It turns out Wladimir Klitschko did need that rematch clause, after all, and the recently dethroned champ has now exercised the contractual right to revenge. Klitschko lost his IBF, WBO, WBA titles to Tyson Fury after failing to pull the trigger in a 12 round ‘jab-off’ chess match. In a nutshell: Klitschko just didn’t do enough.
But Jonathon Banks, Klitschko’s trainer, says we can all expect a whole lot more from ‘Dr Steelhammer’ in the 2016 sequel. Considering both men landed a meager 5 punches per round (according to CompuBox), that shouldn’t be too difficult. I hope.
“I take my hat off to Tyson,” Banks told RingTV. “It wasn’t so much what he did, come to take the title, but Wlad didn’t do enough to keep it. It’s not like Tyson dogged him out, outclassed or outgutted him. I will say, on the record, the rematch will be much, much, much better than the first fight.”
Banks isn’t wrong there. Klitschko wasn’t humiliated or given a boxing lesson per se, but for one reason or another, the man just couldn’t let his hands go. Klitschko couldn’t get comfortable, confident enough to commit. Maybe he couldn’t deal with Fury’s height and longer jab – even the Brit’s ear-to-ear grin?
For what it’s worth, I could see Klitschko winning in a rematch, whether it’s hosted in Germany or London’s Wembley Arena. Since we know the 39-year-old can be sound-ish-ly outboxed, Klitschko would need to come chasing the knockout, without question.
A loss to Fury wouldn’t kill Klitschko’s Hall of the Fame potential, but it would harm his legacy. Most of Klitschko’s victories have come against the glamour division’s smaller men, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to be remembered as ‘Dr Steelhammer: a great Heavyweight who couldn’t handle men his own size’.
“To Tyson, again, I say, congratulations,” Banks continued. “We are moving forward; we will change a few things and some things will stay the same. We will come back and regain the title. Wladimir came back after losses; people wrote him off. He was on the ground floor; now he’s not on the ground floor. Can he dust himself off and come back? Absolutely!
“… I was taught by Emanuel [Steward]; everything you hear me say or I do, I got from Emanuel, who taught Lennox [Lewis] and all the other champions. The rematch will definitely be even more interesting…I believe with Wladimir’s intense training, his motivation, there’s no doubt he can come back.
“I think he’s got a lot of youth left, got a lot of miles left on him! We will move forward and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Congrats, Tyson; you did a great job. You stuck to the course, did what you said you would…I hope he enjoys the time being champion but Wladimir is coming back for his title.”
Peter Fury, uncle and trainer of Klitschko’s conqueror, says Tyson has already accepted the challenge, and is excited to shock the world once again.
“I know Klitschko will be better prepared next time but I am not worried and nor is Tyson,” Peter told The Ring. “I said after Saturday’s fight we only saw Tyson at 60 percent. So we look forward to him showing 100 percent for the rematch. Klitschko will bring a better game but Tyson will raise his game and that should make it an easier fight.”
So what kind of fight are we going to see when round 13 begins, boxing fans? What will Wladimir Klitschko look to do differently? Will he be capable of change? And what about Fury himself? Will he look to outpoint or crush Klitschko the second time round? And a final question for UK readers: do we have another Pay Per View event on our hands?
