The Blueprint 8.24.09: Nailing the Coffin of Dr. Steelhammer

Posted by Patrick Mullin on 08.24.2009

Wladimir Klitschko has looked fairly unbeatable as of late. Is that really the case though? Join me as I try to prove why it isn't, and who's capable of doing the job.

Hello readers and welcome back to The Blueprint! This is where to come when you want to find the chinks in the armor of the best fighters of the world, and how to exploit them. In addition, we're also going to give you an idea of who's got the best shot of exploiting the deficiencies in their game for a victory.

But before we get to that, lets get to some comments from last week's debut.

From E.J. (guest) "I agree with all of the above however I would make Marquez the overall favorite since he did in fact beat Manny Pacquiao even though he was not handed the decision. There is a reason why the fight has not been revisited by now and that is because it is a very dangerous fight for Pac man to take up at the moment seeing as he can make a few more dollars up against a Cotto, a Mosley and of course a Mayweather.

I also feel that at the moment, even thought I cannot stand the man, Floyd Mayweather also has a shot at beating Manny. However Manny can very well make all of the above look silly if he continues to improve."

People, Marquez has never beaten Manny Pacquiao. Anyone who thinks either of the guys got robbed in either of their fights simply does not understand how to score a fight. When a decision can go either way, nobody is definitively beaten, but the man who wins the decision is the better man on that night, simple as that. For the record, I scored their first bout a draw, and scored the second bout 114-113 for Pacquiao. It was a close fight, and to say Marquez beat Pacquiao is for lack of a more pleasant adjective, retarded.

The reason I didn't mention Floyd Mayweather is the same reason he hasn't appeared in any rankings as of late, he will not be recognized as an active fighter until he steps back into the ring. The fight is official with Marquez for next month, but until he steps foot in the ring bringing him into this article is like mentioning a prime Roberto Duran or Julio Caesar Chavez.

From aussiepinoy (guest): "…What gets me even more annoyed is how Mayweather goes soft when discussing Marquez!
Floyd goes on and on on how great he is for having his undefeated streak.. (fair enuff, who wouldnt brag about that fact).. Floyd loves emphasizing the weaknesses and how many losses every other comparable fighter has, yet for some strange reason, Floyd goes soft on Marquez, saying Marquez would be the tougher opponent because Marquez "won" the two fights he had with pacquiao.

What the hell is that about?

Looks as though Floyd's trying to convince everyone that Marquez is a worthy opponent. Mayweathers not fighting Marquez coz hes "better" than Pacquiao- the money was right for Floyd, thats all! All its ever going to be about for Floyd is the money."

As you'd go on to say, you answered your own question. Honestly though, money is what this game goes down to. Whoever coined the quote first escapes me at the moment, but there is a great quote about boxing, and combat sports in general; "The only reason to fight is money." Honestly, glory, prestige, honor, they're all nice. At the end of the day though, they don't pay the bills. If Floyd Mayweather can fight a less dangerous opponent and still make it to the bank, more power to him. Anybody with a brain would do the same thing. But the funny thing is in addition to him being able to do that, he's still fought the best the game has to offer and no one has bested him.

And once again, for everyone saying Marquez already beat Pacquiao and he was robbed, you're all retarded and have no idea how to judge a fight. Do the fight game a favor, do real boxing fans a favor, switch over to synchronized swimming or something. We really don't need to keep dragging this stupidity out. It gives boxing a bad rap.

Now onto the main focus of this week's subject, the reigning IBF/WBO heavyweight champion of the world, Wladimir Klitschko. Dr. Steelhammer and his older brother are the consensus best two heavyweights in the world, but I feel its Wladimir who is the better of the brothers Klitschko.



1) Chin - Ok, let's start with the obvious. Wladimir isn't exactly in possession of a cast iron jaw. When it comes to taking heavy punches the guy isn't on the level of the great chins in history like Jake LaMotta, Marvin Hagler, or Wayne McCullough. Wlad isn't a stupid guy though and he generally doesn't go in there looking to exchange with anyone, even light punchers like Chris Byrd or Eliseo Castillo. He plays to his strengths.

So what you're going to need to do is forsake trying to box with him and throw caution to the wind to get in there and hurt him. While the guys who have tapped his chin are known as punchers, its not often you see him hit well cleanly so the assumption is he doesn't have a great chin. Samuel Peter and Corrie Sanders may not be elite heavyweights, but they both hit hard. Peter hits in the George Foreman style of battering ram heavy blows. Sanders is more in the explosive puncher category. They both however hurt and dropped Wlad, Sanders was even able to finish him.



Perhaps Wlad has a poor chin and maybe he doesn't. The bottom line is in his losses Wlad can be tagged early and struggle following it. The key is to jump on that. While not the most in shape or gifted heavyweight, if nothing else Cristobal Arreola can punch. If he can tag Wlad early in a fight, there's the chance he could pull a major upset off.

2) Gas Tank - Generally a lot of people have forgotten about Wladimir's suspect gas tank. Its due to very good game planning and execution from Wlad, so he deserves a ton of credit there. Perhaps the biggest weapon in the arsenal of Dr. Steelhammer is his ability to control the pace and not over-exert himself winding up out of gas at some point in the fight when his opponent can swarm him. He's arguably the smartest fighter in the sport, because you really don't ever see him look uncomfortable in a fight.

I'm really curious to see how Wladimir would handle someone with a gas tank going at him and making him work hard early and often. That was how Lamon Brewster was able to upset Wlad for the WBO belt. Wlad got overanxious when trying to finish Lamon who had a superior gas tank and was able to roar back and stop Wlad. Wlad also seemed to tire early in his very next bout against gate keeper DaVarryl Williamson, who dropped him in the fourth round of their bout. However, Wlad had suffered a cut from an accidental head butt earlier in the bout and after the 5th round it went to a technical decision, which Wlad won.


There are some good, young American heavyweights who have been impressing people as of late. Kevin Johnson is looking better and better with each passing fight. He's not an overwhelming puncher, but has a great work rate and terrific jab. He's been beating quite a few of his opponents simply by tiring them to the point they surrender on their stools due to not being able to keep up with his activity level. He's also a fair sized heavyweight at 6'3 and 240 pounds.

3) Cuts - Wlad has never lost on cuts, but he has been cut. If its there, you can exploit it. He does have a history of being cut by both punches and head butts to boot. Tony Thompson was able to cut Wlad over the eye in the 2nd round of their title clash, but never effectively attacked it. Wladimir was also cut over the eye via a head butt in his title fight with the now retired Calvin Brock.

As gifted as Wlad is in the cerebral context, the only fighter besides his brother who may measure up is American "Fast" Eddie Chambers. In his career the biggest strength Chambers has is to exploit any opening given to him by his opponents. Be it Samuel Peter using a high and tight guard to leave his midsection exposed, Calvin Brock not moving his head, or Alexander Dimitrenko standing there to be hit, Chambers will find what you're leaving out there and take advantage. Wlad doesn't have many flaws, but if there's one out there Eddie can find it.

Who Can Beat Him

Kevin Johnson 3:1 - Johnson is a tough, young, intelligent fighter who has the size necessary to hang with the "super-heavyweights" of today. While not a murderous puncher, his KO victories are becoming more frequent as of late. While I'd favor Wlad, its not out of the question Johnson may be the guy to beat him.


Cristobal Arreola 6:1 - All "Nipples" has is a puncher's chance. He doesn't have the chin, technical skills, or talent to stay with Wlad for more than a few rounds before he gets mangled.


Eddie Chambers 6:1 - I'm not trying to insinuate that Chambers is on the same level as Arreola, that would be insulting to Eddie. He's beaten superior opposition and looked better doing it than Arreola has looked doing anything. Its just that stylistically he's like Chris Byrd in that he plays right into Wlad's hands. He's a resourceful guy and could find a way to pull it out, I just don't see it.

Well there you have it. Not an easy assignment by any means but we did well considering what we had to work with. Join us next week for another edition.

Agree? Disagree? Let us know and leave some comments.