Klitschko/Ibragimov: Post-Fight Notes

By Dave “Large” Larzelere
Duddy’s Dud
After Wladimir Klitschko’s victory over Sultan Ibragimov in the big heavyweight unification bout at the Garden last night, the ringside buzz wasn’t about the lackluster main event but about the bloody undercard fight between Irish John Duddy and Walid Smichet. Duddy, who has been discussed for weeks now as the probable opponent for middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik, was repeatedly rocked with ease by Smichet and sustained a cut that Duddy’s cut-man George Mitchell told me will require at least 12 stitches.
[img=http://nomas-nyc.com/uploaded_images/Duddy-796541.jpg]
A New York City favorite, Duddy won a majority decision on the scorecards - 95-95, and two 98-92’s - which brought at least as many boos as cheers from the crowd, many of whom seemed to feel that Smichet won the fight. Bert Sugar had it 97-93 Duddy, although he qualified that by saying Duddy had looked bad and that “no way is he ready for Pavlik.” That was certainly the general consensus among the ringside press, that Duddy probably had just blown his shot at the middleweight title. Bob Arum, Pavlik’s promoter, was on hand for the fight, and he can’t have been impressed with what he saw. Given the ease with which Smichet landed his lumbering roundhouse lefts and rights on Duddy, one has to imagine that Pavlik’s jackhammer one-two’s would make embarrassingly quick work of the Irishman, a thought that may have Arum looking elsewhere for Kelly’s summer dance-partner.
International Intrigue
As I wrote in a post below, the Garden crowd was packed with Ukrainians and Russians. Newark Star-Ledger and Ukrainian Weekly reporter Vasily Kavatsiuk explained to me that this bout had particular importance for both nations because of the historic animosity between Russians and Ukrainians, an animosity that recently was fueled by Russian premier Vladimir Putin’s threats that Russia would aim nuclear weapons at Ukraine if it joined NATO and allowed NATO bases to be stationed there.
Ali?
In the post-fight press conference, Klitschko’s trainer Emanuel Steward continued his recent habit of mentioning his fighter’s name in conjunction with all-time greats of the past, and in this case, The Greatest. Admitting to the press that this had not been one of Klitschko’s most impressive performances, he ascribed Wlad’s difficulty last night as a function of Ibragimov’s awkward, defensive style, and then went on to reference Ali’s bout with Jimmy Young from 1976 when an out-of-shape Muhammad had problems with Young’s elusive approach. “Ali didn’t look too good that night,” Manny said, “but he won the fight and he moved on.” Myself, I’m not sure there are all that many comparisons to be drawn - for one thing, I thought Klitschko looked as lean and cut as I’ve ever seen him last night, maybe the best shape of his life. But hey, if you watched Klitschko/Ibragimov last night, check out a few rounds of Ali/Young below and you can judge for yourself.

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