| Corrie Sanders intends to defeat his second brother Late Saturday evening, Ukrainian heavyweight Vitali Klitschko will step into the ring at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It was in this hall last summer that he suffered a very controversial defeat from Briton Lennox Lewis and was unable to take possession of the most prestigious championship belt in the world of professional boxing according to the WBC organization.
In a fight against his current opponent, South African Corrie Sanders, Vitaly will have to solve three problems at once: to win the coveted WBC title at the second attempt, to avenge the defeat that Sanders inflicted on his younger brother Vladimir last year in the spring and, most importantly, to clarify his own future in professional boxing . And the future, after the recent stunning defeat of his younger brother Vladimir from the American Lamon Brewster, does not look as cloudless as it seemed a couple of weeks ago.
Then most experts categorically predicted a great future for both brothers, talking about their dream of sharing all the prestigious championship belts among themselves as an already accomplished fact. In general, everything was going that way: the American Brewster and the South African Sanders, who stood among the brothers on the way to the first of these titles, were not perceived as a force capable of creating any serious problems for the Ukrainians. However, the obstacle in the person of Lamon Brewster turned out to be insurmountable for Vladimir Klitschko. In the ten days that have passed since the fight, many versions of this defeat have accumulated. The Ukrainian team gently hints at the most criminal one - poisoning, citing as evidence the unusually high level of sugar in Vladimir’s blood that was discovered as a result of a medical examination. The boxer himself insists on this. “There was clearly something wrong with me,” he said. “We will wait for the final test results.” However, Klitschko’s team is in no hurry to publish them yet, although there is every reason to believe that these results have been at their disposal for a long time.
Talk of poisoning may well be a natural reaction of the losing side, which does not want to admit that their ward was not ready for a fight with a far from formidable opponent. Well, the real culprit of what happened could be 38-year-old Corrie Sanders, from whose fists Vladimir found himself on the floor four times in March last year. Such things are not in vain for any boxer, especially those competing in the heavyweight division.
Vitali Klitschko will have to fight with this same Sanders next Saturday. The South African boxer, who won the WBO championship title in a fight with Klitschko Jr., voluntarily gave it up, aiming for the WBC “golden belt,” the holder of which is unofficially considered the strongest in the world.
The role of the favorite in the upcoming fight, of course, is assigned to the 33-year-old Klitschko. But the confidence in his victory is no longer as strong as it could be in the event of a successful outcome of the fight between Vladimir and Lamon Brewster. According to representatives of the reputable British bookmaker Pridmore Bookmakers, the number of bets on Sanders' victory is quite high. Moreover, most people insisting on the South African's success believe that he will win within the first three rounds.
It is safe to say that if the outcome of the fight between Klitschko Jr. and Brewster was favorable for the Ukrainians, there would be few such daredevils. But the brothers have long been perceived as one team, and the results of one are directly reflected in the affairs of the other. It’s not difficult to imagine the conditions under which Vitaly has to prepare for his most important fight. Sanders himself is also stirring up passions. “Only Klitschko is left afloat, but he will not be there after the fight on April 24. Everyone will forget this name,” he said categorically.
Vitaly pretends that these conversations do not bother him at all, claiming that he trains as usual, and simply does not pay attention to the hype that has erupted. But the fact that not only the championship belt, but also the future of the Klitschko clan is at stake in the upcoming fight is clear to everyone. Additional intrigue is added by one upcoming duel on Saturday: the current coach of the Klitschko brothers, Emmanuel Steward, and... his former ward, the British Lennox Lewis, who, after retiring from his career, decided to try his hand at the promotion field. One of his “clients” is none other than Corrie Sanders. Anton VALIEV |
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