BERT SUGAR PRE-FIGHT ANALYSIS

In a town where reputations are sometimes built taller than its buildings, Wladimir Klitschko made his reputation last Saturday night at New York's Madison Square Garden by knocking out challenger Calvin Brock at 2:10 of the seventh round. Convincing, it was.

For the first four rounds, Klitschko only proved that for a big man he moved well, carrying his right hand at the ready, cocked and ready to unload. It was Brock who made the fight at the outset, trying his mightiest to get inside Klitschko's loooong reach, but all he could do, minus a stepladder, was reach Klitschko's body occasionally before falling into a clinch, where the 17-pound heavier Klitschko effectively tied him up, cuddling him like a bear and baby cub.

By the fifth, with Brock visibly tiring from all the push-me-pull-you clinches, Klitschko began landing his left jab with increasing frequency, wobbling Brock with a left followed by a sneaky right behind it. That would serve as a prelude of what was to come, although it took two more rounds for Klitschko to serve it up. Made aware of the urgency of the situation after suffering a cut over his left eye from an apparent head butt during one of their many clinches in the sixth, Klitschko determined to unload his signature right as soon as he could. And did, in the seventh, exploding two one-two's late in the round, the first freezing Brock in his tracks, the second icing him and flooring him, face-first. And although Brock teetered to his feet at the count of eight, referee Wayne Kelly had had enough even if Brock hadn't and waved a halt to the proceedings at 2:10 of the seventh.

Having successfully defended his IBF title, the man introduced as "Dr. Klitschko" before the fight now wants to make house calls on the other three heavyweight champions--Nikolay Valuev (WBA), Oleg Maskaev (WBC), and Shannon Briggs (WBO)--in order to heal the division and unify the title. But will his right-hand might make right? Or is the division, like Humpty-Dumpty, so broken apart that its pieces cannot be put back together again? Right now the division, as Dr. Klitschko says, "...is boring...I want to see one champion." So do we all, Doc. So do we all...