Holy cow! Did anyone just see that Klitschko fight?

tell us what happen

 

I will admit, I am a Wladamir fan and really thought that he could beat Lewis (after tonite, I still think he could beat him).

Now, what I saw happen tonight was an exampe of what can happen if you are a heavy weight who has a punch versus a guy who has not taken one many times.

I am shocked, and I am wondering if he was exposed. I have watched him several times and he regularly lays back (starts slow) and measures up his opponent, and this guy came right at him!

I now wonder if he can take a punch, b/c he was hit by some good shots, but I did not seel them being shots that should knock an elite boxer out.

 

Who were ther promoters?

 

Journeyman Sanders drops Klitschko in second round.



HANOVER, Germany -- Corrie Sanders knocked out Wladimir Klitschko 27 seconds into the second round Saturday to take the WBO heavyweight title in a major upset.

Corrie Sanders waited a long time to finally lift a championship belt.

Sanders caught the 6-foot-7, 240-pound Klitschko with a short hard left with 33 seconds left in the first round, then sent him down to the canvas three more times.

It was Klitschko's sixth defense of the lightly regarded World Boxing Organization belt. He was regarded by many as a top contender in the weight class and had just signed a nine-fight deal with HBO.

The outcome drew boos from a crowd of 11,500, angered over the brevity of the fight and the unexpected result.

Klitschko remained confident despite the loss.

"I'm certain I will come back, I'm certain I will be world champion,'' he said. "All great champions have been beaten, then came back. It happened to Ali, it's happened to Lennox Lewis too.''

Klitschko's brother, Vitali, is ranked No. 1 by both the WBC and WBA and is in limbo waiting for a possible fight with reluctant champion Lennox Lewis.

The brothers are from Ukraine, but spent much of their early careers in Germany, where they are hugely popular. They have been trying to build up their fan base in America.

Saturday's result won't help. Klitschko (40-2) went down twice in the last minute of the first round, reeling around the ring as he tried to avoid Sanders' blows, and then was dropped twice in the second.

Sanders, a 37-year-old South African, jumped into his trainer's arms when the scheduled 12-round fight ended.

"I gave myself big chances to beat him. I knew I could do it,'' the 6-4 Sanders said.

Before this victory, Sanders had fought only three rounds since being knocked out by Hasim Rahman nearly three years ago.

After a slow opening minute, Sanders (39-2, 29 knockouts) went right after Klitschko.

"I wasn't planning that -- it just happened that way during the fight,'' Sanders said.

Klitschko hadn't fought since December, when he stopped Jameel McCline. In the buildup to Saturday's fight, Klitschko said he needed to knock out Sanders to make a statement that would back his claim of being one of the top heavyweights in the world.

"To win the fight is important. To really dominate the fight is important, too,'' Klitschko said during the week. "To win by knockout -- no one questions the winner.''

Klitschko learned a hard lesson about boxing. He appeared on the verge of finally conquering the U.S. market, carving out a name for himself with impressive knockouts of McCline and Ray Mercer.

But in a pre-fight interview he conceded that all massive media attention means nothing once a boxer steps into the ring.

"I read what's written about me, that the future belongs to me, how I'll dominate the heavyweight division for the next years,'' the 26-year-old fighter said. "But I know how fast that can be over -- it just takes one blow.''

Indeed.

Klitschko never recovered from the first left that sent him down. After the third knockdown, he was saved by the bell.

But Sanders was all over him in the second round. The Ukrainian was defenseless when another left crashed against his head.

 

The HBO commentators (especially George Foreman) made a great point when they noticed that Klitschko came into the ring dry, meaning he hadn't warmed up properly. Going into a prizefight dry like that apparently nearly guarantees you will lose. I think Klitschko was exposed as hype on Saturday night...Lennox Lewis wouldn't have a problem beating him.

Klitschko ought to fight Mike Tyson now!

 

I don't think Wladimir Klitschko is only hype. He messed up, but so have other great boxers. Basically, I think he did not take his opponent seriously enough and ran into a lucky punch from which he did not recover. He is still young and I think he will come back and one day be the world champion.

 

I watched the fight twice. He had absolutely no clue how to fight a southpaw. Period. Lennox Lewis got caught with a lucky Rahmann punch. Klitschko was just very poorly prepared for this fight and it showed. This was the equivalent of Tyson vs Buster Douglas, it just didn't last as long. He isn't only hype, but he is definately OVER-hyped, Jim Lampley even apologized for over-hyping him.

 

I laughed my a$$ off watching this fight. I was one of the people that though he would actually stand a chance against Lewis. These types of losses destroy a fighter's confidence. I don't think Wlad will ever be the same again (see: Prince Naseem Hamed).

 

Wow! He just stepped into that left and served himself up.
I would say the sport went to the dogs decades ago, but that would be too kind.

 

The funny thing is that there were about 5 or 6 other punches just as crushing as that one. That particular punch was at the beginning of the 2nd and was the 3rd knockdown of the fight. There was 1 more knockdown after that one about 15 seconds later.

I still can't stop laughing at the thought of Klit getting exposed for the p*ssy he is (pun intended).