There’s nary an objective soul who would venture to say that IBF-WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko is great.
Great guy? No doubt.
Great athlete? Affirmative.
Great scholar? Unquestionably.
Great heavyweight boxer? Nope. Not even close.
But Klitschko, who defends his titles on Saturday in an HBO-televised bout at 4:30 p.m. ET from Hamburg, Germany, against the left-handed Tony Thompson, is a victim of circumstances when it comes to boxing greatness.
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If you asked a buddy if a boxer who had captured an Olympic gold medal, won 50 of 53 pro fights, had two reigns as world champion, recorded 44 knockouts and had only been beaten cleanly once should be regarded as great, he’d give you a strange look before replying, “Of course.”
Until, that is, he found out it was Wladimir Klitschko you were asking about.
Then, he’d have to go back and ponder the question. At which point, he’d probably have to concede that at 32 years old, after a dozen years as a pro and with a 94.3 percent winning percentage that the guy isn’t really great.
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