March Madness is underway but that term does not carryover to boxing this week. Wladimir Klitschko, the top heavyweight in the world, is in action this week but this #1 seed is facing a first-round conference foe instead of a Final Four matchup.
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Ray Austin
Ray Austin doesn’t deserve to be here. He hasn’t lost since 2001 but he has four draws in that time against the likes of Zuri Lawrence and Larry Donald. His biggest win was a split decision over Owen Beck. None of these fighters are top-flight heavyweights and Austin appears to be on their level. A recent draw against Sultan Ibragimov was Austin’s best fight of his career. On the other hand, Klitschko is regarded as the best heavyweight in the world and has recent wins over Samuel Peter, Calvin Brock, and Chris Byrd.
Wladimir Klitschko’s entrance was awesome. A man dressed as a steelworker taps away to the beat of “Can’t Stop” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers while a montage of Klitschko’s knockout victims plays. Dr. Steelhammer then makes his way to the ring through the crowd of the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany. Unfortunately, the entrance would take longer than the fight.
After a feeling out process in the first round, Austin gets caught on the ropes in the second. Austin is in an awkward sideways position that allows Klitschko to hit four consecutive left hooks that lead to Austin’s face kissing the canvas. The referee stops the fight as Austin barely gets to his feet at the end of the ten count.
The fight was so short that it didn’t even give me any material for my Larry Merchant Quote of the Week. Wladimir did provide a nice quip post-fight when asked if he was surprised at the ease of this fight. “Austin was slower than my sparring partners.” Ouch.
Austin and Klitschko are the same height, same weight, and have similar reach. Klitschko’s athletic advantage was on display as he moved around with ease. It was like a cable modem against a dial-up service.
Other Results From The Week
– Anthony Mundine defeated fellow Australian Sam Soliman for the vacant WBA Super Middleweight Title when the three knockdown rule was enforced in the ninth round.
– Butterbean scored a second round TKO over Joe Siciliano. Butterbean’s son, however, was not so fortunate as Babybean (I’m not making that up) was knocked out in the first round of his debut.
– Former lightweight champion Paul Spadafora won a split decision over Oisin Fagan.
– Julio Cesar Chavez Jr continues to take a lot of fights in a small amount of time. Chavez Jr won his 31st fight, a 3rd round TKO of Raul Munoz, despite celebrating his 21st birthday last month.
– Canadian super middleweight prospect Jean Pascal remained undefeated with a unanimous decision over Lafarrell Bunteng.
– Souleymane M’Baye fought Andreas Kotelink to a draw over the WBA Light Welterweight Title.
– Omar Andres Narvaes retained his WBO Flyweight Title by giving Brahim Asloum the business over twelve rounds en route to a unanimous decision.
– Cruiserweight prospect Johnathon Banks traveled to Germany for 32 seconds of work. He knocked out Ralf Riemer.
– In another quick fight, Sultan Ibragimov knocked out Javier Mora in 46 seconds. Ibragimov was supposed to fight WBO Heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs in this fight but the fight was delayed when Briggs got pneumonia.
Spit Bucket
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