- 5 months ago
Vitali Klitschko defends the WBO Heavyweight Title against Chris Byrd on HBO Boxing After Dark from Berlin, Germany.
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00:00:00I
00:01:00Tonight, from the Estrell Hotel and Convention Center in Berlin, Germany, Boxing After Dark presents the HBO debut of one of the hottest and most talked about prospects in the heavyweight division, the Ukraine's Vitaly Klitschko, as he takes on America's Chris Bird in a heavyweight fight scheduled for 12 rounds.
00:01:23Our first HBO boxing trip to historic Berlin, a city changing as rapidly and as dramatically as any on the face of the globe right now.
00:01:34Here in Berlin, 60 years of European history can be communicated in a single snapshot.
00:01:41The bombed out Kaiser Wilhelm Church in the middle of the city, surrounded by the bright new architecture and buildings which signify the burgeoning wealth of Germany as it moves into this new era.
00:01:53Hello again, everybody. I'm Jim Lampley. For weeks, we had been telling you that we would be here tonight to show you Vitaly Klitschko trying to extend his knockout streak to 28 against Canadian Razor Ruddock.
00:02:05Well, the rather well-worn Ruddock saw himself clear to drop out of this fight 10 days ago with a reported case of hepatitis.
00:02:14And the last-minute substitute is the most elusive and difficult of all heavyweights to fight, the American southpaw Chris Bird, beaten only once by Nigerian Ike Ibeabuchi.
00:02:26What a change in the context for this fight. What a change in the challenge for Klitschko.
00:02:32Our normal expert commentator Roy Jones Jr. not with us tonight.
00:02:35So once again, it'll be myself along with HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant.
00:02:40Larry, when we thought we were coming here to see Klitschko against Razor Ruddock, we had every expectation that we were going to get on the plane, fly to Berlin, see a round or two of boxing, a quick knockout, and go back to the United States.
00:02:50How is it that the Klitschko people, without any protest, accepted as a last-minute substitute, Bird, who's regarded by some as the most difficult opponent in the division to fight?
00:03:0290% arrogance, 10% ignorance.
00:03:06And Vitaly Klitschko, who looks like something out of a James Bond movie, does have that 100% knockout ratio to give him arrogance.
00:03:16In addition, he has a Ph.D. in sports science, in which, no doubt, he has taken laboratory experiments to confirm that you can run, but not hide from him.
00:03:32And when he was asked, which is his better punch, the left or the right, he said, this is a joke.
00:03:39My left puts him in a hospital, my right puts him with God.
00:03:45That's arrogance, or perhaps the joke is on him.
00:03:48Well, where does the arrogance come from?
00:03:50We told you about the 27 knockouts in 27 fights.
00:03:52There were many who thought that Klitschko was just an Eastern European myth before he went to London last summer.
00:03:58And in the second round of his fight with the nifty Englishman Herbie Hyde, reached Hyde with a barrage of right hands,
00:04:05summarily destroyed him to win the WBO's off-brand version of the heavyweight championship.
00:04:12Now that title, so to speak, is on the line tonight against Bird.
00:04:16It would be abundantly clear here, given the fact that Klitschko has only been past six rounds once in his career in a nine-round knockout over Obed Sullivan,
00:04:26that Bird is going to try to wear him out, deplete his stamina, and hope that Vitaly will more or less knock himself out,
00:04:32as his brother Vladimir did in his one loss to the American journeyman Ross Purity.
00:04:37Can it happen?
00:04:39Bird has a little man's arrogance.
00:04:42He believes it can happen.
00:04:44And consider this, after mouthing off that no prominent heavyweight would fight him a year ago,
00:04:50he finally got into the ring with a top-ten heavyweight, Aikabe Abuchi, and wound up knocked out.
00:04:56Nevertheless, six months later, he took an ad in a Las Vegas newspaper declaring that all the heavyweights out there don't want to fight him.
00:05:05He was calling them all out.
00:05:07That's a little man's arrogance.
00:05:08We have an American arrogant fox against a Ukrainian arrogant bear.
00:05:16All right, and that's part of the contrast we'll be seeing in the fight.
00:05:19Some of it communicated in the tail of the tape between Vitaly Klitschko and Chris Bird.
00:05:24Both had expected to be in the 1992 Olympics.
00:05:27Bird made it for the USA.
00:05:29Klitschko was derailed by a last-minute drug test.
00:05:32And you can see that they are similar in age.
00:05:35There's a six-and-a-half-inch difference in height.
00:05:37Klitschko at 6'8", a full-inch taller than the American contender Michael Grant, who will soon face Lennox Lewis.
00:05:43A five-inch reach advantage for Klitschko.
00:05:45Bird has surprisingly long arms.
00:05:47And at 244 pounds, with a 34-pound weight advantage,
00:05:51Klitschko is the biggest man that Bird will ever have been in the ring with.
00:05:55Rules of the bout with our unofficial ringside scorer, Harold Letterman.
00:05:58The Vitaly Klitschko-Chris Bird fight is scheduled for 12 rounds
00:06:02using the unified rules of the Association of Boxing Commissions.
00:06:06There is no standing eight count, no three-knockdown rule.
00:06:09Only the referee can stop the fight, and you cannot be saved by the bell at any round,
00:06:13including the 12th and final round.
00:06:16Jim.
00:06:17All right, thank you, Harold.
00:06:19So now here enters Chris Bird.
00:06:21Last fight, January 18.
00:06:23took this fight a week ago Wednesday, arrived here in Berlin this past Monday,
00:06:31says he has had difficulty eating German food since he's been here,
00:06:35and believes, Larry, that he's lost four or five pounds
00:06:39coming into this fight in the past few days.
00:06:42He needs some good news, and the good news is
00:06:45that, a little unbelievably, there are three of the four officials tonight are Americans.
00:06:53They originally were chosen as neutrals for a razor rudder,
00:06:59who's from Canada, fight with a Ukrainian.
00:07:04They haven't been changed.
00:07:06So Bird has a reasonable expectation
00:07:09that if he wins about ten rounds, he might get the decision.
00:07:14Just as the Klitschko people blithely accepted Bird as the last-minute opponent,
00:07:20despite the dramatic change in the competitive context of the fight,
00:07:24so too they blithely stuck with the American officials and didn't protest.
00:07:28Close to look at Chris Bird.
00:07:29Chris Bird was a middleweight in the 92 Olympics,
00:07:33weighed 169 in his first pro fight seven years ago.
00:07:38His family is in his corner.
00:07:40His father trains him.
00:07:41His brother seconds him.
00:07:43His mother is there as support.
00:07:46And since that knockout by Ababuchi, he's had four KOs.
00:07:52Larry, there are still a lot of general columnists in the United States
00:07:55who make a part of their living by constantly saying
00:07:57there is no young talent in the heavyweight division.
00:08:00Are they right?
00:08:01Well, I think any of these guys could emerge as real forces,
00:08:06as popular fighters, because all of them are big punches.
00:08:12And apropos of that graphic, if you're watching tonight
00:08:15and tune in to our HBO website, www.hbo.com slash boxing,
00:08:20you can vote on tonight's question,
00:08:22which of those three young heavyweights has a chance to become an exciting champion?
00:08:25Vote for Michael Grant, Vitaly Klitschko, or David Tua.
00:08:28The results will be posted on our website and only on the website.
00:08:32If you live in the Eastern and Central time zone regions,
00:08:35you can participate in a live chat tonight
00:08:37with boxing expert Steve Farhood for one hour following the telecast.
00:08:41Now the Klitschko entrance, which is a bigger version,
00:08:45at least bigger in terms of the fighter size,
00:08:47of what Prince Nassim Hamed does for his fights.
00:08:50But I think he's a little too big, Jim,
00:08:53to come in on a flying carpet.
00:08:56Needs a helicopter.
00:08:57A big, serious, ambitious, dedicated athlete.
00:09:14Dr. Vitaly Klitschko has yet to be truly challenged
00:09:19in his professional career.
00:09:21You saw the statistic, 20 and 27 knockouts
00:09:24within the first two rounds.
00:09:28And even when he was stretched to nine rounds by Obed Sullivan,
00:09:31Sullivan was simply fighting to survive,
00:09:34not to try to win.
00:09:42A closer look now on your first look at Vitaly Klitschko.
00:09:47He is the first fighter we've ever heard of
00:09:50who has earned a Ph.D.
00:09:53He may also be the first fighter.
00:09:55His father is a full colonel in the Ukrainian Air Force.
00:09:59And his brother, Vladimir, won the gold medal in 96
00:10:03when Vitaly was sidelined for a year
00:10:06after failing a drug test.
00:10:09Chris Bird, like several of those Michigan State Spartans
00:10:12you saw in the Final Four today,
00:10:14hails from Flint, Michigan.
00:10:1530 and 1 as a pro, 18 knockouts.
00:10:181992 Olympic silver medalist Vitaly Klitschko
00:10:21from Kiev in the Ukraine.
00:10:2327 professional fights, 27 knockout victories.
00:10:26The judges, Melvina Latham and Dr. Ruben Garcia
00:10:29of the United States.
00:10:31Joachim Jacobsen of Germany.
00:10:34They're so clearly a David and Goliath dynamic here, Jim,
00:10:47that you wonder if somehow Chris Bird can't get the crowd on his side,
00:11:05if he can befuddle and frustrate his opponent as he's wont to do.
00:11:12It's Ali Klitschko cuts such an imposing and dramatic figure in there
00:11:19that as he stood in the ring across from Bird during those introductions,
00:11:23I looked at the eyes of the media people, the judges, the photographers,
00:11:27and others at ringside, and virtually nobody looked at Bird, Larry.
00:11:30All eyes are drawn to Klitschko because of the figure he cuts.
00:11:37Now, Ibea Bucci in the early rounds while losing those rounds to Bird
00:11:41got to Bird's body.
00:11:43Klitschko doesn't throw a lot of body punches
00:11:46or at least hasn't done so in his previous 27 fights.
00:11:49So one question in my mind is will he go there
00:11:52or will he stick with his head hunting,
00:11:54firing the jab, trying to come with the right hand,
00:11:56and perhaps get himself into trouble missing Bird.
00:12:00Well, the other thing Ibea Bucci did after a few rounds
00:12:03is he started to try to beat on Bird anywhere in his body,
00:12:07on his arms, his shoulders, and so on.
00:12:12You see Klitschko here,
00:12:14on with the jab, not really firing it.
00:12:16He wants to set up the right hand,
00:12:18and he gets Bird with the right hand,
00:12:20pins him in the corner,
00:12:21and already Bird begins to field it out.
00:12:26That's how he got in trouble against Ibea Bucci.
00:12:28Bird said to us,
00:12:29I must stay off the ropes.
00:12:31I will stay off the ropes this time.
00:12:34It's clear that Bird is already seeing how easy it is
00:12:38to neutralize the jab since he's a southpaw.
00:12:43And a lot of conventional fighters
00:12:47have trouble landing jabs against southpaws.
00:12:50Double the problem if you're facing somebody
00:12:53who is as elusive and has the kind of head movement
00:12:55that Bird has.
00:13:00Referee in the fight is Gino Rodriguez,
00:13:03of the United States,
00:13:05one of the three of four American officials
00:13:08mentioned by Larry Merchant.
00:13:16Round one becomes a bit of a game of cat and mouse
00:13:19as Klitschko tries to set up a right hand,
00:13:23and Bird gets a look at him
00:13:25and tries to stay away from the ropes
00:13:27and in the center of the ring.
00:13:28Now Bird begins his own offensive assault,
00:13:32moving forward for the first time in the bow.
00:13:33When he fought Herbie Hyde in London last summer,
00:13:41Klitschko took a round to size Hyde up
00:13:44and been attacked early in the second round.
00:13:47He's been much more active here against Bird
00:13:49than he was in that fight against Hyde.
00:13:54The size differential as they get into the corner
00:13:56like that, Larry, is almost frightening.
00:13:58It looks as though Bird is trying to chop down
00:14:02a sequoia with a penknife.
00:14:07And as we go to the Klitschko corner,
00:14:09where they speak German,
00:14:11our translator is Cornelius Winter.
00:14:15Okay, that was a good round.
00:14:18You are controlling.
00:14:19Don't let him come too much.
00:14:22Go sideways.
00:14:23Do provoke a bit, but not too much.
00:14:25Use your left. Use your left.
00:14:30Use it more. Use your long left.
00:14:34That should work out.
00:14:37German is one of the four languages
00:14:38Klitschko speaks, incidentally.
00:14:40He also speaks Ukrainian, Russian, and English.
00:14:44You want to spit again?
00:14:45No, I'm good.
00:14:46Okay, I'm good.
00:14:47In the corner, Klitschko trying to hit anything
00:14:51that moves or stands still.
00:14:53As you can see, there's a part of him
00:14:57that sort of clanks a little bit.
00:14:59He's not a fluid athlete,
00:15:01but he's awfully big and strong.
00:15:05He will occasionally come underneath
00:15:07with the right hand.
00:15:09Normally, he likes to bring it over the top.
00:15:11His left hook usually travels wide of the target,
00:15:14but it can be effective nevertheless.
00:15:16Bird wants to jab with the right hand, of course,
00:15:18and then try to land that straight left,
00:15:21particularly as he gets along in rounds.
00:15:23Bird's feeling was,
00:15:24if he can get into the second half of the fight,
00:15:27Klitschko may tie it.
00:15:29And it is a hot night in this arena, Larry.
00:15:37Copy box numbers in round number one.
00:15:39Klitschko 11 out of 45.
00:15:40Bird's 6 out of 24.
00:15:42Kitschko is not that right hand.
00:16:09Well, it looked like a hurt bird.
00:16:12Apparently, it didn't.
00:16:19Klitschko going to the body,
00:16:21and there's the answer to that question.
00:16:23He will attempt to get to Bird's ribcage here.
00:16:26Not having been much of a body puncher in the past,
00:16:28but, of course, with 20 knockouts
00:16:30in the first two rounds,
00:16:32he hasn't often needed to go to that strategy.
00:16:34Nothing mysterious about what Klitschko tries to do.
00:16:48Right hand to the body,
00:16:49Bird blocking it with the elbow below the ribs.
00:16:57Klitschko trying to set up the right with the left hand,
00:16:59and Bird constantly catching the left
00:17:01with his own right hand.
00:17:04Catch, catch, catch.
00:17:07Klitschko misses twice.
00:17:10Only the second time in his 28-fight professional career
00:17:15that Klitschko has had to face a southpaw.
00:17:17However, he had 210 amateur fights
00:17:20and then a five- or six-year career
00:17:23as a kickboxing champion.
00:17:25So facing different styles
00:17:26is not something he regards as a big problem.
00:17:29And only in kickboxing
00:17:31has he ever been knocked out by a foot.
00:17:35Maybe the foot had some brass toes on it.
00:17:42Many accomplished fighters
00:17:44will come to the fighter meeting with us
00:17:45and claim that they've never been knocked down.
00:17:47Then later upon research,
00:17:49we'll discover that that isn't entirely the case.
00:17:51Klitschko was totally honest.
00:17:52He said, yes, I got knocked out in a kickboxing fight.
00:17:55I got kicked in the head.
00:17:56I went down and I was out.
00:18:01Getting to Bird's body
00:18:02as round two ends.
00:18:10And you saw Chris Bird,
00:18:12as he came back to the corner,
00:18:13turn to us and say, he missed.
00:18:15Get this out.
00:18:17Get that shirt.
00:18:18Get that shirt.
00:18:22Chris in his corner
00:18:22with his dad, Joe Bird,
00:18:24and his mother, Rose.
00:18:25Get his fifth bucket over there, Rose.
00:18:26He's going to try to push you
00:18:28when you get in close
00:18:29in a way he can.
00:18:30So you make sure
00:18:34don't lay on them ropes.
00:18:35Yeah, yeah.
00:18:36I'm trying to...
00:18:36A big man can fall on you
00:18:39and hurt you on the ropes, okay?
00:18:41Use your left-right combination.
00:18:42Punch deeper.
00:18:43Now he's coming.
00:18:46You have to move backward.
00:18:48Touch deeper.
00:18:51That was quite excellent.
00:18:52Go on like that.
00:18:55You got a great close look
00:18:57at Vitali's brother,
00:18:58Vladimir Klitschko,
00:18:59leaning into the shot there
00:19:00as we sat in Klitschko's corner.
00:19:03Vladimir, a heavyweight.
00:19:05You'll see a highlight of him
00:19:06later on tonight
00:19:07with a record of 32-1.
00:19:13Round three begins
00:19:14with the pattern
00:19:15which has dominated
00:19:16both of the first two rounds.
00:19:18Klitschko pawing with the left hand,
00:19:20Bird catching it
00:19:21in mid-path with the right.
00:19:29Bird was openly confident
00:19:33about his chance
00:19:34to take advantage
00:19:34of this big opportunity.
00:19:36Now he finds himself
00:19:37pinned in the corner again.
00:19:38Klitschko tries to go
00:19:39to work with the right.
00:19:42Straight right off the rope!
00:19:46Right hand trying to punch
00:19:48through the guard.
00:19:49Bird comes back
00:19:49with a left to the bite.
00:19:50We're up!
00:19:51We're up!
00:19:52We're up!
00:19:52We're up!
00:19:52We're up!
00:19:53For some of his opponents,
00:19:54Klitschko's been able
00:19:54to use his overwhelming strength
00:19:56simply to drive punches
00:19:58through the guard.
00:20:00Bird will try to use
00:20:01his elusiveness
00:20:01to obviate that.
00:20:04You get the feeling, Jim,
00:20:06that Bird is trying
00:20:07to get Klitschko
00:20:08to punch more,
00:20:10throw more leather,
00:20:11tire himself out,
00:20:13but Klitschko is fighting
00:20:14a pretty disciplined,
00:20:15well-paced fight.
00:20:17He hasn't gone wild.
00:20:19The body looks to be
00:20:34the only place
00:20:35that Bird can reach
00:20:36so far.
00:20:44And there's a look
00:20:45at the unique elusiveness
00:20:46of Chris Bird
00:20:47as a heavyweight.
00:20:49Adopting positions
00:20:50and body angles
00:20:51in the ring
00:20:51that you just won't see
00:20:53from anybody else
00:20:54in the division.
00:20:55But it's not enough
00:20:57to make a man miss.
00:20:58You've got to make him pay
00:21:00when he misses.
00:21:01You've got to be
00:21:02less than a safety first
00:21:05and safety second fighter.
00:21:07Now Bird's best punch
00:21:08of the fight,
00:21:09a right hand
00:21:10that lands flush
00:21:11to Klitschko's chin.
00:21:12Go!
00:21:12Go!
00:21:12Go!
00:21:12Go!
00:21:13Go!
00:21:13Go!
00:21:14Go!
00:21:14Go!
00:21:14Go!
00:21:15Go!
00:21:15Go!
00:21:16Go!
00:21:16Go!
00:21:16Go!
00:21:17Go!
00:21:18Go!
00:21:18Go!
00:21:19Go!
00:21:20Bird has knocked out
00:21:21bigger men
00:21:22after first frustrating
00:21:24them and exhausting
00:21:26them and perhaps
00:21:27breaking down their will.
00:21:29Jimmy Thunder in Connecticut,
00:21:30the classic case in point.
00:21:31And now Bird
00:21:32mounting more offense
00:21:33in round three.
00:21:34That has been the case
00:21:35up to this point.
00:21:35Go!
00:21:36Go!
00:21:36Go!
00:21:37Go!
00:21:37Go!
00:21:38Go!
00:21:38Go!
00:21:38Go!
00:21:38Go!
00:21:39Go!
00:21:39Go!
00:21:39Go!
00:21:39Go!
00:21:39Go!
00:21:40Go!
00:21:40Go!
00:21:40Go!
00:21:41Go!
00:21:42Go!
00:21:42Go!
00:21:42Go!
00:21:43Go!
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00:21:43Go!
00:21:44Go!
00:21:45Go!
00:21:45Go!
00:21:45Go!
00:21:46Go!
00:21:47Glitchko not yet as aggressive
00:21:49at this stage of the fight
00:21:50as Ibeabuchi was able to be in Tacoma.
00:21:54Once again, Ibeabuchi, the better, more accomplished body puncher.
00:21:59Quickly now, let's look ahead to some upcoming sports programs here on HBO.
00:22:06For boxing, mark these dates on your calendar.
00:22:10April 15, when Fernando Vargas defends his junior middleweight crown against Ike Quarté.
00:22:15May 6, for the premiere of KO Nation, a new boxing series unlike anything you've ever
00:22:21seen before.
00:22:21Then on May 13, Roy Jones, boxing's best pound-for-pound fighter, defends his light heavyweight titles.
00:22:28Also featured, middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins taking on Brian Barbosa.
00:22:33HBO, the heart and soul of boxing.
00:22:35Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel premieres on April 10.
00:22:38Among the stories featured, Tom Osborne for Congress, a look at Nebraska's legendary and
00:22:43former head football coach as we follow him on the campaign trail for Nebraska's upcoming
00:22:48primary.
00:22:49And then on April 17, Sports of the 20th Century presents Bill Russell, My Life, My Way,
00:22:55a documentary which explores the life, philosophies, and principles of one of the most compelling
00:23:00figures ever to play the game of basketball.
00:23:02Byrd says he likes to make a big man look stupid.
00:23:08It gives him a rush.
00:23:09So far, he hasn't had the rush.
00:23:12As round four begins, copy box numbers getting slightly more encouraging for Byrd, who landed
00:23:17six out of 17 power punches in the last round.
00:23:20Six out of 22 for Klitschko.
00:23:22Harold Butterman, how'd you score through the first three?
00:23:24Okay, Jim, I got it 30 to 27, three and nothing by Tali Klitschko.
00:23:28He's landed the biggest shots and winning the rounds, but in round three, Chris Byrd started
00:23:32to show a little offense.
00:23:33You know, really taking it to Klitschko, maybe getting him a little bit frustrated.
00:23:36But Jim, I'll tell you something.
00:23:37This advertising outside the ring is really bothering Chris Byrd.
00:23:40Every time he goes to the ropes, his shoe hits that advertising.
00:23:45It's very typical in Europe, and they really should get rid of it.
00:23:47At the end of the last round, Chris Byrd's brother, Patrick, looked over at me and said,
00:23:59things are going okay.
00:24:00So apparently, the Byrd family feeling is that the plan has a chance of working out.
00:24:06There's Klitschko trying to fire the right hand right up through the guard, and Byrd tries
00:24:10to retaliate immediately with the love.
00:24:11Yep.
00:24:12If Klitschko occasionally looks awkward against Chris Byrd, the expectation is that most heavyweights
00:24:28would.
00:24:30Byrd said, after I lost to Ibe Abuchi, I thought lots of guys would want to fight me.
00:24:36It didn't turn out to be the case.
00:24:38He even went so far as to buy an advertisement in the Las Vegas Review Journal during the
00:24:43week of the Lewis Holyfield match in Las Vegas last fall, asking for quality opponents to
00:24:48fight him.
00:24:50The only response, Jorge Luis Gonzalez.
00:24:53Not what he was looking for.
00:24:55He is a master of escapology.
00:25:10But can you beat a guy in his hometown that way?
00:25:13Second right hand landed flush for Klitschko.
00:25:16But he's having to try to aim those right hands instead of really unleashing them.
00:25:21Now there's another right hand.
00:25:23Byrd takes it pretty well.
00:25:25Yeah, I was surprised how well he took that punch because that was a clean right hand.
00:25:30Klitschko lands one to the body.
00:25:33Byrd's chin holding up pretty well.
00:25:35Byrd landing two more clean punches, a right and a left.
00:25:39Byrd looping over the top.
00:25:42And Klitschko coming up underneath with the right hand.
00:25:44The ticklish part of the plan, clearly for Byrd, he's got to be offensive enough, he's got
00:25:58to attack enough to keep Klitschko from just setting his feet and firing a lift.
00:26:06You know, when you get in there, you've got to run off servers and punches, okay?
00:26:14He's leaning that way.
00:26:15Take him off, y'all.
00:26:15Yeah, but you've got to figure him out.
00:26:17You've got to figure him out.
00:26:18You've got to figure him out.
00:26:19You've got to get in a series of punches there.
00:26:20Don't let him tie you up.
00:26:26Just spit.
00:26:26Just spit.
00:26:27No, no, give me water to spit.
00:26:30Okay, now listen.
00:26:33Listen, listen here.
00:26:35You stand a little too much in front of you.
00:26:37In front of him, okay.
00:26:38Take him in a circle and get his feet crossed up.
00:26:41You've got to take him in a circle.
00:26:45Good right hand right there.
00:26:48Byrd seemed to handle it pretty well.
00:26:50Let's go.
00:26:51Check it out.
00:26:53Let's go, let's go.
00:26:54But in round four, Byrd threw just 28 punches by CompuBox numbers.
00:26:59He's only averaging 25 per round.
00:27:01He's going to have to step up the punch output, or at least to expect so if he's going to win enough rounds in the second half of the fight to have a chance to take home a victory.
00:27:11Byrd believes that with a victory here tonight, he can gain back what he lost in the Abeabuchi fight last year.
00:27:21As for Klitschko, who might not have proven much with a knockout of the well-worn Razor Runner,
00:27:26a victory over Byrd would open a lot of eyes in the States.
00:27:30Well, you never look good against Byrd, win or lose.
00:27:36This is not a sterling performance unless he wins it with a knockout.
00:27:44You can't say that Vitaly Klitschko looks like some unbeatable monster.
00:27:50No, indeed.
00:27:50If he has to scrape his way to a 12-round decision here, as many of us thought was the likely case once Byrd became the opponent,
00:27:57then that will diminish Klitschko.
00:27:59The 27-knocked-out streak will go away.
00:28:03Hard left hand by Byrd.
00:28:04Now, where Byrd did what he's supposed to do, he made him miss, and he made him pay.
00:28:09He'd have heard Byrd's dad telling him, you've got to move in a circle, and you've got to figure him out.
00:28:21Translation, you've got to throw more punches.
00:28:22And now Byrd is doing it.
00:28:25Double left hand, and the second one landed well.
00:28:27And there are a fair number of Byrd Rooters in the crowd.
00:28:40He said to us in the meeting yesterday, after a while, I'll win the crowd over.
00:28:44Well, of course, David's always going to have some Rooters against Goliath.
00:28:50Well, you also have to remember, Jim, that Russians or former Russians are not the favorite people of Berliners.
00:28:57Well, I was in a cab the other day with a lady cab driver, and she said she thought Klitschko was an arrogant Russian.
00:29:22Good left hand by Byrd, as once again, he makes Klitschko miss, and then fires back.
00:29:49Best round yet for Chris Byrd.
00:29:52Whether that means the fight is changing in his direction remains to be seen.
00:29:59But a Byrd rally punctuates the round, and he raises his arms to generate more crowd support as he goes back to his corner.
00:30:08Here we see how Byrd uses that escapology, but he doesn't always come out of it punching.
00:30:16He fights big men like the middleweight he once was.
00:30:25And on this occasion, he does come back after a miss.
00:30:31Two degrees.
00:30:32Two degrees.
00:30:33Two degrees.
00:30:34Hold it.
00:30:38Okay, now, let's keep him busy.
00:30:44Keep him back it up.
00:30:45He can't punch going back.
00:30:46You're right.
00:30:47You're right.
00:30:48You're trying to win.
00:30:49You're trying to win.
00:30:50You're trying to win.
00:30:51Let's go.
00:30:52Let's go.
00:30:53Let's go.
00:30:54Let's go.
00:30:55Let's go, Chris.
00:30:56Let's go.
00:30:57You may have heard Chris Byrd's father say he can't fight back him up.
00:31:02And Byrd said back to him, you try to land that right hand going backwards.
00:31:06So he knows it.
00:31:08Can he stay on the attack, be effective, and not get hit by a big punch?
00:31:15Meanwhile, in Klitschko's corner, German trainer Klitsch Spooner asked him to use more combinations
00:31:24and just to try to land punches, not to try to land with such overwhelming force.
00:31:29Seduna apparently believing that Klitschko is trying to hit the home run when maybe a
00:31:34single or a double will do.
00:31:36Well, Jim, it's like going up against a knuckleball pitcher.
00:31:39You want to hit the ball into the bleachers every time, and that's why good sluggers strike
00:31:45out on those kinds of pitchers.
00:31:47And almost here, George Foreman saying, just land the punch.
00:31:55Just make contact.
00:31:57Don't put everything you have into it.
00:31:59That's what Klitschko's trainer was asking him to do.
00:32:02It's a good thing for Vitaly that he's as fluent in languages as he is because while Seduna, his trainer,
00:32:08speaks to him in German, his brother Vladimir simultaneously speaks to him in love.
00:32:17Round six of what is becoming an interesting heavyweight fight in Berlin, Germany.
00:32:29Between the towering Vitaly Klitschko and the bouncy, elusive, obstreperous Chris Byrd.
00:32:38Here's an example of what Seduna asked for.
00:32:47Just land the punch.
00:32:48He's made a good adjustment to what happened to him in the last round.
00:32:52Chris Byrd's protective cup is loosening in the back.
00:33:11May or may not become a distraction for him, but it could cause a delay at some point.
00:33:17Chris Byrd landed half his punches in the fifth round.
00:33:40In the sixth round, as Larry pointed out, Klitschko making a good adjustment and regaining his momentum in the fight.
00:33:49But it looks like this one just might go the distance.
00:33:55And that would change Klitschko's bargaining power and his market position in the heavyweight division.
00:34:01We are in Berlin tonight with a look at Hotsdamer Platz.
00:34:07During the 20s, the busiest crossroads in all of Europe.
00:34:10Today, one of the most active building areas in the world in this city,
00:34:15festooned with cranes and huge construction machinery.
00:34:18There's as much new building going on here as probably anywhere else in the world,
00:34:23as Berlin becomes an entirely different place and has been the case before in the 20th century.
00:34:29Okay.
00:34:30Your punches are too low.
00:34:31Be careful.
00:34:32Look what Byrd is doing.
00:34:33Okay.
00:34:34Good punches.
00:34:35Keep it calm.
00:34:36Keep it easy.
00:34:38Is that turning?
00:34:40Okay.
00:34:41Keep the distance.
00:34:42Provoke him.
00:34:43Let him calm.
00:34:44Okay.
00:34:45And then answer with a good combination.
00:34:46Okay.
00:34:47Let's go.
00:34:48Second down.
00:34:49Let's go now.
00:34:50Well, as we've told you at the beginning of the evening,
00:35:01last year, Ross Purity, an American veteran, took on Klitschko's little brother, Vladimir,
00:35:07a heavyweight with a record of 32 and one.
00:35:10He exhausted Vladimir and rocked him in a late round.
00:35:15And Vladimir's trainer jumped into the ring and grabbed his fighter, stopping the fight.
00:35:19So that's the only professional loss for either Klitschko.
00:35:22Byrd trying to repeat that same pattern here.
00:35:24Harold, how do you have it through six?
00:35:26Okay, Jim.
00:35:2759, 55, five rounds to one by Tally Klitschko.
00:35:31In round six, he definitely won the round.
00:35:33He kept catching Chris Byrd as Chris moved in.
00:35:36The five was a good Chris Byrd round.
00:35:38But Jim, I'm going to take some puck.
00:35:39The judges.
00:35:40Go there.
00:35:41They're calling time for the tape.
00:35:43Gina Rodriguez is going to make him tighten up that tape.
00:35:45I told you this is going to happen.
00:35:46I told you this is going to happen.
00:35:47But Jim, the judge is definitely seen by Kali Klitschko sucking air.
00:35:51His mouth is wide open.
00:35:53He's definitely starting to tie.
00:35:55He tried round six.
00:35:56So this fight could turn.
00:35:59And this is not incidentally for the protective puck, as I suggested,
00:36:03rather for the tape around the glove.
00:36:06A delay at this point.
00:36:08Probably good for Klitschko for the reasons that Harold just described.
00:36:12You know, when we spoke to Klitschko about his PhD in sports science,
00:36:20we asked him about this notion that a big man has problems with stamina.
00:36:27And he refused to go for it.
00:36:29Said it depends on how you train, whether you pace yourself in the fight, and so on.
00:36:35Well, he's in the laboratory right now to prove it one way or the other.
00:36:4027 previous fights.
00:36:42Vitalik Klitschko has been to the sixth round once,
00:36:45and went to the ninth round against Obed Sullivan.
00:36:48Chris Bird has had 14 fights in his career of greater than six rounds.
00:36:53So you're moving into an area of the fight with which Bird is considerably more familiar.
00:36:59And now Klitschko makes Bird miss with the left hand.
00:37:06Klitschko connecting to this point in the fight at a rate of about 25%.
00:37:10Against all previous opponents, he connected at around the 47% rate.
00:37:14So Bird's elusiveness, a big factor in the fight so far.
00:37:18And if you're wondering about the difference between Bird against the big puncher last year,
00:37:33Ike Ibeahuchi, and against Klitschko this year, one obvious change.
00:37:37Ibeahuchi's just quicker than Klitschko has been able to be here.
00:37:41We have this strange sight of David coming forward and Goliath going backward.
00:37:55You also have to wonder at what point does Klitschko perhaps become frustrated?
00:37:59Pick up his tongue tongue. Pick up his tongue tongue. Pick up his tongue tongue, all right?
00:38:14That's right, that's right.
00:38:20Open my cup a little bit.
00:38:23Take a deep breath, let down slow.
00:38:26You still let him catch you with two minutes.
00:38:29One more drink, one more drink.
00:38:30Quick, quick, quick, quick.
00:38:32It's necessary with punching.
00:38:34Okay, move Vitaly and slip his punches.
00:38:37That was quite a good round.
00:38:39Take a breath, drink a bit.
00:38:41Open your mouth.
00:38:43What's that?
00:38:45Okay, you're controlling. Keep a distance with your left.
00:38:49Okay?
00:38:50Everything okay?
00:38:51Okay.
00:38:52Go for it.
00:38:53Dr. Vitaly Klitschko, Ph.D. in Sport Sciences from Kiev University.
00:39:04First Lieutenant in the Ukrainian Air Force,
00:39:07fourth generates a military man, taking on Chris Bird,
00:39:10who was raised to fight by his father, Joe Bird.
00:39:14He used to set his sons up in an eight-foot square indoor gym
00:39:19in their home in Flint, Michigan.
00:39:25One of Bird's advisors, John Hornauer, came in here tonight,
00:39:28took a look at the small ring and said,
00:39:30well, I guess they didn't know that Chris grew up in an eight-foot ring.
00:39:37And it was there in the eight-foot ring in his house
00:39:40that Bird learned to be invisible while standing still.
00:39:44The Burnell Whitaker of heavyweights, in effect,
00:39:46a man who can stand right in front of you
00:39:49and never be found by a significant clock.
00:39:53That's what he's trying to be.
00:39:59I guess one of the biggest punches in the sport here tonight.
00:40:04But he's throwing his punches tentatively.
00:40:07He's not trying to put any hurt.
00:40:10Serious hurt on Klitschko.
00:40:14He's just hoping, as we said earlier, Jim,
00:40:16that Klitschko will knock himself out.
00:40:19Klitschko lands with a left hook.
00:40:32Bird comes back with two lefts of his own.
00:40:34Klitschko, you can almost see him trying to aim his punches now.
00:40:38Rare body shot from Klitschko.
00:40:43More of those, I think, would help him a lot.
00:40:47Manages to find Bird's head with a sort of half-speed right hand.
00:40:53Now a harder right hand.
00:40:56Bird comes back with a left.
00:40:58Again Klitschko to the body, and this time a big right hand,
00:41:01and Bird comes back with a double left of his own.
00:41:05Kitschko finding the target just a little bit more often now.
00:41:26But you know, he's doing something pretty smart, Klitschko.
00:41:31He's not trying to punch through the target,
00:41:33because it's too hard to do that with Bird.
00:41:36He's punching at the target and calling up points.
00:41:40If the knockout comes, it comes.
00:41:49Do you think there are some sophisticates in the sport, Larry,
00:41:52who would give him just as much credit for an intelligent,
00:41:55well-thought-out decision victory over Bird?
00:41:58Go!
00:41:59As for another big knockout?
00:42:00I got it.
00:42:01I do, too.
00:42:05Let's join us April 10 for the premiere of Real Sports
00:42:08with Brian Gumbel.
00:42:09One of the stories featured female high school wrestler
00:42:12Karisten LaBelle.
00:42:13She not only qualified for the state finals,
00:42:16but did so by wrestling against boys in the 102-pound division.
00:42:20Real sports where nothing is out of bounds.
00:42:33One of the things we've noticed about the German crowd
00:42:35is they are considerably quieter through much of the evening
00:42:39than is the case with American sports crowds of the same size.
00:42:43Right hand followed by a counter left hand by Bird.
00:42:56But Bird just has nothing behind those punches.
00:42:59Fox!
00:43:00He's going to have to hope that Klitschko is exhausted
00:43:04and will go down from one of those feather dusters.
00:43:07Meanwhile, Klitschko threw 81 punches in the eighth round
00:43:11to only 39 for Bird.
00:43:15And unless Bird were a big power puncher, which he's not,
00:43:19it would be difficult for him to win rounds
00:43:22throwing half as many punches as his opponent.
00:43:24But, of course, two of the three judges won the United States.
00:43:30So while you might say, oh, Bird's up against it,
00:43:41going to Berlin to fight Klitschko on what amounts at this point
00:43:44to his home turf, remember that it is Bird who has the advantage
00:43:49of having two of three judges and the referee from his own nationality.
00:43:56Great right hand lands for Klitschko.
00:43:59And a harder right hand for Klitschko.
00:44:02Bird kind of shaking his head as if to say, you can't hurt me.
00:44:06But Bird not firing back as Klitschko targets and targets.
00:44:10And now there's the left hand by Bird.
00:44:13With shocking effect.
00:44:16I think it shocked the crowd.
00:44:18I'm not sure it shocked Klitschko.
00:44:20I think that's what I meant, too.
00:44:22I think Klitschko knows what's coming at this point.
00:44:27천, 천, 천.
00:44:33Oh, my God.
00:44:37Therefore let me go for the cast.
00:44:50Our translator Cornelius Närter telling us now that Klitschko's trainer has said
00:44:52Klitschko's left hand is hurt.
00:44:54extent. But he's still using it and throwing it. And it's the right hand that does the
00:45:01big damage most of the time anyway. Crowd gets excited as Bird counts a rally. Firing
00:45:06three punches in combination. That was Bird's best series of punches about 10 seconds ago.
00:45:14He's flat-footed. Good series to the head and the body.
00:45:19Bird trying to go Klitschko into believing that he had hurt him with the right hand. And
00:45:26now Bird exciting the crowd by landing back and counter. And Klitschko fires a left hook
00:45:31and then comes back with three rights. And Bird stands against the ropes, which he told us
00:45:36he wouldn't do. And there's another right hand landing for Klitschko. And Bird fires back
00:45:44with a left with his own. Crowd loves what Bird is doing. Klitschko minding his business
00:45:50in there. Bird misses with the left. And Klitschko with a glancing right hand.
00:45:59Eight gone 10.
00:46:00So having gotten through the ninth round, that assures us of the longest tour of duty of
00:46:16Vitalik Klitschko's professional career.
00:46:18Okay. Take it easy. Take it easy. Is it hurting?
00:46:24It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's over. We are giving up. It hurts too much. No, it's
00:46:39okay. Don't worry. Wait a minute. They're stopping it. They are. That's exactly what Cordelius
00:46:44Winter just told us. I can't believe what I've just seen.
00:46:47Vitalik Klitschko elects not to go on with his left hand apparently to damage to continue.
00:46:54And Chris Bird gets a victory.
00:46:59Chris Bird taking a fight on 10 days notice. Retrieves a portion of what he lost last year
00:47:07against Aiki Bayabuchi. Vitalik Klitschko stunningly and mysteriously
00:47:13dropping out of a fight in which he appeared, headed toward an easy victory.
00:47:20He doesn't have the mentality of a champion. I can hardly believe what I just saw.
00:47:28You have a bad hand, so what?
00:47:33I couldn't believe my ears when I heard interpreter Cornelius Winter repeating what he heard out
00:47:40of Klitschko's corner, but indeed, it was a perfect interpretation. He was exactly right.
00:47:46Klitschko and his team deciding not to go forward.
00:47:52Incredible.
00:47:54I've never seen anything like that, Jim.
00:47:59I'm speechless, really.
00:48:01All he had to do was survive two more rounds.
00:48:05I mean, he's way, way ahead.
00:48:07All he had to do was stand in there for a few rounds, play defense, and win the fight.
00:48:21We will see the judges' scorecards very shortly and give you an idea of how Klitschko stood in the fight.
00:48:28Right now, let's go to ring announcer Götz Otto for the official particulars on the stunning victory for Chris Byrd.
00:48:37Ladies and gentlemen, the official decision, the new heavyweight champion of the W.O.B.A. is Chris Byrd.
00:48:57There's a buzz at ringside indicating that Vitalik Klitschko may have entered this fight with an injured shoulder.
00:49:18There's a buzz at ringside indicating that Vitalik Klitschko may have entered this fight with an injured shoulder.
00:49:19There's Tracy Byrd.
00:49:20There's Tracy Byrd.
00:49:33It's almost indescribable what's taking place here.
00:49:37You've got to look at the tears in the eyes of Chris Byrd's wife, Tracy, overcome with joy and excitement at the gift which has just been given to her husband.
00:49:52And, of course, you heard the ring announcer describing Byrd as a title holder.
00:49:59The W.O. title.
00:50:00Now Klitschko speaking to the crowd.
00:50:03Ladies and gentlemen, I am terribly sorry.
00:50:07Sorry.
00:50:08I am giving up, but I am going to get back my belt.
00:50:12My shoulder is hurting too much.
00:50:19Let's take a CompuBox profile look at a very strange fight.
00:50:23Overall numbers.
00:50:24Klitschko landing only eight more punches than Byrd while throwing 218 more.
00:50:30The difference in connect percentage follows from there.
00:50:33Total power punches.
00:50:34Byrd landing more than half his power shots.
00:50:3782 out of 163.
00:50:39And perhaps that contributed to Klitschko's frustration as the fight continued.
00:50:43Now Larry with the winner, Chris Byrd.
00:50:46All right.
00:50:47Chris, congratulations.
00:50:49What do you think happened at the end of the fight?
00:50:51I guess the shoulder went out, but I was coming on.
00:50:53You know, I really wanted it.
00:50:55I felt he was outboxing me a bit, but I just kept coming and I wanted it.
00:50:58I pursued it.
00:50:59You think that your activity toward the later rounds is what discouraged him in some way?
00:51:06Yeah.
00:51:07I mean, I fought against Russia 11 times in amateurs.
00:51:09And the last three times I won.
00:51:11And I stopped two of them.
00:51:12And I kept coming.
00:51:13They quit.
00:51:14So I'm not saying he don't have a big heart.
00:51:15But, hey, I think he was up on the scorecard.
00:51:17It was close.
00:51:18I keep fighting.
00:51:19I mean, I fought Ike with separated ribs.
00:51:21Nobody knew about it.
00:51:22And you criticized me, so you know, you called me less than a man.
00:51:24All right, is, is, do you feel that from your experience that the Russians and the Eastern
00:51:30Europeans in general have a different mentality about fighting hurt?
00:51:35Oh, no, no.
00:51:36I'm just saying the ones I fought.
00:51:37I mean, Constance Zoo, I love him.
00:51:39I fought with him in the amateur.
00:51:41He got a big heart.
00:51:42He take it.
00:51:43He keep taking it and keep winning and lost one.
00:51:45But, you know, he's a Russian and the European guys can take it.
00:51:48I mean, he just quit on Sue for some reason.
00:51:50If it was me, if it was all the way around, I'm fighting Ninja.
00:51:52I don't care.
00:51:53What does this mean to you?
00:51:54Oh, it means a lot.
00:51:55I mean, I can get more fights now.
00:51:57And I'm telling all the heavyweights, they don't want to fight me.
00:51:59I mean, this guy is a boxing, a 6'8 boxing guy.
00:52:02Guys like Lewis and Michael Grant, they're coming straight ahead.
00:52:05I make them miss all day.
00:52:06I'm frustrated big man.
00:52:07That's why he started getting on his toes.
00:52:09And then I'm 210 pounds and I start walking him down.
00:52:11What kind of stuff is that?
00:52:12He's 235 pounds, 6'8".
00:52:14That's crazy.
00:52:15Throwing it to the body, throwing it to the head, I want it.
00:52:17And I represent Christ.
00:52:18That's why.
00:52:19The power.
00:52:20What do you think is happening back in Flint when they see this?
00:52:23They're going crazy.
00:52:24But Michigan State got to do it.
00:52:25You know, I hope they won tonight and then they win the title and I won the title.
00:52:29So bring on all the heavyweights.
00:52:31Like I always said, I'll fight any heavyweight in the world any time.
00:52:33Look it.
00:52:34I'm in Berlin.
00:52:35I lost eight pounds since I've been here.
00:52:37I'm 210 pound heavyweight.
00:52:38Blowing no super middle.
00:52:39Man, nobody don't want to fight me.
00:52:40Bring them.
00:52:41This is for Dave Lesage who passed away.
00:52:43Thank you very much.
00:52:44And congratulations again, Chris Byrd.
00:52:47Jim.
00:52:48What a personal reversal.
00:52:50Ten days ago, Chris Byrd was still in the darker reaches of the heavyweight division,
00:52:54preparing to fight Adolfo Washington for $25,000.
00:52:58Now let's go to Larry Merchant with Vitaly Klitschko.
00:53:01Vitaly, what happened?
00:53:02What happened?
00:53:03I'm sorry to all my fighters in Germany and Ukraine.
00:53:12It turned out that I couldn't do this match.
00:53:17After the third round, my left hand was very hard.
00:53:22I was against the left hand.
00:53:23I couldn't beat with one right hand.
00:53:25And with every round, I was stronger than I was at the end of the match.
00:53:30I want to say sorry to all my fans in Germany and the United States.
00:53:36After the third round, I had a problem and I couldn't withstand Southpaw.
00:53:43What was the problem?
00:53:45Did you come into this fight with an injury?
00:53:49We went with a pain.
00:53:54No, there was no injury.
00:54:04There was an old injury, but it didn't inflict on the fight.
00:54:10Was your hand hurt?
00:54:12No, it was the shoulder.
00:54:22And was this a previous injury or did he get it during the fight?
00:54:25It was in the fight.
00:54:34You seem to be way, way ahead in the fight.
00:54:41That all you had to do was survive till the end of the 12th round to win the fight.
00:54:47Why would you give up your title in those circumstances?
00:54:52I couldn't win every round.
00:55:18And win enough points.
00:55:22So you thought you were behind in the fight?
00:55:25Do you think you were behind in the fight?
00:55:30No, no.
00:55:32I saw that I won the fight.
00:55:35I will be healthy in the ring and I will return my title.
00:55:44Shouldn't a prize fighter be able to fight when he's hurt?
00:55:57But would you say that a boxer should be able to fight when he has hurt?
00:56:09I want to do the fight with a normal goal, not to get a mechanism and start with Pilgrim.
00:56:15Better to stay back, lose one win, go back and win.
00:56:20Or start with Pilgrim forever?
00:56:24i don't want to fight and get an injury and and not be able to fight anymore i want to
00:56:29i want to be able to to go back into the ring and fight thank you very much vitale
00:56:36sorry back to you jim italic lichko refusing to acknowledge the point but it remains all
00:56:44he needed to do was stand up for three more rounds he wouldn't have had to throw another punch
00:56:49to win the fight as the judges had it 88 83 89 82 88 83 all for klitschko our unofficial ringside
00:56:59scorer harold letterman also had klitschko winning 88 83 and joining me now at ringside larry merchant
00:57:06larry you said toward the end that you had never seen anything like this but but now i have to
00:57:12remind you that just a few months ago we saw andrew gulata coincidentally or perhaps not so
00:57:18coincidentally another product of the eastern european european socialist sports training regime
00:57:25quit under similar circumstances against michael grant so we have seen something sort of like this
00:57:30before well gulata was ahead in three fights that he found a way to lose but he was getting punished
00:57:38by big men in both of those fights riddick bow in the first two when he was disqualified for low blows
00:57:45and michael grant who knocked him down we didn't see anything tonight that looked anything like that
00:57:52he was never punished in this fight certainly chris bird deserves credit for being a little bit more
00:57:58aggressive than we saw him against abe abuchi for being professional about how he went about his work
00:58:05even he was in some discomfort because of coming over here and and not eating the proper foods etc and he
00:58:13stayed in there that's the first duty of a real professional fighter and certainly of a champion
00:58:18maybe the difference jim is that klitschko got his phd in sports science from a university instead of
00:58:29from the school of hard knocks does bird gain a new foothold in the division as the result of this kind
00:58:35of a win he gained some kind of a photo he'll make some money and that's good he's a good kid he tries
00:58:41hard he's a little guy trying to go up against the giants and so forth and so on but i mean overall
00:58:48i didn't think it was a very impressive performance by him it's great that he won the fight and so on
00:58:55but i don't think he's a serious factor among the serious heavyweights out there incidentally the wbo
00:59:03the organization for which bird now holds a world title lists as its number one contender a fellow named
00:59:08mike tyson the supposed mandatory challenger and we don't expect to see that fight incidentally
00:59:14we told you earlier that we would show you a look at vitale klitschko's younger brother vladimir the
00:59:191996 olympic gold medalist in the super heavyweight division this is his recent knockout victory in a
00:59:25rematch against the guy he beat for the gold medal a much more fluid fighter than his brother but like
00:59:31his brother in his only defeat he had some adversity and he said good night i'll see you next time i don't
00:59:38get it both of them will have something to prove as they go back to work in the future well this was
00:59:45just the beginning of a big month of boxing on our three time warner boxing channels so let's look ahead
00:59:52now to the upcoming fights on hbo's world championship boxing boxing after dark tvko and ko nation
01:00:02coming up this month hbo and tvko combined to bring you two exciting title bouts showcasing four of the
01:00:08top fighters in the world on april 15 fernando vargas defends his junior middleweight title against
01:00:14former welterweight champion ike quarte fernando vargas at 21 years old is a world champ in a division
01:00:21exploding with talent 154 pound champ vargas searches for the defining fight which could catapult
01:00:27his career toward greatness a win might set up a future unification bout with felix trinidad
01:00:33for quarte it's been 14 months since his razor-thin defeat against oscar de la oil the african warrior
01:00:39once again attempts to upset a rising superstar this time one weight class farther north obviously
01:00:44this fight is a step to the next level it's a mega fight it's a signature fight for me you know i
01:00:51live and i sleep and i think about iquarte i'm ready for a tough fight but um you know iquarte better
01:00:58be ready for one too he's young in experience he hasn't fought nobody he hasn't beat to a war the round
01:01:02robin is beginning much as it was in the 80s with the great welterweights there and it's great for boxing
01:01:08is great for them because of what they can what they can gain this uh fight is against a a true
01:01:13astic warrior against a a true african uh warrior we'll see what warrior stands up at then vargas
01:01:20versus sparte april 15 on hbo two weeks later 13 feet and 500 fighting pounds collide when lennox lewis
01:01:28defends the unified heavyweight title against michael grant i'm confident to tell you that i'm gonna knock
01:01:33him out i'm confident to tell you that the fight definitely won't go the distance i don't think he can
01:01:37come against me in any fashion whether it's speed movement on power i rate superior the michael grant
01:01:44track will see a new aggressive lennox lewis i think unlike we have seen in many fights grant
01:01:51is an imposing physical specimen six feet seven inches 250 pounds factor in his dangerous right
01:01:57hand and some possible lewis overconfidence and it could add up to one thing a new heavyweight champion
01:02:03i don't think his fuel is is fierce enough i don't think the determination is there enough
01:02:10but uh i know for april 29th he will have a lot to worry about mike come over to my house he said d
01:02:16they're dissing me man i said well he said i might kill this guy in the ring he said because they just
01:02:24disrespected me and i don't like it the battle of the giants happens april 29 at madison square garden
01:02:31live on tv ko pay-per-view from hbo when may rolls around get ready for something different
01:02:40the premiere of hbo's rocking new boxing series ko nation
01:02:52quite a month of boxing larry your comments first on vargas quartet vargas had a near-death experience
01:02:58against the underrated winky wright he claimed it was because of distractions from his family problems
01:03:06etc he's got to prove that that was true lewis grant the heavyweight championship fight on tv ko
01:03:13jim there are no young americans out there who can carry forward the great american tradition of
01:03:20heavyweights except michael grant can he bring the heavyweight championship back to america and our new
01:03:27telecast here at hbo ko nation you were promoting the show with your t-shirt at the last boxing after
01:03:33dark show tell us all about it we hope that the uh the shows will be as good as the t-shirt jim
01:03:40it's important in trying to uh stimulate interest in boxing among young people and also in filling the
01:03:47weekend afternoon vacuum that has existed for a number of years which was once an important part
01:03:53of the food chain and boxing and developing and showing and building followings for fighters part of
01:04:00the attraction of course just when you think you've seen everything in this sport you get a night like
01:04:05tonight we'll have a final word on what happened here in the ring in just a moment right now let's
01:04:09look ahead to some upcoming programs here on hbo so let's look ahead now to the upcoming fights
01:04:16on hbo's world champion void of any explosive or memorable action between quiz bird and vitalik
01:04:22klitschko klitschko overwhelmingly favored to win mysteriously quit on his stool after the ninth round
01:04:29claiming a shoulder injury and stepping away from a fight which he clearly had won and would have
01:04:37prevailed on a decision if he had only stood up for three more rounds coming up immediately after
01:04:42tonight's coverage of boxing after dark stage producer of hbo sports is ross greenberg
01:04:47tonight's telecast of boxing after dark was produced by rick bernstein and directed by mark payton the
01:04:53feature producer was matt boland the associate directors greg backer and thomas erdelfeld the
01:04:58assistant to the producer thomas huffine the production manager was john mccalli the technical
01:05:04supervisor bob hunter and the technical director was dennis stone
01:05:34producer of hbo sports is rick bernstein and westboro府ak
01:05:43rooster evangium
01:05:46roosterous
01:05:52roosterous
01:05:56roosterous
01:05:57This has been a presentation of HBO Sports, the network of champions.
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