By Michael Collins: IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (57-3, 50 KO’s) could be facing contender Chris Arreola in November or December this year in the United States in one of Wladimir bigger fights. However, before Wladimir gets to the Arreola fight, he must get past 40-year-old Tony Thompson (36-2, 24 KO’s) on July 7th in Switzerland.
Although Thompson is older and weaker than Arreola, he still presents a tough opponent for Wladimir, who struggled to beat the 6’5” southpaw Thompson four years ago in 2008. Thompson was a problem because he picked off a lot of Wladimir’s jabs with his high guard and long arms. He was also able to block many of Wladimir’s right hands, and that was a big problem for Wladimir. Thompson didn’t have to worry about Wladimir’s left hook because he rarely threw any in the fight, perhaps fearful of Thompson blocking it and coming with a straight left that Wladimir would have had a tough time getting out of the way or blocking it.
Wladimir defeated 5’11” Jean Marco Mormeck by a 4th round TKO in his last fight in March. Mormeck was too short to land anything significant and this turned out to be a one-sided fight. Wladimir made it incredibly boring with his constant clinching. He treated Mormeck as if he were a knockout threat, and continually grabbed him to keep him from throwing shots. Going from Mormeck to Thompson will be bit of a shock because Thompson is so much bigger and tougher to fight for Wladimir. I’d be surprised if Wladimir is able to improve on the performance he made last time he beat Thompson. It’s possible but Wladimir would have to commit to launching an early all-out attack that could put him at risk if Thompson can land one of his own big shots.