Wladimir Klitschko vs Francesco Pianeta

Charles Martel

Charles Martel

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http://espn.go.com/blog/dan-rafael/post/_/id/3087/back-to-work-for-wladimir-klitschko

According to Dan Rafael, Wladimir Klitschko will fight Francesco Pianeta as a voluntary defense in early April before fighting Alexander Povetkin in July.

The IBF has usually had Wladimir fight African-Americans like Ray Austin (2007), Hasim Rahman (2008), and Tony Thompson (2012) as his mandatories. I'm happy to see a European receive a title shot and a decent payday.
 
Charles Martel

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Klitschko-Pianeta is now signed and official.


http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/9017969/wladimir-klitschko-fight-francesco-pianeta-4-germany

Wladimir Klitschko to fight May 4

Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko will make his 14th title defense against Francesco Pianeta, a man he sparred with last year in preparation for another fight.

They will meet May 4 at the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany. K2 Promotions, Klitschko's company, announced the news Tuesday. The fight will be televised in the United States on Epix.

"I have a lot of respect for Francesco Pianeta. He is young, a southpaw and has an immense fighting spirit," Klitschko said. "He will do anything to reach his goal. I am warned and will prepare myself very intensively."

Pianeta (28-0-1, 15 KOs), a 28-year-old who was born in Italy but has lived in Germany since he was 6, has a thin résumé. Last year he faced his two most recognizable opponents but both were way past their prime -- former contender and world title challenger Frans Botha (44) and former titleholder Oliver McCall (47). The draw on Pianeta's record came in 2009 against Albert Sosnowski, who was knocked out in the 10th round of a 2010 world title fight by Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir's older brother.

The 6-foot-5, 243-pound Pianeta is close to matching the physical stature of the 6-foot-6, 245-pound Klitschko and is familiar with his fighting style because he has been in the ring with him as a sparring partner.

"I was in Wladimir's camp as a sparring partner last year. I saw his weaknesses and will use them for me," Pianeta said. "I know many experts see me as the underdog but I like this role and will shock the boxing world when I knock out Klitschko."

Pianeta was out of the ring between late 2009 and 2010 after being diagnosed with cancer, but he has since recovered and has won eight fights in a row.
Klitschko (59-3, 51 KOs), who turns 37 on March 25, has yet to be seriously challenged in any title defense during his second reign. He scored three decisive wins in his 2012 defenses, knocking out former cruiserweight world champion Jean-Marc Mormeck of France in the fourth round, American Tony Thompson in the sixth round of a mandatory defense (and a rematch of a previous Klitschko knockout) and routing Poland's Mariusz Wach in a virtual shutout decision. After the fight, Wach tested positive for steroids.

The fight will be Klitschko's second since the Oct. 25 death of his longtime trainer and close friend Emanuel Steward. Just two weeks after Steward died, Klitschko dominated Wach with heavyweight contender Jonathan Banks, a Steward protégé and longtime Klitschko team member, serving as his chief second.

With 13 successful title defenses in this title reign, Klitschko, who has held a world title since knocking out Chris Byrd in 2006 as well as unified three major belts, has the third-most heavyweight title defenses in boxing history. Only Joe Louis (25) and Larry Holmes (20) have more than Klitschko, who is 20-2 overall in world title fights.

Klitschko, a 1996 Olympic gold medalist for Ukraine, will be returning to SAP Arena, where has some special memories.

"Mannheim is a special place," Klitschko said. "I started my second career there with my victory against Chris Byrd in 2006. The atmosphere has always been great."
 
BoxingSpecialist2

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I'm not sure how I feel about this matchup. On the one hand I am happy to see Francesco Pianeta have a good payday and receive some media exposure. That's great and I'm happy he is getting a titleshot, he deserves one. On the other hand, I would prefer to see Wlad beating and dominating Negroes than beating other European fighters. I guess overall its a good matchup though, as it puts the media spotlight on another white fighter, and that's great.

That's amazing that Pianeta has recovered from cancer and is now fighting for a world title in boxing. He sounds like a great guy with a strong spirit and mentality! I would totally root for him as a cancer survivor, so I am a fan of his. Wlad is pretty much my favourite fighter though so of course I will be fully supporting him in any fight.

A lot of mainstream boxing folks are criticizing Wlad for this matchup, but I dont agree with those criticisms. Wlad has literally cleaned out the entire heavyweight division, winning the superfight with Haye in 2011, and even the guys Wlad beat (Thompson) are beating some of the up and comers. Wlad is *ten times better* than anyone else at this weightclass, and when you've dominated so thoroughly like he has, its hard to find credible challengers, because no one can beat him.

I am happy with the matchup and I think Pianeta is a decent challenger. Helenius, Fury, Pulev, or Povetkin are the only guys perhaps more deserving and of them, I dont think any actually are willing to fight Wlad right now. Helenius and Povetkin both have turned down the fight on different occasions. Fury has stated he wants a Klitschko but right now he is obligated to Cunningham and I think he would prefer the fight later. Pulev also, seemingly would prefer the fight later.

Ive seen all of Wlad's fights live since about 2002, and Ive seen two of Francesco Pianeta's fights, his KO wins over Skelton and Marrone. Its hard for me to remember back to those fights but I think I found Pianeta pretty decent. "Pretty decent" wont be enough for Wlad though.

Good matchup and I will be cheering for both guys! I'm rooting for Wlad, but as a cancer survivor I will also support Pianeta!
 
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werewolf

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BoxingSpecialist2 said:
...
Good matchup and I will be cheering for both guys! I'm rooting for Wlad, but as a cancer survivor I will also support Pianeta!
Click to expand...


Are you a cancer survivor too, BoxSpec, or did you just mean that you're supporting him because he is?
 
BoxingSpecialist2

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werewolf said:
Are you a cancer survivor too, BoxSpec, or did you just mean that you're supporting him because he is?
Click to expand...

No, thankfully I have been blessed with perfect health for all of my life. Ive never had any health issues.

I just mean that its nice to see someone change their life for the better, and as a cancer survivor now challenging for a world title, that is quite remarkable for Pianeta! Its great to see a man come through tough times like that to make something positive of his life!
 
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whiteathlete33

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Should be a pretty easy bout for Wladimir. Pianeta is a big heavyweight at 6'5 and is very talented but lacks one punch knockout power. That being said, I certainly think he will do better than Mariusz Wach who was basically a sitting duck.
 
werewolf

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Sounds like Pianetta is acting like a jerk.

"The WBA #12/WBO #9 contender boldly proclaimed “I am going to bust Wladimir’s ass.”

On the other hand Wlad praised Pianeta saying “I have a huge respect for a man who has defeated cancer. Cancer is harder than any world champion.”

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/klitschko-pianeta-kickoff-presser-176340

They probably told P. to shoot off his mouth to try to sell tickets.
 
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white is right

white is right

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whiteathlete33 said:
Should be a pretty easy bout for Wladimir. Pianeta is a big heavyweight at 6'5 and is very talented but lacks one punch knockout power. That being said, I certainly think he will do better than Mariusz Wach who was basically a sitting duck.
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I don't know about that. Wach did better than any heavyweight since Peter I, he momentarily stunned Klitschko and went the distance. Maybe the steroid program that he was on under his training team allowed him to soak up punishment at a higher clip than if he was clean. For Pianeta to do better he would need to win a bunch of rounds or to really stun or drop Wlad. I do agree that on paper is he a better fighter than Wach.
 
whiteathlete33

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white is right said:
I don't know about that. Wach did better than any heavyweight since Peter I, he momentarily stunned Klitschko and went the distance. Maybe the steroid program that he was on under his training team allowed him to soak up punishment at a higher clip than if he was clean. For Pianeta to do better he would need to win a bunch of rounds or to really stun or drop Wlad. I do agree that on paper is he a better fighter than Wach.
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Wach had one very small few seconds of success against Klitschko when he stunned him and was dominated thoroughly the rest of the time. It wasn't like he even had Wladimir in much trouble. Tony Thompson, in their first fight, gave Klitschko the most trouble since Samuel Peter the first time.
 
white is right

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whiteathlete33 said:
Wach had one very small few seconds of success against Klitschko when he stunned him and was dominated thoroughly the rest of the time. It wasn't like he even had Wladimir in much trouble. Tony Thompson, in their first fight, gave Klitschko the most trouble since Samuel Peter the first time.
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I thought Thompson won 2 rounds that Wlad took off. IMO he never had Wlad in any danger. Maybe it's quibbling on a point but Wach had you wondering for about 10 seconds and the rest period whether he would spring an upset.
 
Charles Martel

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Amren.com said:
This should be an easy fight for Wlad and then he can go destroy Povetkin.
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Povetkin will likely fight on May 17 in Moscow, probably against Andrew Wawrzyk.

If both Wlad and Povetkin win in May, then they'll likely fight each other in August.
 
white is right

white is right

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Carcharias said:
Povetkin will likely fight on May 17 in Moscow, probably against Andrew Wawrzyk.

If both Wlad and Povetkin win in May, then they'll likely fight each other in August.
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This writer thinks that Pianeta might have a chance because Wlad could be distracted through out the training and build up to the fight because of his romance. He compared the dangers of this fight to Lewis vs Rahman I. My favorite line of the fight was Larry Merchant stating that Lewis"Drowned in Oceans 11".....:grin:http://www.fightsaga.com/news/item/...eta-Will-Cupid-Bring-About-the-Champ-s-Demise
 
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Charles Martel

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Just one week now until this fight.

And then in late summer, perhaps we'll finally see Wladimir fight Povetkin.
 
white lightning

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I would much rather watch Wlad with another knock out win than to watch Floyd Gayweather and his boring style with his big mouth.

Wlad and Povetkin could be as good a fight as we have seen in a long time at the heavyweight level. I still can't see anyone on the planet beating Wladimir. He is just too good. Superior is every aspect of the fight game.
 
white is right

white is right

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Carcharias said:
Wlad will soon pass John L Sullivan and become the 4th longest reigning heavyweight champion:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_reigning_heavyweight_champions



Klitschko-Pianeta face-off video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GsBKSeH0jzY
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If he wins on Saturday(should happen he is a 50 to 1 favorite) he will pass all other champions except for Joe Louis by the time he fights Povetkin. Considering Louis had 4 years where he didn't defend his title in reality if he makes it to 2014 he will be the longest reigning champion. Amazing considering he was viewed as shot after Brewster I.......
 
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