The real champion? Not yet. But close.
Wladimir Klitschko’s seventh-round knockout of Calvin Brock on Saturday made for an impressive first defence of the IBF title he took from Chris Byrd in April. Now Klitschko has his sights on the other three heavyweight champions: Shannon Briggs, Nicolay Valuev and Oleg Maskaev.
”I am interested in unifying the division,” he said. ”The heavyweight division needs a real champion. I don’t consider myself the real champion now. My goal is to get the unification and my goal is that my next fight is a unification fight.”
WBO titleholder Briggs was in the audience at Madison Square Garden when Brock was flattened by a left hook-powerhouse right combination. He was impressed and told Klitschko it’s time the native of Kazakhstan faces him.
”If Brock would’ve hit him, he would have given him a black eye,” Briggs claimed. ”He’s vulnerable.”
Perhaps. But of all the heavyweight champs, Klitschko has the best résumé. And he wants to add to it.
”I want to fight whoever is out there who is the best,” he said.
”If you’re the champion of the world, it means you have to fight everyone in the world.”
Before looking too far ahead, the 30-year-old Klitschko wanted to remember Saturday night at the Garden.
”I’m very proud to fight in Madison Square Garden,” he said. ”My idols and all the other great champions fought here. My idols like Max Schmeling, Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis … I’m proud to have a little touch of history.
”A great champion fights all over the world.”
Ali was at the Garden on Saturday night to watch his daughter, Laila, successfully defend her WBC women’s super middleweight title by winning in four rounds against Shelley Burton.
Brock didn’t feel he was outclassed in losing for the first time in 30 fights. Klitschko now is 47-3 with 42 knockouts.
But Brock couldn’t contend with Klitschko’s sharp jab. And once Klitschko began unleashing that vicious right, Brock was finished.
Klitschko kept the right in reserve as he piled up points with his jab. But he found the range with the right midway through the bout, and Brock had no chance when Klitschko opened up the challenger’s defense with another quick left. The big right
immediately followed and Brock fell face down to the canvas.
He got up at eight, but was wobbly and referee Wayne Kelly stopped it at 2:10.
”I knew it was over there,” Klitschko said. ”It was easy to hit him with the right hand there.”
Brock vowed he will be back in the ring fighting for the title.
”I did think I’d leave the ring today undefeated and as the heavyweight champion of the world,” Brock said. ”I will be the heavyweight champion. This is just my first loss. Many fighters have won the title with one or two or even three losses.
”But Wladimir was better than I thought he was. The only area he left open was the body and I thought I might be able to get him there, but then I got tagged.”
Klitschko’s brother, Vitali, now retired, once held the WBC crown and was considered the better of the two fighters. But Wladimir showed on Saturday why he generally is looked upon as the best of the four heavyweight champions.
Now he wants to make it one heavyweight champion — the real champion. – Sapa-AP