By Don Colgan

If everything goes as expected, Wladimir Klitschko will knock out Sultan Ibragimov on February 23rd at Madison Square Garden.  He should halt the Russian in eight-rounds or less and achieve a dominant, convincing and utterly one-sided triumph.  At the conclusion of this contest, a bout which is meaningful to the ultimate restoration of boxing as an upper tier spectator sport in the United States, will shred any doubt as to Klitschko’s supremacy in the heavyweight class. All doubts will be swept ago by the sheer power in the Ukrainian’s punch.

There is an old maxim in boxing and it remains as accurate in 2008 as it was in 1908.  Heavyweights bloom late.  Wladimir Klitschko has been a work in progress for nearly a decade.  His chin is his Achilles heel and he remains a threat to be deposited on the canvas if hit right. He has been decked and he's also been stopped.  History will show a precedent for this.  

Jersey Joe Walcott was often beaten during his very gradual ascendancy into top contender status.  He was stopped by ponderous Abe Simon and lost bouts to Tiger Jack Fox and Joey Maxim prior to his two unsuccessful title challenges to Louis.  However, Joe evolved, defeats notwithstanding, into a battle toughened, legitimate heavyweight threat.  He developed a left hook with knockout force, capable of dropping the iron chinned Marciano in their first championship skirmish.  He kept hanging around the top ten until Ezzard Charles fought him one time too many and, at age 37, Joe became boxing’s oldest heavyweight champ.

Sonny Liston was another example of this.  While Liston’s actual age was subject to debate, his one man path of destruction through the ranks of the heavyweight class in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s was not the work of a callow youth.  Sonny was well into his 30’s when he blitzed Patterson and gained the championship.  Whatever his actual age, Sonny streaked through the heavyweight class like a comet until Clay/Ali exposed him as a very old man in Miami Beach.

In the 27 months that have elapsed since brother Vitali was forced into premature retirement on the cusp of a title showdown with Hasim Rahman in November of 2005, Wladimir has indeed become his brother's keeper.  He has evolved from a durable yet uninspiring former WBO titleholder who was stopped twice, by Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster, into a powerful heavyweight champion without peer in his division.  He's developed a jackhammer jab that is a lethal set up weapon.  Often an opponent is cut, swollen or wobbled after sampling a half dozen of these.  He's become a dangerous finisher who can inflict enormous punishment.  Klitschko, with the exception of the knockdowns suffered at Peter’s hand nearly two years ago, is taking less and less punishment with each fight. 

He is the standout heavyweight in the world today.  Now, he needs a test.

Manny Steward’s tutelage is the primary reason for the growth of Klitschko into a modern day version of the mythical Ivan Drago.  His left hook is borderline Frazier-like and his disabling body attack a crippling weapon.  Wladimir needs a true challenge in the heavyweight division, the arrival of a threatening, Mike Weaver or Kenny Norton type challenger who can validate his growth and ring domination, or possibly dismantle it.

Klitschko has many detractors, despite his championship dominance.  He is still largely viewed as a caretaker champion destined to lose his crown the first time he meets a durable, hard punching heavyweight.  You can make the argument that the talent thin heavyweight class will not provide that challenge for Wladimir yet there are clear signs that the division is beginning to emerge from from its long hibernation.  The 255 lb Ukrainian titleholder will have ample opportunities to prove he is a worthy titleholder, and the upcoming collision with Imbragimov, a solid yet unspectacular foe, is the first step towards authenticating his reign.

The talk from the Ibragimov camp places the emphasis on the “brag”.  His manager, Boris Grinberg, has openly forecast an easy triumph for his protégé.  His victory over the aging Holyfield is simply not an outstanding accomplishment.  He outdistanced the former three-time champion yet managed to absorb enough punishment to hold open at least the possibility, going into the final sessions that the Real Deal could prevail.  If he was half the puncher Grinberg maintains he is, he would have KO’d Evander within five.  He had to climb off of the canvas against the mediocre Ray Austin to salvage a draw and his clear cut yet still journeyman points triumph against the perennially underachieving Briggs was a fair triumph at best.

It is very difficult to construct a winning argument for Ibragimov.  Barring an Ingmar Johansson moment, he stands the possibility of being badly outclassed.  He is facing a powerful champion at the peak of his skills. A champion who is increasingly cognizant of the fact that he is without peer in his division.  Klitschko will stalk the Russian, hammering home the jab until one or both of Ibragimov’s eyes begins to swell shut.  All complimented by the thunderous right hand leads that slammed Calvin Brock face first to the canvas last year. 

Klitschko has had a difficult time gaining public acceptance, primarily because the great heavyweight division, long the cornerstone of boxing’s success, has languished for the past five years.  For the first time in nearly a century, there has not been a publicly recognized, and most importantly, accepted, heavyweight titleholder.  From ’00 to 1909 there was Jeffries and later ‘Lil Artha.  From 1909 through 1910, Johnson, and late Dempsey, dominated the division.

The magical 1920’s saw Dempsey and the stylish Tunney control the division.  Louis arrived in 1935 and monopolized the heavyweight class through 1950.  Marciano and, to a lesser degree, Patterson, ruled the 1950’s.  From 1960 through 1985 there was always a power among the heavyweights, beginning with Liston and continuing through, Ali, Frazier, Foreman and Holmes.  Then Iron Mike arrived, promising immortality, only to inflict lasting damage and scarring boxing in the public eye.  Lewis was the boss for the great part of the 1990’s and early 2000’s yet Tyson’s cloud obscured many of his accomplishments. 

So Wladimir Klitschko has faced a severe test.  He had to establish himself in the wake of his brother’s abdication, facing a legion of skeptics.  Many believed his was second best to Vitali and a weak-chinned middle of the road heavyweight at best.  All in a time of deep hibernation for boxing, until the past year, when Floyd Mayweather, Joe Calzaghe, Bernard Hopkins, Ricky Hatton and Miquel Cotto began reviving the great sport.