Klitschko vs. Gomez: Is The Big Man Nearing The End?
By Seattle Doug
Last Saturday night was a much anticipated event, the re-return of
Vitali Klitschko in a title defense. Vitali looked exceptional last
fall crushing Samuel Peter in methodical fashion, the things we loved
about him were still very much
intact. His long, accurate jab and cross, his underrated defense, his
class and composure in the ring, all very much in evidence. After
watching Vitali look less than spectacular against Gomez though, maybe
there’s more to the story than Vitali’s dominance of Peter revealed.
In Peter, Vitali had an opponent all but tailor-made for him. The lack
of movement and defense on Peter’s part played to Vitali’s strengths,
he loves being able to dominate from a distance at a comfortable pace.
Peter applied almost no pressure, which is excusable given that Vitali
kept him on the outside with sharp, straight punches all night. Peter’s
vaunted power never came into play either, once again due to the
distance the fight was fought at. I can’t fault Vitali for any of that,
but Peter certainly earned his share of criticism in that he gave
himself almost no chance in the fight.
On to Vitali/Gomez. I had a hunch that Gomez might be tough to figure
out for a few rounds, as he is a slick boxer with a ton of experience.
What I didn’t count on was Vitali eating so many overhand lefts, he’s
usually pretty good at being just out of range when his opponent
throws. I also didn’t factor in him appearing gassed through much of
the middle of the fight. I saw a fighter sucking wind three rounds in
against an opponent who wasn’t excessively pressuring him. Gomez was
being pretty effective with what he was doing, throwing big looping
shots on the way inside and then unfortunately allowing himself to be
tied-up almost immediately. Had he committed to freeing up his hands on
the inside and working, he could have made a real fight of it.
Vitali did adjust after about the third, keeping Gomez more at a
distance and managing to land more consistently. He didn’t land much
flush at first, but he kept Juan Carlos off-balance, and to his credit
did alternately tie-up and throw effectively on the inside. I just
couldn’t help but think that the fight unfolded as it did more as a
result of what Gomez wasn’t doing, as opposed to what Vitali was doing.
I saw an underdog having his moments here and there and not taking full
advantage of it, moreso than a champion dictating throughout as he is
capable of, and using all of his abilities to beat-down an out-classed
opponent.
All that being said and digested, at the end of the day Vitali was
victorious. He did show enough of his class, experience, and skill to
thoroughly handle an opponent he was expected by most to beat. Gomez,
for his part, sold himself a bit short in the things he needed to do to
give himself a chance. While that in itself is not a knock on Vitali,
it makes one wonder what happens when an opponent does take advantage
of the shortcomings Vitali displayed Saturday night. Perhaps it was
just a touch of ring-rust on Vitali’s part, only having eight rounds
under his belt in the previous four-plus years. Couple that with being
matched up against an opponent known for being awkward, and maybe
there’s nothing to be concerned about.
But this fight fan saw enough to merit some concern. When dealing with
a fighter in his late thirties, coming off of a long spell of limited
activity and a history of injuries, it’s easy to say that maybe he’s
nearing the end of his road. I personally will be very interested to
see Vitali against a Povetkin, Dimitrenko, or even an Arreola before
making any final judgement on how much Vitali has left. Let’s hope one
of those fights gets made soon, as no matter how much Vitali has left
in the tank, any of the above should make for good boxing spectacle. In
the end, isn’t that why we follow the sport?
