Another heavyweight title fight, another comfortable win for Wladimir Klitschko. This time? 40-Year old Tony Thompson, who hardly produced anything of note on his second tumble in the ring with the younger Klitschko brother, winning with a sixth round knockout, retaining the WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO & Ring Heavyweight title belts.
Was there anything surprising? Nope. You get the same thing every time when you step inside with a Klitschko brother, especially Wladimir, who was simply untouchable by Thompson. There were a few punches here and there that landed, but Thompson kept fearing to try any kind of combination, knowing it’ll probably leave him too open. Soft shots that did nothing to deny Klitschko a 12th consecutive & successful title defense.
There wasn’t much to mention from the fight, as we’ve said. A first round that was a waste of three minutes and a second round that resembled a wrestling match. Thompson tried to open up a bit in the third, managing his only clean shot with a left to Klitschko’s face, but that was it. Wlad starting to go for more than just jabs from the middle of the ring, finally landing a big shot in the fifth that sent Thompson hanging on the ropes.
All that was left for Wladimir Klitschko in the sixth was finishing the job, cornering Thompson with a few shots before sending him to the floor once again before the end of the round. The ref gave Thompson a standing count, which resulted in Klitschko’s fourth knockout win in five fights.
The only think left to ponder about regarding Klitschko and the heavyweight division is his legacy, statistics and title-defense records. Wladimir might not say it, but he’s aching for his brother Vlad to retire. The two will never fight each other, and so only Vitali losing to someone (doesn’t seem likely) or retiring will free up the WBC heavyweight belt for Wladimir to win, giving him every major belt in the business.
There’s that, and there’s that record. A record for title defenses, standing at 25, owned by Joe Louis. Wladimir hasn’t fought three times a year since 2008, but considering his fights hardly ever go the distance and he hardly gets brushed during them anyway, it might be rather reasonable to expect the 36 year old fighter, not really old in today’s Heavyweight world, to pick up the pace in terms of fights per year.
There doesn’t seem to be anyone out there at the moment capable of actually giving him a solid fight. Maybe young Tyson Fury, 18-0, at the age of 23. He certainly looks like Wladimir’s next opponent, fresh off another quick TKO win (fourth in a row) over Vinny Maddalone. In the extra thin and slim heavyweight division, you take what you’re given, and the young Fury might be the only thing remotely close to an upset against a Klitschko brother.