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Since that answer, their "Mama" has become cult, compared to the classic tune, "Mama say".
On the latest KO of Wladimir, we find it interesting how reports of 4X blood sugar (1.6X can lead to diabetic episode) and ongoing investigation that Wladimir may have been poisoned was left out of this the press. A guy who goes 12 rounds with Byrd easily is going to feel totally exhausted by the middle of the first round because of his new style and punch volume. Perhaps Wladimir was clinching because he was exhausted and trying to figure out why his legs turned to bubble gum by the middle of the first round. When the strength is draining out of you, you sometimes try to KO the guy in front of you as quickly as possible. He might have dropped from exhaustion, or was it the blood sugar problem? Unfortunately, when the strength is draining out of you, you also rapidly lose the ability to KO the person standing in front of you. I know what it feels like to be exhausted in the ring. It is almost impossible to keep your hands up. That was from my own poor conditioning at the time. I can't imagine what it must feel like to enter the ring in top shape and feel your strength draining out of you by the second. Perhaps we will discover in a week or so that Wladimir suffered a medical emergency.
I find it interesting that the Klitschko brothers attempted to end contract with Universum, and recently. Heavyweights Vitali and Vladimir Klitschko are attempting to get out of their contract with their boxing promoter Hans-Peter Kohl, Universum Box Promotions. A lawsuit was filed by the Klitschkos in a Hamburg court in hopes of terminating their contract this year, which ends on April 30th, 2004. Universum has a clause in the Klitschko's contractor that allows the contract to be extended by the months if they are sidelined by injury. Vitali was inactive during portions of 2001 due to a rotator cuff injury, and during 2002 because of a back injury. The case should be going to court by the spring. The brothers have been under contract by Universum since 1996. The Klitschkos seemingly want to sign with an American promoter if they can break a clause in their contract that allows Universum to extend the contract by the months if they are sidelined by injury. This trial will not influence the Klitschko's immediately, but this calls to the question on the Corrie Sanders fight, when he was knocked out. Perhaps this stress and exhaustion comes from the issues surrounding their unhappiness with their current promoter? Don't forget, the Klitschkos haven't sold their souls to the devils who control boxing. They just started their own promotional company.
Wladimir reaches over six feet seven inches, with 81 inches reach. He was winning on all cards until the final round. Born in Semipalatinsk, Kazachstan in 1976, he has many years ahead of ring time. He started only in 1990, and had 143 amateur fights with 80 KOs. He has only lost three times in the professional ring.
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"My legs were like rubber. I now need to find out what was wrong with me. I will be in the ring again," said the 28-year-old Ukrainian. "I don't know what happened," Klitschko told German television ZDF. "It's not a mental problem. There's something else."
After the fight Klitschko was taken to hospital for a precautionary brain scan. He will undergo tests to find out whether he might have a medical problem. There have been widespread calls for the former Olympic champion to retire after he suffered the third defeat of his career in a fight he was expected to win. Wladimir dismissed reports he was considering parting company with trainer Emanuel Steward, formerly with British world champion Lennox Lewis, whom he hired before the Brewster fight.
Questions come up over this last fight. What about the late gambling money that came in on Brewster, lowering his odds from 8-1 down to 4-1? Now what exactly was there about Brewster, who was inactive and unimpressive lately, to encourage laying such serious money on him? What information or inside information was the basis for such a confident wager? Why was Klitschko's estranged promoter Peter Kohl sitting next to Don King at ringside? How on earth did Klitschko tire so abnormally fast, especially when he hasn't had a stamina problem in five years? What about these claims that Klitschko's blood/sugar levels were unusually high? Are they just a smokescreen set up by a team trying to save face? Did Klitschko have some kind of pre-existing condition? So it would not be impossible to accept that some counter force could have actually somehow conspired to destroy Klitschko Saturday night.
Maybe Klitschko actually did exhaust himself of his energy through nerves, stress and tension. Maybe his confidence to take a good punch was taken by Corrie Sanders, never to be returned. Maybe Klitschko boxes now so much more anxious. This is why he tired. This fighter created the illusion he was tired so he had the handy excuse as to why he lost: I got tired, that's why I lost, not because he was superior. It was all a lie to him. He lost because he mentally gave up for whatever reason. Maybe mental? Maybe high blood sugar problem? Did Klitschko feel Brewster's power in the 4th or 5th round and suddenly panic, triggering the sudden exhaustion so as to make that look like the reason he lost? Maybe his subconscious did this without him actually realizing it.
Few foresaw Wladimir running out of steam so quickly and this shows one of the potential drawbacks to his physical size. Before the fight, his new co-trainer, Manny Steward, commented on Wladimir's fluid movement for a man of his size. While his brother Vitali moves in a more classically European pattern, Wladimir utilizes lateral movement a tremendous amount for someone his size. While circling allowed Klitschko to land his shots, it also took its toll on him physically. Wladimir also started employing a clinching-style of tying up his opponent during his last few fights, but especially in this one. This was obviously taught to Wladimir to help him muffle an onslaught like the one he endured at the hands of Corrie Sanders a year ago. He did not appear to fully grasp the appropriate times to employ this tactic and it seemed to tire him out more than it did Brewster.
Wladimir's punch volume struck me as strangely high, but I thought the oddest moment of the first four rounds was in Round Three. For almost three full rounds, Wladimir was jabbing and hooking off his jab very effectively. Although he was hitting Brewster with everything but the kitchen sink, Brewster kept coming. Then Brewster popped off a couple of lefts to the body and scored a reasonably big left upstairs. It prompted Harold Lederman to score the round for Brewster and the broadcast team believed it was the best shot of the fight to that point. I'll give credit where it is due - it was a good punch. Certainly, though, it was not exceptional. The exceptional part of the punch was Wladimir's reaction to it. He was clearly stunned by it. Again, it was a good punch, but Wladimir landed several harder punches than that over the course of the first four and a half rounds that had a clearly less significant impact on Brewster. Remember that Brewster going down and struggling to make it out of the 4th. Perhaps it is a question of his chin or confidence that is the bigger problem for Wladimir.
Brewster, on the other hand, showed just the opposite of Wladimir Klitschko. He showed he could be outboxed. Brewster showed us a great heart and a pretty decent punch. The combination of Brewster's will to win and Wladimir Klitsckho's problems with fatigue and confidence came together to earn a victory for Brewster. Brewster has never been stopped and, although floored by Wladimir, he appeared to have a very strong chin after standing through a pretty severe beating for four-plus rounds. He did not box effectively against a much taller man. However, he now holds the WBO belt. He had one particularly amusing sound bite about how he knew Klitschko would tire. He also discussed his late trainer and mentor, Bill Slayton, and made a couple of nice references to being a proud American. He did tell us that "he have to kill me" to win. He was going to win no matter what.
There will rightly always be some doubt about his fragile chin and self-confidence. I remain intrigued to see whether Wladimir will choose to pick up the pieces and address his flaws. Regardless, if the upcoming heavyweight cards provide anywhere near as much drama, excitement, and fodder for discussion, we should all be pleased as punch. At the turn of this century it was believed the future of heavyweight boxing was in the giant hands of the Klitschko brothers.
Vitali and Wladimir, all the way from the Ukraine, were expected to punch their way to all four-world titles, but would never face each other, just to make sure their mother did not cry. Having now suffered three defeats in 45 fights, the cloak of invincibility, which carried Wladimir to 42 victories against modest opposition, still appears in tact for this writer. Much now rests on the slightly narrower shoulders of Vitali, who takes a better punch than his sibling and will bid to avenge Wladimir's defeat to Sanders later this month in a fight for the vacant WBC title.
During the fight Wladimir seemed to be the new World Champion for a long time. In all rounds he had a clear advantage regarding hits and points. During the fourth round he sent his adversary to the ground for the first time, all the more surprisingly came the total unexpected turn, even for Wladimir himself. PhD in Sport Science and in Philosophy gives him one of the first fighters with brains and brawn. As he says, "nature has no bad weather", and we should understand that this man works better in the storms of life. He will return, and live as long as his hero Max Schmeling, to fight for many years to come. This man dreams prophetic dreams, and these reoccur for him every night. He knows the future, and this sleeper will awaken again. The 11,500 spectators in Vegas's Mandalay Bay Hotel would all agree on one thing: there is a complete mystery behind this giant boxer. Tony Curtis, Mike Tyson, and Ralf Moller were as shocked as all in the crowds.
As he told us before the fight: "I am not going to undervalue Lamon Brewster. He is a very good boxer with excellent skill. He absolutely wants to win the WBO-title as much as me. In this case I do belief that it is going to be a big and very interesting fight." Wladimir is preparing himself highly professional for the night of the fight: "I am both absolutely calm and concentrated. At the same time I am dying to fight. All my senses are pointed on Saturday night."
With this turn of the fight against him, all the more reason to suspect a serious undetected medical issue of high blood sugar. It appears the only possible explanation for the humbling lowering for this massive man to fall, with no apparent reason.
