A Few More Rounds

An homage to the greatness that was Vitali Klitschko …

I will forever recall all those incredible feats of courage, the sort of extraordinarily prolific moments that define a fighter's legacy. Again and again, he dazzled us with amazing displays that cemented his stature as a bona fide ring warrior for the ages.

Who can forget Klitschko's spirited late-round victories over Ross Puritty, Vaughn Bean and Larry Donald en route to earning his big WBC title shot? The night he almost defeated Lennox Lewis? The unmitigated destruction of Danny Williams?

Klitschko's sudden retirement days after an alleged knee injury canceled Saturday night's anticipated bout with Hasim Rahman signaled the end of a legendary career. Unappreciated at his peak, Klitschko will be remembered as one of the greatest heavyweights of his generation, a true Hall of Famer if one ever lived.

Now how do I switch off the sarcasm font on this computer?

The real shame of Klitschko's announcement is that it didn't happen sooner. In a classic case of addition by subtraction, the heavyweight division has gotten more intriguing – albeit only slightly – with the removal of Dr. Ironcyst, the malignant malingerer.

Sadly, it might be too late for boxing's marquee division to recover.

Years from now, when we have the chance to look back, Vitali Klitschko could very well be the one held responsible for killing interest in the heavyweight class forever. Perhaps Klitschko was in the wrong place at the wrong time and whoever replaced Lewis as the people's champion was doomed to be bogged down by the logistics of the whole scene, what with the lack of competition and all.

But Klitschko didn't exactly go out and aggressively try to establish himself as an all-time great.

Anointed by HBO and much of the boxing world, he merely accepted the mantle as the sporting world's Alpha Male and sat on it. His modus operandi is a substantial reason nobody gives a damn about heavyweights anymore.

Klitschko gained favor because of a fight he lost. He started fast against an apathetic Lewis when they fought in June 2003. Lewis, however, started to build momentum, landing the jab enough to rip a ghastly gash plumb through Klitschko's eyelid. The fight was stopped after six rounds, and Lewis averted the upset.

Nevertheless, most observers were all too enamored with Klitschko's performance – not because it was sublime by any stretch, but mostly because he was viewed as a walkover heading into the fight. Lewis, meanwhile, seemed suddenly old and gave up the gloves rather than grant Klitschko a rematch.

That vacated the WBC title and left the heavyweights devoid of a recognizable champion, not to mention the linear king. Chris Byrd was the IBF champ (and still is even though he has fought only four times, including a draw and a disputed victory). Roy Jones was the WBA champ but wasn't interested in maintaining the honor; he went back to light heavyweight and John Ruiz became champ again (a title he still holds because his loss to James Toney was overturned by a positive steroid test). Corrie Sanders was the WBO champ, having just knocked out Vitali's little brother, Wladimir, inside 3½ minutes.

So there it was, a mishmash of bodies competing at varying degrees of mediocrity. There was no discernable big name ready to take over as a box office and pay-per-view draw. Hasim Rahman and Andrew Golota were the most colorful personalities, but each had received multiple chances over the years and the fans had grown tired of them.

Somebody with a formidable aura needed to be installed, and based solely on his few good rounds versus Lewis and probably his photogenic 6-foot-7 physique, Vitali Klitschko became the chosen one.

Klitschko defeated blubbery Kirk Johnson in December 2003, and four months later he avenged another of his brother's losses by beating Sanders for the vacant WBC title.

Klitschko then defended his belt against Mike Tyson conqueror Williams in December 2004.

And, as it would turn out, that would that.

His formidable size symbolized a mountain of a man and a gulch of a champion.

Rahman earned the right to challenge Klitschko one year ago by stopping Kali Meehan in a WBC eliminator. The original date for Klitschko-Rahman was April 30, but Klitschko supposedly injured his thigh while jogging. The bout was pushed back to June 18, then again to July 23 because his thigh hadn't responded to rehab.

The next time Klitschko cited back problems for his need to reschedule, and since he had been idled so long the crumbling champ began to explore tune-up opponents, much to the chagrin of Rahman's promoter, Don King, and WBC president Jose Sulaiman.

Rahman, meanwhile, took a gamble by facing WBC No. 2 contender Monte Barrett in August. Rahman easily won a decision and waited.

Lo and behold Klitschko last week tried to reschedule the Nov. 12 bout again. He claimed to have injured his knee. Training camp insiders whispered that Klitschko had been knocked down twice in sparring sessions – once by Travis Walker and once by Rafael Butler.

Controversy swirled regarding the validity of Klitschko's medical reports. There appeared to be disagreements among his doctors. Fittingly, one of his doctors was named Mandelbaum, the same last name of the feisty-but-decrepit "Seinfeld" character played by Lloyd Bridges, who badly hurt himself every time he tried to prove how strong he still was.

Klitschko finally threw in his towel and retired on Wednesday. His ho-hum legacy defined by (if you believe the injury announcements) his brittleness or (if you don't) his reluctance to fight anybody with ability.

In other words, he either was jalopy or a quitter.

His biggest night in the ring was an admirable loss. There were no epic wins.

Canastota-bound he ain't.

For the time being Rahman is no better than Klitschko. The WBC has awarded him the title based on his interim victory over Barrett. Rahman needs to announce his return to the throne with more authority than a press release out of Mexico City.

But at least we know Rahman will fight, and for that we can be hopeful he can return some desperately needed attention to the heavyweight class.

The man who cashed his lottery ticket with that stunning one-punch knockout of Lewis 4½ years ago still carries some cachet despite losses to Evander Holyfield and Ruiz. Rahman rehabilitated himself by winning six straight matches from March 2004 through his triumph over Barrett three months ago.

Any buzz Rahman might create probably won't reverse the atrophy caused by Klitschko's bleak reign.

Casual boxing fans are increasingly drawn to the lighter weights. Klitschko did virtually nothing in the two years since he fought Lewis. In that time we've had Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo, Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales, Zab Judah-Cory Spinks, Jermain Taylor-Bernard Hopkins, Winky Wright-Felix Trinidad.

Thank goodness for all that, at least.

And thank goodness the linear deadweight, er, heavyweight champion has decided to let someone else stand at the front of the line.

Whatever that's worth.