Steward goes back to the future to cement a legacy

Was there a bigger smile anywhere in the Hamburg Arena this Saturday than that of Wladimir Klitschko’s trainer Emanuel Steward?

Even the torrential rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of a man who proved once again that the 76-year-old boxing oracle is peerless in his chosen profession.

Wladimir Klitschko had completed his transformation from an awkward, stuttering giant with a suspect chin to a dominant, all-conquering heavyweight champion of the world.

A champion moulded by the evergreen Steward, the leader of that famous production line of champions, Detroit’s Kronk Gym. Steward has allied Klitschko’s natural physical gifts with a ring nous that makes him a supremely effective heavyweight.

Saturday night’s dismissal of the brash and arrogant David Haye was his finest hour in their six-year association.

His was a smile born not just out of satisfaction, but out of absolute, total familiarity.

You see, Emanuel Steward had been here before...

One night in Memphis

It had been nine years since the heavyweight division had seen an event of this magnitude. On the night in question, June 8 2002, Steward watched on from the corner as his charge, Lennox Lewis, faced his nemesis Mike Tyson.

This was a defining moment for Lewis. Despite his dominance, he was still a target for some critics who labelled his style as one-dimensional.

There were also questions about his punch resistance. Twice during his career he’d been the victim of brutal knockouts against unfancied opponents (Oliver McCall and Hasim Rachman).

Never mind the fact that he’d gone on to avenge both defeats. Never mind that he’d beaten all the names the governing bodies had put in front of him; they were decried as a poor crop in a division that had once boasted iconic fighters such as Foreman, Ali and Holmes.

According to his remaining critics, if Lewis was ever to be mentioned in the same breath as these legends then he he’d have to do more than victories over journeymen challengers.

He needed a career-defining fight.

His victory over Evander Holyfield had earned him some long-awaited plaudits but was marred by whispers that Holyfield was already a fighter in terminal decline.

If Lewis was to silence those remaining doubters once and for all, he needed to beat the biggest puncher - and the biggest personality - that this sparse heavyweight landscape could offer.

He needed to beat Mike Tyson.

The build-up had been infamous for Tyson’s increasingly low-class attempts to rattle his normally unflappable foe. It had started badly with Tyson proclaiming of Lewis that he wanted to “eat his children”. It got worse when he then bit Lewis’s shin during an unseemly brawl in front of the world’s media.

The Briton remained typically dignified throughout, refusing to react to the baiting. With the wily Steward by his side, he was supremely confident in their gameplan to dispose of his arch-rival.

He was right.

Over eight utterly one-sided rounds, Lewis picked “Iron Mike” apart. Dominating behind the jab, the champion toyed with Tyson. He avoided the challenger’s wild attacks with ease before putting him out of his misery with a trademark right hand.

Two things happened that night; firstly, Lewis cemented his legacy as the greatest heavyweight of his era.

Secondly, Mike Tyson’s career as a top-class heavyweight was cruelly ended. He carried on, of course, but that night in Memphis would forever haunt him.

Doesn’t it all sound so incredibly familiar?

Back to the future

After his domination of David Haye, Wladimir Klitschko has proved himself, alongside brother Vitali, as the best of his generation.

His style may be unpalatable to some, but his record of 55 wins is truly remarkable. Whether he will ever be recognised as one of the great heavyweights to rank alongside Lewis and the other big names is entirely questionable.

Yet there is one fact that cannot, under any circumstance, ever be disputed.

Emanuel Steward is one of the finest trainers in the history of the sweet science.

He’s proved it in the past, the present...

...and he’ll prove it again in the future.

Ralph Welch

Twitter: @ralphwelch

Weekend Wrap: “Rocky” moments make UFC event a knockout show

“It ain’t about how hard you can hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit – and keep moving forward.”

Rocky Balboa

Will we ever see a more dramatic 30 seconds of mixed martial arts than the conclusion of the Pat Barry/ Cheick Kongo fight this past Sunday?

With Kongo knocked down twice in quick succession and the commentators screaming “IT’S OVER”, the Frenchman was staring not just at defeat, but at the end of his UFC career.

Out of nowhere, he dragged himself back up and unleashed a right hand that will go down in Octagon history.

Pat Barry was on the floor, the crowd were off their seats.

What a moment.

What a sport.

Brenneman goes from zero to hometown hero

Nate Marquardt’s dramatic withdrawal from the co-main event had briefly threatened to derail the whole show.

The UFC had invested a huge amount in promoting Marquardt’s bout with rising star Rick Story and his subsequent withdrawal – for a failed medical - remains shrouded in mystery.

Dana White looked as disappointed as I’ve seen him when he announced that Marquardt would “never, ever fight in the UFC again.”

However, the UFC boss channelled that disappointment into finding a replacement and ensuring that fans weren’t short-changed.

Step forward Charlie Brenneman. The Pennsylvania native and mid-card fighter took the fight at a day’s notice and duly upset red-hot favourite Rick Story.

The rapturous reception he got walking to the ring was only eclipsed by the jubilation when his hand was raised.in victory.

At that moment, I didn’t think he show could get any better.

How wrong I was.

Ralph Welch

@ralphwelch

Macklin woes should act as warning to Haye

If David Haye wasn’t already wary of the task that awaits him in Hamburg on Saturday, then he is now.

This past Saturday he saw a fellow Briton go into the German equivalent of the lion’s den, outbox a hugely popular titleholder and come away empty-handed.

That man was Matthew Macklin.

Macklin learnt the hard way that the age-old maxim about Germany being a “home” fighter’s territory is still entirely well-deserved.

Over 12 rounds, Macklin out-worked WBA middleweight strapholder and home favourite Felix Sturm. Whilst the latter’s power and accuracy were always a threat, Macklin consistently landed more punches in a tireless display.

His herculean effort went unrewarded. Sturm was the recipient of the sort of controversial split decision for which Germany is renowned.

There’s no denying that it was a close fight. But one could argue that the two judges who gave the fight 116-112 to Sturm were watching an entirely different sporting contest.

So what does this mean for the “Hayemaker”?

Ahead of his superfight with Wladimir Klitschko, much attention has been focussed on the strength of the combatants’ chins.

Haye supporters feel that the Bermondsey man has the brute force to KO a man who has been on the canvas twelve times in his career. Others believe that Haye, himself no stranger to the canvas, has never faced anyone with Klitschko’s knockout power.

The general feeling is that we’re in for an explosive contest and that Haye’s best chance of victory will come in those early rounds. Avoiding Klitschko’s merciless right hand at all costs, he needs to take big risks to get into range and land the big shots that will poleaxe the giant Ukrainian.

“Risk” is not a word one frequently associates with Haye’s trainer and mentor Adam Booth. Booth’s incredibly meticulous approach to boxing strategy has earned him the moniker “The Dark Lord” by his own fighters. His finest achievement of late came in the Groves-DeGale showdown. Thanks to Booth’s tactical mastery, the unfancied Groves nullified his more gifted rival en route to the tightest of tight points victories.

I expect Booth’s gameplan for Klitschko to centre around David’s speed and agility, not dissimilar to the tactic that earned Haye victory over Nikolai Valuev in 2009. That night the giant Russian barely landed a single punch. Haye danced his way to the title, landing infrequent jabs to the midsection in an effective, if uninspiring, display.

Yet Klitschko, schooled in recent years by legendary trainer Emanuel Steward, is no Valuev. His victims all testify that he’s quicker and more technical than they expected.

Under Steward’s guidance the crude, vulnerable style of old has been replaced by a more cautious, balletic approach. He’ll cut down the ring quickly and Haye won’t have the same wide open spaces to enjoy that he did against the cumbersome Valuev.

Even if Haye executes this gameplan perfectly, it’s likely that most rounds will be close affairs. Haye will land more frequently. But each of Klitschko’s shots will be roared on by his legion of fans, which will undoubtedly influence the officials.

David might find himself entirely at the mercy of the ringside judges in Germany. As Matthew Macklin will testify, that is a very dangerous place to be.

So what will it be; power or prudence?

Right now David Haye is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Rhodes should carry on despite Alvarez defeat

Boxers are notorious for their stubborn refusal to call it quits. There’s always one more fight. One more shot at redemption. One more opportunity to prove to the doubters – and perhaps even to themselves – that they can still compete at the level they’ve become accustomed to.

The latest fighter having to justify his future in the sport is Ryan Rhodes. After a comprehensive defeat by Saul Alvarez in Mexico on Sunday morning, the 34-year-old Sheffield warrior has faced inevitable calls to retire.

Rhodes lost every minute of every round before finally succumbing to Alvarez’s power in the twelfth. For his fans, who had approached the fight with genuine hope that Rhodes’ experience would cause an upset, it was painful viewing. Their subsequent pleas for Rhodes to walk away are borne out of genuine concern for his health.

But are we being too hasty to write off this extraordinary fighter?

Let’s put Sunday into some kind of perspective. Most importantly, we learnt that 20-year-old Alvarez is a special talent. This has been a year of upsets. Unbeaten prospects such as David Lemieux and James Kirkland have floundered just as TV networks looked set to give them their big push. They’ve since faced scorn that their records were padded by promoters eager to keep that most over-rated of boxing commodities; an unblemished record.

That’s not a charge that can be aimed at Alvarez. Despite his tender years he has an astonishing 35 fights on his record already. His backers, Oscar de la Hoya’s highly influential Golden Boy Promotions, have matched him hard at the right time. His last two fights, versus Britons Matthew Hatton and Rhodes, have been a significant step up in class. Alvarez has responded magnificently.

In an age where fighters are hyped too quickly, there can be few doubts that this young Mexican has an enormous future in the sport.

It is also worth remembering that Saturday’s defeat was Rhodes’ first in five years. Pre-Alvarez he had produced some of the most spectacular performances of his career. He still has the skill and the experience to be a major player on both the European and domestic scene.

This is not a fighter in decline.

This is not an ageing fighter on the slide.

This is a very good fighter who took on a truly exceptional one, in his own back yard, and lost.

There is no shame in that.

Ralph Welch

@ralphwelch