At Last – Vitali Klitschko Bombed (Only Joking!)
Many boxing fans – including this one – are no fans of the Klitschko brothers. For too many years they have had a stranglehold on boxing’s biggest drawing card, the heavyweight championship, and depressed the entire sport. So when there’s a different kind of headline. ..
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For once Vitali Klitschko was doing something different. Not fighting a much smaller man – not really good enough to be going for a world title. Not grinding him down to win another boring fight and a big pay day.
This time he was bold, imaginative, upfront! Surely this couldn’t be a Klitschko? Then when you read the story you see that Vitali was bombed in a police tear gas attack as he led a political demonstration.
Klitschko was in his native Ukraine where he is the leader of an opposition political party, Udar, which apparently means Blow. He’s a boxer, get it!
The issue that actually roused Mr Klitschko was a proposal to make Russian and official language in Ukraine. The country has a difficult relationship with neighbours Russia – to put it mildly. Imagine if the Canadian government suddenly said, “Hey, we’ve got to be more American, do things their way.”
Not a popular move and very roughly – that’s what happened. So up steps Vitali to say we’re not having this. Out come the police, and bang! The tear gas explodes all round him.
Wow, Vitali made sure he never got in this kind of trouble in the ring. He had to duck down, try and climb into his shirt – and that’s not easy when you’re his size. Nobody got killed and Vitali lives to protest another day.
Also, unfortunately, fight another day. He has announced his next fight and there are strong rumours it will be his last. Hooray! True to form it will against a fighter you’ve never heard of, who hasn’t much of a chance – and it will be held in that hot-spot of world boxing . . . Moscow.
No change there then. Enjoy your long, long overdue retirement from boxing, Vitali. Let boxing historians pull your curtain down - just keep dodging the tear gas.
Meanwhile, to see a real fight, get along to a soccer stadium in London on July 14. That’s Upton Park which stages – David Haye v Dereck Chisora! No heavyweight title at stake, just hopefully a tear up fight between two boxers who definitely do not like each other. You many remember police had to intervene in their press conference punch up after Chisora lost to Vitali. In Germany of course.
Naturally the British Boxing Board of Control wants to stop the fight. They took Chisora’s licence away after the punch up with Haye – and they would do the same to Haye – if he had a licence!
The fight will happen and it will be a better affair than anything the Klitschkos ever get involved in. With or without tear gas.
