- 2 months ago
Heavyweight contender Wladimir Klitschko faces Monte Barrett on HBO Boxing from London, England.
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00:00Next on HBO, from London, England, the king of boxing, Lennox Lewis, puts his crown on the line against Franz Bota.
00:06First, a showcase for the younger Klitschko, Vladimir, against Monty Barrett, then Lewis against the white buffalo, Franz Bota.
00:13Heavyweight championship boxing.
00:14You're going to see two heavyweight champions fighting.
00:29One is the phony and one is the real one, and it's going to be easy to distinguish who is the phony.
00:35Sports of the 20th Century presents Allie Frazier 1, One Nation, Divisible, coming in August on HBO.
00:44It's not TV. It's HBO.
00:49Exhilarating, hard-hitting, unbeatable.
00:53HBO Sports.
00:59And now, the HBO Sports presentation.
01:03World Championship Boxing.
01:14The following is a special presentation of HBO Sports, the network of champions.
01:29Seven years ago, Lennox Lewis was knighted, the first British heavyweight champion in 100 years.
01:35We have a great new heavyweight.
01:39His fourth defense was to be another crowning moment, defending the title on English soil for the first time.
01:45But Lewis's bright potential was unexpectedly snuffed out that night by an American commoner.
01:51A new heavyweight champion of the world.
01:55From that loss, Lewis vowed not to return home to fight until he regained the heavyweight throne.
02:02His comeback ran coast to coast in America.
02:04But the campaign was also marred by some strange and unsatisfying moments.
02:17It's a bizarre scene.
02:19He's crying in his corner.
02:21It was a weird way to reclaim a belt.
02:23And it did nothing for Lewis's reputation.
02:26Until he finally forced a battle to unify the division.
02:29And cautiously dominated Evander Holyfield, en route to a fiercely disputed draw.
02:35Lennox Lewis has just been robbed of the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world.
02:41The official coronation came eight months later in the rematch.
02:45And this spring, Lewis overpowered Michael Grant, the division's heir apparent.
02:50Lennox's finest hour.
02:53Tonight, six years after his one humiliating London loss and 13 road battles later,
02:59Lennox Lewis's mission is complete.
03:01He has brought the heavyweight crown home to London one more time.
03:06Let's go.
04:55George Foreman, because he held the heavyweight title twice in his long and incredible career.
04:59And, George, sometimes we see somebody win a championship, as Lewis won a unified championship last year, and they step up and seem to get better.
05:09With more to protect, they fight even harder.
05:11Do you see that in Lennox even as he approaches age 35?
05:14Yeah, he's been here before.
05:15Been there, done that.
05:16And some bad things happening.
05:18Sometimes you can overestimate or underestimate your opponents, undertrain, overtrain.
05:22Lennox Lewis could be one of the best of all time if he can continuously learn how to fight a shorter opponent.
05:29Tonight he's in against one who's not as tall, where you can aim as good, who could give him a hard shot.
05:34But if things shine well for him today, greatness may be around the corner.
05:39I don't know.
05:40We'll see about that later on this evening in the main event, where some of us think Lewis has much to worry about against the cutie, Bota.
05:46But first, a chance to showcase a possible challenger in Vladimir Klitschko.
05:51And, of course, working with us, as always, HBO Boxing analyst Larry Merchant.
05:54Larry, you and I were scathingly critical of Klitschko's older brother, Vitaly, another possible contender,
06:02when earlier this year in Berlin, he dominated the first eight rounds of a fight against Chris Byrd
06:07and then wound up giving the fight away with a shoulder injury.
06:11Vladimir's only loss was somewhat similar in the sense that against American veteran Ross Purity, he dominated the early rounds.
06:18Then when he ran into trouble, he seemed to back off and give the fight away.
06:23Shall we question Vladimir's fortitude just as we did his older brothers?
06:28If you judge prize fighters the way you judge horses by bloodlines, he would be suspect.
06:35But I think that Vladimir, the kid brother, deserves a serious look as a potentially serious heavyweight,
06:44because he did win an Olympic gold medal at the age of 20.
06:48He's still only 24.
06:50And he's scored nine straight knockouts since that loss.
06:54The question is, is the kid from Kiev chicken Kiev or beef stroganoff?
07:03Stroganoff as in strong enough.
07:06Well, we'll find out as Klitschko gets ready to come into the ring against a good veteran pro in Monty Barrett.
07:12Tail of the tape now.
07:14And you can see that Barrett, the former New York City all-city football player, is 29 years old,
07:20gives up two inches in height to Klitschko, who looks taller than 6'5", but is listed at that height.
07:26One and a half inch reach advantage for Klitschko against the long-armed Barrett.
07:30And Vladimir outweighs Monty by 23 pounds.
07:33Rules of the bout with our unofficial ringside scorer, Harold Letterman.
07:36The Vladimir Klitschko-Monty Barrett fight is scheduled for ten rounds, non-title,
07:42using the rules of the British border box of control.
07:45Only the referee will decide the winner.
07:47There are no judges.
07:48There is no three-knockdown rule.
07:50Only the referee can stop the fight,
07:52and you can be saved by the bell in the tenth and final round only.
07:56Jim.
07:57Jim.
07:58Jim.
07:59Jim.
08:00Jim.
08:01Jim.
08:02Jim.
08:03Jim.
08:04Jim.
08:05Jim.
08:06Jim.
08:07Jim.
08:08Jim.
08:09Jim.
08:10Jim.
08:11Jim.
08:12Jim.
08:13Jim.
08:14Jim.
08:15Jim.
08:16Jim.
08:17Jim.
08:18Jim.
08:19Jim.
08:20Jim.
08:21Jim.
08:22Jim.
08:23Jim.
08:24Jim.
08:25Jim.
08:26out of gas lost all of the last four rounds and lost a split decision that's the only loss on his
08:34record he's exactly the kind of fighter who could pop into contenders and he could score an upset
08:46over vladimir here and steal the spotlight 23 wins one loss 14 ko's for the boxer monty barrett
08:56the story of the klitschko's we've told you before born in the ukraine
09:09their father was a colonel in the soviet air force both vitally and vladimir were raised and
09:17conditioned to be athletes and eventually to become boxers and as larry has already told you
09:23vladimir won the super heavyweight gold medal in atlanta against kaya wolfram of ponga
09:31and that gold medal of jim now resides in a museum in kiev in the ukraine a museum with a room
09:40devoted exclusively to the klitschko's only one loss to the american veteran ross purity 33 victories 31
09:49ko's in his last performance against david bastis he was devastating let's go to michael buffer for
09:55the official introductions ladies and gentlemen from london arena panics promotions and main events
10:02in association with the sports network and hbo present the co-featured match of the evening
10:09brought to you this first belt in association with the universal promotions and cedric kushner promotions
10:14this belt is sanctioned by the british boxing board of control your man in charge of the action as
10:20referee who also scores the contest as the sole judge should it go the distance is richie davies
10:27and now ladies and gentlemen 10 rounds of boxing in the heavyweight division
10:36introducing first fighting out of the blue corner he weighed in at 15 stone 10 and three quarter pounds or
10:43221 pounds wearing a leopard trunks he brings a professional record to the ring consisting of
10:4924 bouts that's 23 victories including 14 knockouts with only one defeat from queens new york usa
10:58presenting monty two guns
11:06and his opponent across the ring fighting out of the red corner wearing blue trend with yellow his weight
11:1217 stones six and one quarter pounds or 244 pounds he's wearing blue with yellow and his professional
11:20record consists of 34 bouts 33 victories including 31 by knockout with only one defeat he's a former
11:28olympic gold medalist who now holds the european title it's not on the line tonight ladies and gentlemen from
11:35kiev ukraine the european heavyweight champion vladimir klitschko
11:56okay fellas you've both had your instructions in the dress rooms give me a good clean contest good luck to
12:00you both shake hands vladimir klitschko claims that prize fighting is an art form
12:09money barrett intends to show him that it is also a
12:13heart form one of barrett's big arguments on behalf of himself here is that he sparred
12:19with lennox lewis in the weeks leading up to this fight and he figures hey
12:23my experience with lewis is going to make klitschko seem a little bit easier what do you think about
12:28that george is it good to spar with the champion of the world or does it reduce you a little bit
12:33because you're really working for him yeah it does reduce you a little bit sometimes but but it all
12:39depends on the mannerism in which you go into camp you gotta believe that you're the champ sparring
12:43with another champ right clearly so did you ever give tips and pointers to sparring partners i really
12:49did but a lot of times there's a tip for a stay out of my way
12:51but i did spar with sonny liston and who was very cruel and i had to learn to defend myself
12:59and occasionally i would get him not much
13:06barrett is better stay out of harm's way by moving left and right
13:11a lot of me his job is to just get that power out don't try to be a boxer never show anyone that you're
13:17a good boxer go for the knockout well barrett said that he would try to step up inside vladimir's jab
13:23and he acknowledged he said i can't stay on the outside be at the end of his power and have a chance
13:28to win so far he's not made any real effort to get inside yeah well you do you place yourself
13:33certain inches away from the man about two two steps and just stay there it's not about
13:41jumping back and just standing out of range but stay close don't jump in and out stay close left
13:47and right though hard left hand by vladimir down goes barrett first time in barrett's career that he's
13:56been knocked down and you get a taste of vladimir's power that was about a six inch little left hook
14:05that's what you want to do you don't want to demonstrate any boxing technique show these people
14:09that you can hit boy an early knockout over a fighter like barrett would be a confidence builder
14:14for glitzko and monte still has not recovered from that little left hook he was just right in range
14:22if it's a little close you got to stay and don't get any farther away from that power
14:27a lot of me i need room
14:28if the bout were to go the distance the big idiosyncrasy here in great britain is
14:39in a non-title fight like this one there are no judges and only the referee scores the fight
14:45does that make any difference at all to the fighters george it makes a lot of difference
14:48because one man can see things one way and three can see it a little differently that knockdown could
14:54help this judge from this point on thinking this guy's beating him one knockdown could change the
15:00amount of one man but not three judges so it makes the fighter a little more nervous about
15:03i would be extremely nervous the one thing that's very obvious here is how well coordinated
15:11klitschko is compared to his brother compared to most big guys the way he throws short punches
15:17he caught barrett with another left hook there and then a right hand now barrett is trying to
15:23come back with guns blazing he's going to make it out of the round but it was a wobbly first for
15:28monty barrett at the hands of vladimir klitschko
15:34keep moving the head side to side water please keep moving the head side to side all right the jab is
15:40working perfect just keep stepping into the jab all right here we go
15:42every time you get hard all right don't move back straight that's why you got caught and keep
15:50that i tell you keep your hands up that left that right hand came down
16:04they were at very close quarters breaking it was a clean punch the referee was not in there
16:11uh the referee had not separated them they had separated themselves a very a terrific left hook
16:21did the job harold you got something yeah jim you know something we don't have the referee uh microphone
16:33with a mic on because the british practicing border control won't let you i think the referee may have
16:37yell break i mean i think he hit him on a break there was no question they were tied up and a
16:42referee doesn't have to step in all he's got to do is yell stop step back give us a give us a back
16:47and klitschko hit him with a left hook that was a sucker punch if i have a small one yeah well
16:51the sucker was was barrett because he didn't have his guard up give us a break harold
17:01george you're always talking about how big fighters tall fighters
17:05need to fight tall and take advantage of their stature amen no better said does vladimir do it
17:10vladimir should stay tall use his jab don't even put his head down in the range of barrett
17:16that's when the trouble can start keep your head see his head is even with his shoulder now
17:21his head should always be where it's supposed to be away from the action keep your fist in there and
17:27your head away barrett starting more aggressively here on the second round
17:33and he survived the first round by moving inside after klitschko was able to hurt him from the outside
17:39so you heard eddie mustafa muhammad doing nothing to try to diminish barrett's confidence saying
17:44move your head side to side stick your jab this isn't all that bad let me tell you he is still
17:49still and recuperating from that left hook that he received earlier
17:56body shot vladimir goes down to one knee referee rules it a slip
18:03barrett does better when he put his head right on latemir's chest keep it there
18:07try to find his chest as joe frazier would say
18:11keep it right on his chest takes a certain bravery doesn't it
18:14it's easy because the bigger man wants room he's not protecting his chest
18:26there's that quick left hook as they step back away from each other again
18:30vladimir is accurate with that left hook and he has a good right hand also
18:34all right so you heard the disagreement between larry and uh harold about that
18:39left hook and whether vladimir hit on the break what's your take george
18:42i agree with larry this time the guy had his hand out there he stepped back and he
18:46dropped his hand and got count hey the last thing the referee says is protect yourself at all
18:51times it wasn't a dirty shot at all may not may not have been a good shot but it wasn't dirty
19:00round two coming to a close look at that power that's the kind of power you don't want to be hit with
19:05a close look at that power and he's bringing it right on him in front row
19:08forward put your side put your side bowler put your side
19:14marron is actually able to extend klitschko into the third he's the first
19:16klitschko opponent in the last five fights to make it out of
19:19the first two rounds that's how hot vladimir has been coming in head is on his chest that
19:25here it just stays right on ladeimir's chest as we go to klitschko's corner where they speak
19:40german our translator is stan kleipo
19:43be careful you have to hit him first you sometimes you wait too long you let him come
20:00and he bends down and then he's right there you have to hit a right hook upwards
20:05left right hook left right hook combination
20:16from the side you have to move and move backwards take a step back
20:28interesting copy box number from round number two a very conservative vladimir klitschko threw
20:33only 20 punches in the second round monty barrett landing 13 of 44 so if officials were looking
20:39for an early round to give to barrett they had their chance in the second
20:47now barrett is fighting a proper fight stay low if you're lower anyway get even lower
20:52make your man drop his head down to your height rather than trying to get up to his height
20:58let him go barrett come on take the old down when no action when there isn't any action at all
21:02stay keep your head on the shoulder third time that klitschko has wrapped barrett with a left hook
21:07as they stepped out of a clinch obviously it's a move he's polished he's so quick with that left
21:16and he wobbles barrett again
21:17right
21:22right apparently is trying to make this uh an ugly street fight feeling that
21:30klitschko is your basic stand up european good left hook to the body by barrett that time
21:37the first time he's aiming into the body
21:39barrett promised that he would get to clip klitschko's ribcage eddie mustafa muhammad barrett's
21:49trainer quite forceful on the point that he felt like eastern european fighters klitschko included
21:57generally lack heart if you punish them to the body they'll eventually wear down
22:01right as the judge said earlier that vladimir is trying to sucker punch him you better protect
22:07yourself at all times you back away unprotected he's going to get you
22:20now if barrett leans in like this and keeps his head against vladimir's chest he's safe
22:25and the fight gets more and more and on and on you frustrate the big guy then you start out boxing
22:30but strength and conditioning will become an issue for barrett because he's got a huge man
22:34leaning all over him oh you start to burn out you start breathing and there's no oxygen
22:40also it becomes an almost unwatchable fight guys
22:46klitschko almost landed a right hand now he lands the left hook again
22:51barrett gets back inside and whacks away to klitschko's ribcage
22:54and he's going to throw his hook and throw it as soon as he throws his hook try to throw it at the
23:04same time there's a welt underneath the right eye
23:09little elbow fight klitschko of uh barrett
23:13klitschko is doing a little elbow in here yeah he did he hit him with the right elbow
23:17and he could make the case that he didn't have room to do anything else
23:20oh but he's uh he's one of those kind of fighters
23:26so the fight gets a little bit uglier minute by minute round three concludes nine years ago
23:33when it was a game brought sports fans a perspective on baseball never seen before
23:38color home movies interwoven with stories of the days when baseball truly was
23:43a game in the tradition of when it was a game one and two hbo and sports of the 20th century proudly
23:48present when it was a game three as we take a retrospective look back at the 60s the last
23:54decade really in which baseball players were indentured servants to the lords of the game
24:00premiering this monday night at 10 o'clock pm eastern and pacific time
24:04right here's the right hand around bring the left hook up to the top
24:08come on let's move me down for the guards on okay all right jab jab jab sit don't tie yourself up
24:13let your hands go to the body now let your hands go inside here's a drink here's a drink
24:22it's gonna work baby barrett said that after his fight with mount whitaker his seven-year-old
24:28daughter asked him where was your uppercut daddy she may be asking that right now
24:37harold how do you have it school okay jim i got a two to one 29 27 vladimir klitschko
24:44simply because you know he deserves an extra point to that knock down in the first round
24:47suck a punch or not but you know monkey barrett's starting to get to him and vladimir's starting to
24:52slow up you got to watch vladimir's right hand at every clinch
24:59barrett turning it into a little bit more of a street fight that's what he wants
25:05klitschko indeed has slowed down offensively through 20 punches in round two only through 26 in round
25:11three by copy box numbers that's very low punch output for an active athletic heavyweight like vladimir
25:17but barrett is crowding him clinching holding so far klitschko's most effective punch has been the left
25:27hook this course doing a little taunting himself come on he's telling barrett come on he's a street
25:35fighter also hard right hand punch to the midsection by barrett let's go trying to push monte off of him
25:43and monte who was of course a great tackler as an all-city linebacker in new york
25:48holding vladimir all the way around the waist with both hands there for a moment
25:53you got to stay close you got to stay close with you barrett
25:57vladimir has got to start opening up the more confidence that barrett get
26:02the more he can rain on his parade oh what a left hook to the back by vladimir
26:06and barrett fires his own right to the body and an elbow
26:10a lot of men throw the left to the body and elbow to the hip
26:17that's what you want to do hook with the hooker make him afraid to hook
26:23down goes barrett again on a close in left hook by klitschko
26:29it was also a right hand that looked like it landed on the neck or the back and maybe even the back of
26:34the neck but it's an official knockdown the judge did not even wipe off barrett's glove
26:40so just just missed connecting flush with a giant left hook he got caught with one
26:46himself he got caught with the counter right that's right
26:55barrett has been down twice first two knockdowns of his career
27:00it's doubtful that klitschko has ever been in this kind of a brawl
27:03And he's handling it pretty well.
27:07Yeah, he's mastering the art of holding and hitting.
27:09I'll tell you that.
27:11If Lennox Lewis held a hit against Michael Grant in New York,
27:13Klitschko's done it two or three times here.
27:15This is as far from being an art for him
27:18as he calls boxing as he can be.
27:20Klitschko is a power puncher,
27:22and he should concentrate on nothing but power.
27:24Throw that jab, dig in with hook.
27:29Another big round for Klitschko
27:30as he deposits Barrett on his trunks one more time.
27:33Deep breath, deep breath, deep breath.
27:35Two knockdowns in the first four rounds.
27:37Nice and relaxed.
27:38Nice and relaxed.
27:39Nice and relaxed.
27:40How are we feeling?
27:45Okay, Martin.
27:46Because there's so much wrestling going on here,
27:49we see what Klitschko is doing as he holds right in here
27:54with one arm, much as Lennox Lewis did
27:58in his last knockdown of Michael Grant.
28:02That's something that big guys happen to do.
28:08It wasn't that the left-handed, look, George,
28:11was the one that did it.
28:12The right hand just sort of sent him on his way.
28:16Whoa.
28:17And held him steady for the left.
28:21He either knew how to hold and hit before he came in
28:23or he mastered it all at once.
28:25Maybe it's just an occupational hazard
28:27for these real big guys fighting short of guys, George.
28:30Yeah, you find yourself with them under your arm all the time.
28:33And you think, you get irritated and just try to push him,
28:36and you say, I'm just going to hit him.
28:40That Latimer throws nothing but leather.
28:42When it's coming, it's powerful.
28:44If you don't set your defense, he's going to hurt you,
28:47even if your gloves are in the way.
28:49You got to stay close and keep charging.
28:52Latimer lifting Barrett with just a little uppercut.
28:59He's so strong.
29:03One of the things that's noticeable to me, George,
29:07is that Barrett is having to put out much more energy.
29:10Too much energy.
29:11And that he looks already worn in this fight.
29:16Right cross landed after the left hook.
29:19Barrett wobbles one more time.
29:22Barrett trying to get inside and hold
29:24so that Klitschko can't have free reign
29:27to fire those power shots.
29:29Barrett has used most of his...
29:31Most of his energy just struggled.
29:33Another right cross lands.
29:35Barrett holding on to stay up.
29:43Referee warning Klitschko about holding and hitting.
29:46That's...
29:47That's justified, but I wonder whether it's justified
29:51to warn Barrett about holding so much.
29:55Usually the guy who's taking most of the punishment
29:58is less likely to get warned.
30:02Barrett has spent his energy just holding and holding on.
30:08Barrett may have a tough time making it through
30:10the last minute and 20 of this round.
30:12He has taken some thunderous shots in this round.
30:14And he's had to muscle this big guy around,
30:17pushing with a bull or something.
30:20Let's see if Klitschko can maximize his opportunity here
30:23in the last minute of the fifth
30:25against an obviously stove-in Monty Barrett.
30:29Barrett.
30:34Uppercut.
30:35Uppercut missed.
30:37Left hook inside.
30:38Barrett holding the whole time.
30:39Let's go. Let's go up, Klitsch.
30:44Barrett's corner told him to move his head left and right.
30:47Standing with his head straight up.
30:49And it's just target practice with the left hook.
30:52Vladimir so quick with the left hook lead, George,
30:55he just rips it right through.
30:58He hits in the chest.
30:59Boom! Another left hook.
31:01And again, Barrett holds to stay up.
31:04And finally goes down.
31:06And is the referee going to rule that a knockdown?
31:08I don't think he's going to rule that a knockdown, but...
31:11He could have.
31:12But Barrett just went down from fatigue, it looked like.
31:17Well, and the dizziness from those left hooks.
31:20And he's tired.
31:23Going to make it out of the round.
31:24Good body shot.
31:26That's a Franz Bota kind of a body shot, you know?
31:29I lurch here.
31:30I'm coming over there.
31:32Yeah.
31:33That was very good.
31:34That was very good.
31:35Breathe, breathe, breathe, calmly.
31:46He's finished, he's finished.
31:48Just be careful at the beginning of the round.
31:50And work on your job.
31:52And from the right, from the right.
31:54And then the right hook.
31:57And then he moves right into it.
31:59You have to lift your hands, go.
32:01All right, you're telling me you're okay,
32:02but you ain't doing nothing.
32:03Now, we're behind.
32:04Big time.
32:05All right?
32:06We're behind big time.
32:07All right?
32:08Take a drink.
32:09Turn your hands a little, son.
32:10Just know some punches.
32:11He's deaf.
32:12The left hook has been the most effective weapon for Klitschko,
32:15and he doubles up on there.
32:17You don't see big guys doing that sort of thing.
32:20Can I call this?
32:21I don't know that I've ever seen Lennox Lewis throw a double left hook.
32:25You see a little less holding, Monty.
32:30Certainly not that naturally.
32:34You know what I loved yesterday, George?
32:36Vladimir Klitschko was so excited to have you in his hotel room.
32:40He was like a four-year-old who had just met Santa Claus for the first time.
32:43I mean, this guy is so innocent.
32:45He was like, wow, George Foreman came to my room.
32:48Well, guess what, Vladimir?
32:49Next year, you might fight for the title that George held twice.
32:52And he may just win it.
32:54Ha-ha.
32:56Only he can use his left jab.
32:59He's a taller guy, and he's standing there waiting for big punches.
33:01Lands the right hand.
33:03Not quite as big as he wanted to.
33:05Merritt holds on and then comes back with an uppercut.
33:08Now, when you see when he jabs, it's just he's too superior.
33:11Keep that left jab out there. Use your height.
33:14Throw your right to the left when you see an opening.
33:17Break!
33:18Klitschko said that since he lost to Ross Purity,
33:22when basically he just hit the wall and knocked himself out,
33:26with some help from Purity, he's learned to pace himself.
33:30He'll go for his opportunities, and so we wonder,
33:34has he paced himself?
33:35Is he going to run out of gas in the ninth or tenth round
33:38if it goes that far?
33:39Is that what keeps Barrett going,
33:41trying to stay in this fight to see if he caves in?
33:45Incidentally, a moment ago, he double left hook to go.
33:48Throw himself out.
33:49Well, I'm...
33:50Bring it down, man.
33:51On the east next line.
33:53East next line.
33:55East next.
33:57See, throwing a left hook should be like ice skating.
34:00One foot, then the next foot.
34:02If you throw a double left hook, left hook,
34:04the right shoulder has to come in play
34:06to be able to make an accurate left hook again.
34:08What he does, he dips, he throws a left hook, dip his shoulder,
34:11and then throws another left hook.
34:13Everything is one-two.
34:15You just don't see the other action.
34:17Everything...
34:18Torking from the waist with every left-hand shot, right?
34:19Yeah, but it has to be one-two, left-right,
34:21whether you see the right or not.
34:23And that's what a lot of them have.
34:25Excellent balance to dip his shoulder
34:27right off the left hook and do it again.
34:29Don't you think the hardest thing to do offensively, George,
34:32is to generate real power off the front foot that way?
34:35I mean, people can throw crosses from the back foot
34:37and put power into them.
34:39But to be able to master the technique
34:40of making somebody hurt from the front foot is...
34:44Well, you don't really want to do it with your front foot.
34:46You want to stand there and grip the floor with that right foot
34:49and spin that left foot.
34:51Spin it.
34:52Spin it.
34:53Grip the floor and spin that left foot.
34:59Barrett missing with an overhand shot.
35:02Klitschko's pace slowing again in round six
35:05after a big output in round five.
35:08Klitschko's inability to do more in this round
35:11after Barrett was so hurt
35:14suggests that he may be getting a little tired himself.
35:17Yeah, exactly.
35:18Suggests that stamina is still a question mark for him.
35:26Yeah.
35:27Barrett's got his head right on the guy's chest.
35:30St. Paul's Cathedral.
35:43Home to so many unforgettable state occasions here in Great Britain.
35:49Not to be confused with St. Paul's Church in Covent Garden
35:52where Lennox Lewis and France both weighed in
35:54for this fight three days ago.
35:59So they weighed in over in that Westminster area.
36:02Covent Garden not too far away from there.
36:05But the fight is farther east over in what we call Old London.
36:09Punches in round six.
36:10Klitschko, 22 out of a moderate 37.
36:12And be careful.
36:13When he's hit, he answers back. Be careful.
36:16You might catch a glimpse, incidentally,
36:31of Vitaly Klitschko, older brother,
36:33leaning in behind Vladimir.
36:35Neither brother has ever missed the other's fight.
36:40They're totally loyal to each other.
36:43And, of course, the commonly expressed goal
36:45is that they both win heavyweight championships
36:48in this world of multiple titles.
36:50They can do that.
36:51Harold, how do you have it through six?
36:53Okay, Jim.
36:54I got a 5-3, 59-52.
36:56Vladimir Klitschko, no question about this one.
36:59Certainly, in the fifth round,
37:01you had to give Vladimir an extra point
37:03because he won it so big without a knockdown.
37:05Monty Barrett just hasn't been able to really get in
37:07some hard shots since early in the fight.
37:09I mean, Vladimir doing all the damage.
37:11He's winning his fight
37:12on clean, effective, hard punching.
37:16Vladimir has allowed Barrett to get back into the fight.
37:18He got his confidence up,
37:20throwing left and right, moving forward.
37:22He's the aggressor.
37:23That's what you don't want.
37:25Yeah, indeed, because if you've seen
37:28either Klitschko brothers' lone loss,
37:31in other words, if you saw Vladimir losing to Ross Purity,
37:34or if you saw Vicali losing to Chris Byrd,
37:37then you might look at this fight to say,
37:38Barrett's got him right where he wants him.
37:42He's lost all or most of the first seven rounds.
37:45He's been thoroughly dominated.
37:47Klitschko's done most of the work,
37:49and that's the kind of fight that each brother has lost once.
37:52And Barrett is truly the aggressor at this point.
37:55Once the exchange is thought, he ends up charging more.
37:58Break!
37:59Right back clean, both of you.
38:00Right back!
38:01Right back!
38:02Right when you're talking.
38:03Be at yourself, right?
38:04Stand up!
38:05A couple of rounds ago,
38:06Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and Jimmy Glenn in Barrett's corner
38:09said to their fighter,
38:10well, you're way behind, just try to throw some punches.
38:14And it seems as though he listened to him.
38:16He's released his hands more in the last couple of rounds.
38:19And Barrett now throws one jab and waits.
38:23Eased off on the power shots.
38:27This should be a reason for Barrett to attack more.
38:30Ooh, what a good right hand.
38:32And another.
38:33That was a slap, but that first one, boy, it hurt.
38:37If only he would just keep that power coming.
38:43And Barrett down this time, it was a right cross.
38:49And there's a spurt of blood from the right eye of Monty Barrett,
38:53who got crushed on that little right cross as he was coming in.
38:57And the referee now is going to be watching this real close.
39:00Oh, oh, boom.
39:02What a right hand that was.
39:04And that's the fourth knockdown of Barrett in the fight.
39:06Remember, Monty coming in had never been knocked down.
39:12This Latimer can hit.
39:15Fifth knockdown.
39:16That ought to do it.
39:17And it does.
39:19He may not have come from the streaks,
39:22but Vladimir Klitschko showed that he could win a street fight tonight.
39:27Boy, did he do damage to Monty Barrett in that one-minute stretch
39:32that ended the fight.
39:33You can see the blood spurting from Barrett's face.
39:36And after headlining the left hand throughout the fight,
39:39it was as if Vladimir said, okay, are you ready for the right cross?
39:43Here it comes.
39:44Whoo!
39:47Look out heavyweight division.
39:49Ah, no one would want any part of him.
39:51What does he need to do to develop a better left jab?
39:54Snap him more?
39:55Yeah, you got to get in with the American trainers
39:57and let them play around with him a little bit more.
39:59Uh-huh.
40:00Because some of the guys can duck and hide from you
40:02and keep you the fight going on and on and on.
40:05But he's got the power.
40:06His balance, his strength, his timing, his power punch.
40:08And he has good balance, like you said earlier,
40:10with the double left hook, dipping his right shoulder,
40:12coming back.
40:13He's got the whole package.
40:15Now he needs Gil Clancy or something like that,
40:18someone like that in his corner.
40:20Manny Stewart.
40:22Uh-oh.
40:23He's got the chance.
40:24He's busy.
40:25That's right, he's busy.
40:26All right, let's take a look at knockdown number one
40:30and take a look at this right cross, George.
40:32Yep.
40:33Well, knockdown number one is the leftovers from a right cross
40:36as he delivers those left hands that ultimately put Barrett down.
40:40But those legs were gone.
40:41That was that right hand that did it.
40:42That first big right hand that you pointed out.
40:44It set it all up.
40:46This kid's legs are spread apart, which means that...
40:50Total of three knockdowns in the round.
40:52Now watch the right hand here on the second knockdown.
40:55Boom.
40:56Right on top.
40:59Sock it.
41:00And it was at that point that the blood began spurting
41:02from the right eye of Barrett.
41:03Here's another angle on the same right hand.
41:06Right over top.
41:10And here now the third knockdown against an ultra-weary Barrett.
41:14All right, sit down.
41:15All right.
41:16That right hand went right across like Pearson.
41:19Takes everything away from your face almost.
41:22And he was ready for another.
41:25He was ready for another.
41:27You would almost rather get it flush on the jaw
41:29than to get straight across the front of the face like that.
41:31Oh, yeah, with power like that.
41:32Yeah.
41:33So there's a good look at 24-year-old Vladimir Klitschko.
41:40He gets the 32nd knockout in 34 wins in his career.
41:44He beats a legitimate, professional, pretty good American heavyweight.
41:50Monty Barrett takes on a guy who had never been knocked down
41:53and knocks him down five times.
41:55And this sets up potential title fight talk for Vladimir Klitschko.
42:00Larry?
42:01With that impressive knockout and perhaps one more fight against a recognized opponent,
42:05Vladimir Klitschko joins David Tua, the Samoan from New Zealand,
42:10and Oleg Moskyev, the former Russian Army officer,
42:13as the kind of big, strong, powerful heavyweights it may take to truly challenge Lennox Lewis.
42:20Ladies and gentlemen, following the last knockdown,
42:23referee Richie Davies had no choice but to hold the belt at 2 minutes and 42 seconds of round number 7.
42:30The winner by technical knockout victory,
42:33he is the reigning European heavyweight champion, Vladimir Klitschko.
42:53All right.
42:54Final CompuBox numbers, and Vladimir Klitschko was pretty economical,
42:57only throwing 240 punches.
43:00That's a relatively slow pace, a little over 30 punches a round,
43:02but he landed at a very high percentage,
43:0445% outlanding Barrett by doubling his connect percentage.
43:09And, of course, the bulk of the damage done by power punches,
43:13left hooks in the first six rounds to set up the barrage of right crosses in the seventh round.
43:18There are those numbers as Klitschko landed 68 out of 148 power punches.
43:24Most impressive when he was doubling and tripling the left hook, as George pointed out.
43:29And then when he finally busted up Barrett with the right crosses at the end.
43:33Let's go to Larry Merchant with the winner, Vladimir Klitschko.
43:36All right. Congratulations, Vladimir.
43:41You call boxing an art form. That looked like a street fight, wasn't it?
43:48Okay, street fight is very... fighting with street fight, very, very heavy.
43:52And, okay, tonight I think it was half street, half boxing fight.
43:58I'm fighting just seven rounds, or only seven rounds, but it's good practice for me.
44:06It's good practice, and I show I can win not in first two rounds KO.
44:11I can win in last round KO. It was good from Essings. It was very good.
44:16And Monte Barrett, he's a good fighter, very good technique. He's moving good.
44:20Because you're so tall, aren't more and more fighters going to want to try to get close to you and mess you up in some way so that you don't have the time to throw your punches?
44:34And you have to find a way to combat those guys who want to make it rough for you.
44:40I'm sorry. American sports fan, I'm sorry, my English is not so good. I need a translator.
44:55Okay, I show I can punch in close distance, too. We can look in this fight.
45:01And I remember I make two apricots very good in close distance.
45:07And also the left hook.
45:08But not so good. This was two. Must just one. But this was two.
45:13All right. You have a choice. Apparently, you could fight Chris Byrd.
45:19You may be able to fight Evander Holyfield for a belt. Or you may be able to fight Lennox Lewis for his title.
45:27What is your preference?
45:29Yeah, I think so.
45:32For example, right now, three big names in profiboxing.
45:37Tyson, okay, we're looking. Maybe he's fighting again.
45:42Holyfield and Lewis. I think so. Fight with Lewis or Holyfield is the same.
45:46It's two big fighters.
45:48Lewis or Holyfield.
45:50I'm real beginning for this fight.
45:52Thank you. We're looking forward to seeing you again. Congratulations.
45:57So the world of possibilities gets just a little bit richer for 24 year old Vladimir Klitschko.
46:04Will he fight for someone's heavyweight title as early as next year? Stay tuned.
46:10Meanwhile, still to come tonight, Lennox Lewis defends the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world against Franz Bota, who fights another big name fighter.
46:20He's already been against Tyson and Moorer. Now he gets his crack at Lewis.
46:25We'll be back with that. Let's look ahead to some upcoming programs on HBO.
46:28For boxing, mark these dates on your calendar.
46:31July 22, when super welterweight champion Felix Trinidad defends his title against Mamadou Thiam.
46:36August 5, when KO Nation presents Eric Morrell in his first title fight.
46:41August 19, the featherweight champion Prince Nassim Hamed taking on Augie Sanchez.
46:45And August 26, a doubleheader featuring junior middleweight title holder Fernando Vargas plus Vernon Forrest fighting for a vacant welterweight crown.
46:53HBO, the heart and soul of boxing.
46:56On Monday night, July 17 at 10 p.m., Sports of the 20th Century presents When It Was a Game 3.
47:02The latest installment of the award-winning series that presents a colorful and reminiscent look at baseball in the 60s.
47:08Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel premieres July 24.
47:11Among the stories you'll see, Layla Ali, daughter of Muhammad Ali, whom we profile as she embarks on her own boxing career.
47:19Real Sports, where nothing is out of bounds.
47:24And we bring it back to ringside at the London Arena, where very shortly Lennox Lewis will be entering the fight against Franz Bota.
47:31His second title defense in London, the first one six years ago, produced a knockout loss to Oliver McCall.
47:36You might think it was the worst thing that ever happened in his career.
47:39He thinks it was one of the best.
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