On Saturday,World Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko will put his suitcase full of titles on the line against Italian Francesco Pianeta in Mannheim. It says something that a defence fight for the four belts (Ring,IBF,WBO and WBA super titles) is already receiving less attention than the one between two welterweights Robert Guerrero vs Floyd Mayweather Jr in Las Vegas.
The reason for the lukewarm interest is no one is really giving the Italian much of a chance of even getting to 12 rounds against Klitschko,who is expected to wrap up his 18th consecutive win. That the heavyweight division is dominated by Wladimir and his brother Vitali (who holds the WBC title) is simply a fact. Only Joe Louis (26) and Larry Holmes (20) have more title defences than Wladmir (13),who has 50 KOs in 59 wins. Vitali is only a couple of spots behind,alongside Joe Frazier and Lennox Lewis with nine.
Which brings us back to the fight at hand. In all probability it is going to be business as usual for Wladimir. Whether it makes the headlines or not.
(Jonathan is a senior correspondent based in Delhi)
jonathan.selvaraj@expressindia.com
