BYRD VS KLITSCHKO 2 PREVIEW

Discuss the Fight Email to a Friend

April 21, 2006 - by Ron Borges

The one thing Saturday night's Chris Byrd-Wladimir Klitschko heavyweight rematch will not be is a replay of five years ago. Not that Klitschko won't be trying to make it one.

That night they were two different fighters from the ones who will square off in Mannheim for the IBF title held by Byrd on a unique night in which HBO will televise the fight live from Germany at 5 p.m. and then replay it at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific. That decision was made in large part because the network believes what the fighters believe, which is that for all the fractured nature of boxing's most important weight class this is the fight to establish who is the leading heavyweight in the world.

"That's what I've heard (said),'' Klitschko declared this week. "This winner of this fight is the real champion. Since the retirement of my brother, Chris Byrd is the heavyweight champion.''

With two of the four titles already having changed hands in the past five months, both being won by Eastern Europeans Nicolay Valuev and Sergei Lyakhovich (who dethroned WBA champion John Ruiz and WBO titleholder Lamon Brewster), that is an issue up for debate. What is not is the way Byrd views Klitschko, who is one of only two men to beat him as a professional.

"I feel he's the best guy in the division...outside of myself,'' Byrd said.

Certainly expectation is in the air that the division's longest reigning champion may face a similar fate to his cousin, Brewster, who was battered by Lyakhovich less than a month ago. At 35, Byrd's defensive skills have slipped and even when they were at their height Klitschko pummeled him for 12 rounds, knocking him down twice and turning both his eyes into darkened slits in a long night Byrd would like to avenge.

The fighter Klitschko faced that evening has changed however, no longer always employing the overly defensive style of those early days as a heavyweight. Part of that change has been by design but much of it has resulted simply from the passage of time and the toll it takes on a man's reflexes. No longer as elusive as he once was, Byrd now tends to stand and fight more often than in the past in part because he has no other option.

It is a result of the ravages of not only age but also inactivity (he's fought only three times in the last four years due to contract disputes with his deposed promoter Don King) but part of it too is a conscious decision he made several years ago that despite giving away five inches and nearly 30 pounds or more in weight to guys like Klitschko he cannot fight any of the giants who have swept into the division the past few years simply as a defensive specialist who stays on the outside and tries to embarrass opponents with his elusiveness while hoping to win a guerilla war where he attacks and then tries to disappear.

"I'm still an elusive guy but against these big guys one style won't do it,'' said Byrd (39-2-1, 20 KO). "That (defensive) style makes fights too close. I'm more experienced now (fighting big men) and I'm more confident in my ability to fight bigger, taller guys. Five years ago I was more of a finesse guy. I was willing to fight anybody but I was timid. Now, I'll fight you. I can't let a guy 6-7 and 245 pounds pound me from a distance all night.

"I can still box and make you miss but I can get in the trenches and fight too. I'm still a small guy so I have to be cautious. I'll do it in a smart way but I don't fear anybody any more as far as taking their shots.''

What that means is Byrd will go flat-footed more often against Klitschko this time, slipping punches to get in close and then trying to use his superior hand speed to deliver the kind of short, hard shots at close quarters as Klitschko tires that have caused the former WBO champion problems in the past. Byrd knows well that Klitschko is mandibly challenged, having been down nine times in his last seven fights including three times against Samuel Peter in his last outing when he got off the floor repeatedly to win a decision that set up this title shot. So his challenger's vulnerability is undeniable. Yet he also knows his own punching power is not that of Peter or any of the men who have dropped Klitschko and so he must be ever mindful of his own frailties and judicious in how he attempts to do his own damage.

"He's got a great arsenal of punches,'' Byrd said of Klitschko, who has 40 knockouts among his 43 victories with three losses, all by stoppage as well. "It's not only his jab but everything that comes with it. He's a great offensive fighter.''

Byrd emphasized those last three words, consciously or unconsciously, as a way of putting defensive doubts into the equation without coming out and saying it. What Byrd knows he needs to do is find ways to avoid Klitschko's stiff jab as he tries to close the distance on him and then make him work harder on the inside than he wants to, not allowing him to tie him up as Klitschko did Peter when they were at close quarters.

Some of Klitschko's success in that area with Peter was because his opponent was looking to hold as well however, unwilling to work hard enough or risk the consequences of letting his own hands go when he needed to.

Klitschko will not get that kind of cooperation from Byrd, who has long ago proven his heart and his willingness to fight back against men who tower over him. When down, as he was against Klitschko and Jameel McCline, the one thing you can be sure is he'll get up. The other thing is that, unlike five years ago, he'll be looking to land when he does while trying to force Klitschko into a faster pace than the big man wants in an effort to bring his suspect stamina into the equation. Yet all the time he does that Byrd understands he cannot simply walk in as Peter did, looking to land a bomb.

"I respect Wladimir Klitschko's talent a lot,'' Byrd said. "You try and check somebody's chin you'll get checked. I'm one of the small guys in the division. I'm not worried about getting a knockout or checking someone's chin. I'm here to box and to win.''

Oddly, it may be Klitschko more than Byrd who must concern himself with being stopped even though that has seldom been Byrd's route to success. As Klitschko's trainer, Emanuel Steward, points out, "I like Chris but he's never knocked out anyone of the best guys in the heavyweight division. None of them. I don't think that's going to change.''

Probably neither does Byrd, yet when you have been down as often as Klitschko you cannot simply walk out and try to impose your will on any opponent, even one you tower over. That was once his approach but he has grown cautious himself after so many unplanned trips to the canvas, a wise choice but one that has taken some of the luster away from his imposing size and potentially stinging jab.

Where Klitschko has been found most wanting is once he begins to tire, usually after the first four rounds. For all his obvious fitness, Klitschko is not only a big man who misses too often, which can tire anyone, but also one who seems constantly ill at ease in the ring. There is a tension to him that Byrd lacks, an inability to relax and go about his business and that constant drain wears him out as much as the efforts of his opponent's do as the rounds pass and natural weariness mounts.

Byrd will surely look to expose that, trying to force Klitschko to retreat more than feels comfortable to him and use his legs more than Steward would like while always looking to land the kind of hard counter punch that will remind Klitschko in heavyweight boxing a siesta can come at any moment. If Byrd does land such a fast, stunning combination, Klitschko's doubts will only further conspire against him.

Klitschko must counter those strategies by consistently using his jab to extract a stiff price any time Byrd closes in and to set up a powerful right hand that needs to be fully extended to retain its power. In their first meeting, Klitschko dominated from the outside with that jab, using Byrd like a punching bag. His jab was like a rapier and behind it came hard right hands delivered with bad intentions. As the fight wore on and Byrd's eyes began to close, he was hit more and more. Although he finished on his feet, he was badly beaten for the first time in his life and dropped twice late in the fight.

When talk of that night comes up though both men say the same thing, "Did you see the fight?'' meaning if you did there should be few questions about Byrd's need to change his approach and the likelihood Klitschko will have to solve a different riddle this time. But what of Klitschko?

Can he adapt from the programmed Eastern European style that relies on his imposing size and a growing willingness to punch -and-clutch on the inside to avoid risk? Probably not, but he may not have to because the Chris Byrd he's fighting now is not the jackrabbit he was in October, 2000.

Byrd will be there to mix it up more often this time, going flat-footed when he feels comfortable and making himself available to be hit if Klitschko can keep him at the proper distance. If he can, Wladimir Klitschko will become the instant leader of an invasion that has everyone in boxing saying, "The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!''

In two organizations they are already here. Klitschko could become the third if he can use a hard jab and avoid problems as he tires and Byrd moves inside looking to counter him with faster hands. If he does what he needs to, Klitschko will become the favorite once again of the heavyweight crowd and a guy the public will want to see in with WBC titleholder Hasim Rahman, who retained his portion of a title he won without fighting for it by being awarded a lackluster draw from a corpulent James Toney in his last disappointing outing.

Rahman-Klitschko would be a night of punching mystery because both guys have chins that have failed the test in the past and the power to make the other one flunk another exam if he lands flush. But to reach any type of unification that might make both the division and Klitschko's reputation whole again, the towering Ukrainian must first deal with Chris Byrd and even at 35 that is a more formidable task than it might appear despite his recent questionable performances against Andrew Golota and McCline.

"After losing my (WBO) title (when he was stopped by 38-year-old journeyman Corrie Sanders) the respect was lost,'' Klitschko admits. "There has been a lot of criticism. Many questions were raised. No chin. No stamina. A broken man. Whatever.

"On the way to the top you always get some criticism but I believe in myself. I do it my way. Performance should stop criticism. I'm a confident fighter right now.''

Off of what happened five years ago that's understandable. Now all he has to do is stay confident after he gets hit a few times Saturday night by a man half his size but with a heart as big as the Russian giant he's facing. If Chris Byrd begins to ask questions Klitschko can't answer all bets are off. But if Wladimir Klitschko is ready to pass the test he'll begin to make his larger point, too.