Chris Byrd vs Wladimir Klitschko

Six months after a shoulder injury had forced Vitali Klitschko to surrender his heavyweight championship to Chris Byrd, the title passed to the other member of the family. Wladimir Klitschko gained both the WBO belt and a measure of fraternal satisfaction at the Kölnarena in Cologne on 14 October 2000, outboxing Byrd over 12 rounds and knocking him down twice. The official scores, 120–106, 119–107 and 118–108, accurately reflected a contest in which the champion’s customary elusiveness could not overcome severe disadvantages in height, reach and weight.

Byrd had acquired the title under unusual circumstances. Brought in as a replacement opponent in April, the American southpaw had been behind on all three scorecards when Vitali retired after nine rounds with a torn rotator cuff. Wladimir entered the return engagement with ten consecutive victories since his exhausting defeat by Ross Puritty in 1998. At 24, he stood 6ft 6in, weighed 238 pounds and possessed an 81-inch reach. Byrd, a former Olympic middleweight silver medallist, was 30, weighed 213½ pounds and conceded four inches in reach as well as substantial height and strength. The promotion was presented in Germany as “Die Rache des Bruders,” the revenge of the brother.

Klitschko began with the necessary discipline. He kept Byrd beyond the end of a long left jab, moved lightly for so large a man and resisted the temptation to reach for a knockout. Byrd crouched, shifted his upper body and attempted to draw the challenger forward before countering with his right jab and straight left. Against shorter or slower heavyweights, those movements had often caused confusion. Klitschko remained balanced, however, withdrawing his head after punching and giving Byrd few opportunities to counter cleanly.

The pattern continued through the early rounds. Klitschko’s jab struck Byrd on the forehead and around the right eye, while the straight right followed whenever the champion remained in range. Byrd slipped some punches and occasionally reached the body, but he could not close the distance often enough to establish his quick combinations. By the fourth round, his right eye was swelling. Klitschko was neither hurried nor careless, using his feet to preserve the space from which his punches carried their greatest effect.

During the fifth and sixth, Byrd tried to make the contest less orderly. He moved in behind feints, bent low and attempted to work from angles beneath Klitschko’s arms. The challenger answered by stepping back rather than leaning over him, then resetting behind the jab. Byrd’s defensive reactions remained sharp, but avoiding the first punch was insufficient when Klitschko followed with the right hand or a second jab. The American was being made to spend considerable energy merely reaching punching distance.

Recognising that he could not win by waiting for counters, Byrd became more aggressive in the seventh. He moved forward, threw in combinations and found Klitschko’s body with greater regularity. It was his best period of the contest and possibly the only round he won clearly. Klitschko did not lose control, but Byrd’s willingness to exchange briefly interrupted the steady rhythm he had established. The eighth was more even in its action, although the heavier and more accurate blows continued to come from the challenger.

The decisive separation came in the ninth. Klitschko caught Byrd with a left hand and sent him to the canvas. The champion rose and completed the round, but his face was badly swollen and he was far behind. Back in the corner, he made it plain that he would not retire, an understandable declaration after the criticism directed at Vitali following their earlier meeting. Klitschko remained patient in the tenth, continuing to strike from long range instead of wasting strength in a reckless attempt to finish.

A straight right began the damaging sequence in the eleventh. Klitschko followed with a succession of punches and put Byrd down for the second time. Joe Byrd, the champion’s father and trainer, considered throwing in the towel, but the fight continued. Byrd regained his feet and survived, although his right eye was closed and the left was also badly swollen. Klitschko controlled the final round without taking unnecessary chances, completing 12 rounds for the first time in his professional career.

All three judges returned wide verdicts for Klitschko, whose record advanced to 35 victories and one defeat. Byrd fell to 31–2 after absorbing more sustained punishment than was usual for a boxer noted for avoiding clean blows. Klitschko’s victory began his first reign as a heavyweight champion and demonstrated that his size was supported by sound footwork, patience and a reliable jab. Byrd recovered to win the IBF championship two years later, and the two men met again in 2006. That time, Klitschko’s superiority was even more decisive.

I fancied Chris Byrd to trouble Wladimir Klitschko after making Vitali look awkward, but this was a different assignment. Byrd’s southpaw movement could embarrass bigger heavyweights, yet Wladimir refused to chase or overreach.

Klitschko stayed tall, controlled the range with his jab and followed with the straight right. Byrd could slip the first punch but rarely escaped the second. When he became more aggressive, he entered Klitschko’s strongest range and suffered knockdowns in the ninth and eleventh.

The scorecards were wide because the fight was wide. This was disciplined, intelligent heavyweight boxing from Klitschko, not merely revenge for his brother.