WBO/WBA/IBO/IBF heavyweight champion, Wladimir Klitschko, will defend all four of his titles against Tony Thompson on July 7, and he plans to add one more victory to his impressive resume when the two meet at the Stade de Suisse in Berne, Switzerland.
Even though Klitschko will be a 30-1 favorite going into the fight, he clearly isn't taking Thompson for granted.
"The fight with him in 2008 turned out to be one of the most difficult of my career," Klitschko said. "To win, I had to change the strategy as the fight progressed. Later on, Thompson was a sparring partner for my brother Vitali. I think Tony understands what awaits him in the ring. I can see that he is highly motivated. After all, it is the last chance in his career to become a world champion. And at this stage, any athlete is very dangerous. … He is well-trained and knows exactly how and what to do in the ring. I think Tony knows me like no other."
Klitschko is definitely spot on when he says motivation won't be a problem for Thompson on Saturday. He did get knocked out by Klitschko during their 2008 encounter, but Thompson's been pretty impressive since then, stopping his next six opponents.
Klitschko has been just as imposing, stopping five of his last six opponents. He is the technically superior boxer between the two, and he should be able to control the fight with his jab. Klitschko's accomplishments in the sport have already etched his name into the history books, and he seems hungry to set few more records.
Given Thompson's well-documented punching power, it's hard to count him out in a fight. He's definitely capable of knocking anybody out, and he just might pull of a historic upset if he lands a big-punch on Wladimir. However, the chances of that happening are pretty slim, and I expect Wladimir to improve to 2-0 against Thompson.
David is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and boxing practitioner that has watched and studied MMA for the past 7 years. Follow him on twitter @davidkingwriter and check out his blog.
Sources:
Alexander Pavlov, "Wladimir Klitschko Breaks Down The Thompson Rematch"
Fight and fighter information from BoxRec.com
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