For Emanuel: Wach Survives, But Takes Massive Beating from Wladimir Klitschko

HAMBURG, GERMANY –Wladimir Klitschko dedicated tonight’s fight to fallen trainer Emanuel Steward and delivered a performance that would have made him proud, showing a mix of power, elusiveness and technique in dominating Mariusz Wach over 12 rounds to retain the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles.

Wladimir measured his jab and was landing flush right crosses right out the gate. The shots knocked the towering, 6’7 Wach backwards every time. When he attempted to get inside, Klitschko countered with left hooks to maintain distance. Wladimir kept Wach guessing by also delivering this hard shots on his toes. By the end of the third, Wach’s corner was imploring him to make it a rough, inside fight.

Easier said than done.

Klitschko did a significant amount of clinching in the fourth (the most of the fight), but still landed his share of jabs and right hands. Wach’s only shining moment came in the fifth when Wladimir went to the ropes and was stunned by a haymaker right. Wladimir remained composed and clinched for the remaining seconds to close out a round he still won on two cards.

Wach would get no momentum in the next round as Wladimir went back to working the jab in the sixth. This time, the champion was more flat-footed and stayed in the pocket, getting off first and scoring with right hands. Wach’s lack of head movement did him no favors; Klitschko unleashed a 5-6 combo of power shots in the seventh and finished that stanza with two jarring overhand rights.

Wladimir Klitschko’s strongest effort to finish off Wach came in the eighth. The champion kept a sustained attack for the entire round, knocking Wach from pillar to post with an assortment of right hands: hooks, uppercuts and overhand shots. Not only was the pasting enough for a 10-8 round on two cards, it was bad enough that Wach’s team would have received no criticism for pulling their fighter.

Klitschko would dominate the remaining rounds but never attacked with the vigor of the eighth. Wach would never stop trying but could not come close to landing a solid punch. The scorecards revealed the expected dominance for Klitschko: 120-107 twice and 119-109.

The win is Wladimir Klitschko’s 13 and his first fight without Emanuel Steward in his corner since 2003.

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This was the best Wladimir Klitschko fight I’ve seen in years. He did everything you could want except getting the knockout. The robotic Klitschko we’ve all criticized at some point was not in the ring tonight. Wladimir fought off the backfoot, on his toes turning Wach and even at times inside. And he still kept that crushing power. If Wladimir fought like this regularly, no one would call him boring.

As for Wach, that man’s chin must be made out of adamantium. Wladimir was landing bombs from the first round and this man made it to the final bell. Personally, if I was his corner I’m probably pulling him after that whitewash eighth round.

As I said before, Wach was no world-beater but an impressive victory, as this was, is a good look for Wladimir’s legacy. This was the first time he’s fought a bigger guy and he shined with flying colors.