.

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is being universally lauded as one of the top 10 most anticipated fights ever in a sport whose history dates back to the 1800’s.  That’s pretty impressive.  Even if you’re not a big boxing fan and even if you don’t want to spend $100, you should find a way to watch this fight.  Hell, Dana White weaseled his way in for free, working as an analyst for Yahoo Sports… surely you can find a way to watch it for free, or on the cheap!

Now, onto the fight itself…

In my honest opinion, Mayweather is farther removed from his prime than Pacquiao.  Let us not forget, Mayweather is 38 years old.  Five years ago, a time in which everyone is saying this fight should’ve been made, I would’ve had no qualms predicting a Mayweather beatdown of Pacquiao.  Now, I’m not so sure.  I don’t think Mayweather can outclass Pacquiao badly enough to win dominantly.  I don’t think he’s got the legs to win enough rounds to make the judges inconsequential and I don’t think he’s going to commit to enough of an offensive attack to have a shot at putting Pacquiao out, who interestingly enough, has one of the better defenses in the sport — so says, CompuBox.  Pacquiao will likely have a superior gameplan and we know he’s a dynamo on offense.

So, what you’ve probably got is a Mayweather who sits back and gets outworked in too many rounds, certainly enough to make it close enough for a judge or two to side for the other guy.  I think that’s what happens here.  I think boxing is one of the most corrupt sports on Earth and if Mayweather wins, we probably get no rematch.  That doesn’t mean a draw is out of the question, but draws tend to piss people off — so here it is, I pick Pacquiao by split decision in a fight where I’ll see Mayweather winning 7 rounds to 5.

What say you?

They agreed on weight (147) and the glove size (8 oz), but could not come together on the money.  Oscar offered a 70-30 split, while Pacquiao wouldn’t take less than 40%.

The fact of the matter is, people pay to see De La Hoya.  In his match-up with Mayweather, the combined purse was just over $75 million, with Mayweather receiving approximately 1/3rd of the total amount.

De La Hoya’s draw is in my opinion, finally beginning to wain, but this will likely be his final bout.  And although Pacquiao’s popularity is apparent in the western and southwestern areas of the United States, the pay-per-view amount would likely not reach the 2.4 million buys that De La Hoya and Mayweather did.  Still, it was probably a safe bet that it would challenge 1.5 million buys, which would still net Pacquiao well over $15 million at 30% of the share.

At that kind of money, what’s 10%?  Realistically, Pacquiao could not earn anywhere close to that fighting someone else (excluding Hatton in England).  My bet, is that Pacquiao and his team were overly concerned with the height and reach advantages held by De La Hoya.

De La Hoya plans to call it a career after a December bout, one where an opponent has not yet been finalized.  However, as it stands now, all signs point to a Welterweight showdown with boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter, Manny Pacquiao.  At first glance, you’d think that the boxing world would take kindly to one of the generation’s best still near his prime facing the top fighter in the sport.  After all, it did when De La Hoya fought Mayweather just over a year ago.

However, a tremendous amount of boxing fans are taking offense to this potential match-up, one that has an outside shot to break all boxing pay-per-view records.

Why?  Most fans argue that Pacquiao is too small for the “Golden Boy”, but I beg to differ.  Yes, De La Hoya will have a distinct size advantage, but its nothing that we haven’t seen before.

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