Wladimir Klitschko vs Charles Shufford

Wladimir Klitschko retained the WBO heavyweight championship by stopping Charles Shufford in the sixth round at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on August 4, 2001. Referee Kenny Bayless halted the scheduled 12-round contest at 2 minutes 55 seconds after Shufford had been knocked down for the third time. Klitschko weighed 241 pounds and Shufford 234. The champion entered with 36 victories and one defeat, while the challenger, a Las Vegas resident, had won 17 of 18 professional contests. It was Klitschko’s second defence of the title he had taken from Chris Byrd ten months earlier.

The 25-year-old champion held considerable physical advantages. At approximately 6ft 6in, he was several inches taller than Shufford and possessed the longer reach, a fast left jab and a straight right of exceptional force. Shufford had earned his opportunity through wins over opponents including Jimmy Thunder and Lamon Brewster, but he was ranked only fifteenth by the WBO and had not previously boxed for a world title. He had also portrayed George Foreman in the motion picture Ali, then awaiting release, and actor Will Smith accompanied him to the ring. The challenger’s task was to cross the distance without walking directly onto Klitschko’s right hand.

Klitschko used the first round to establish that distance. He moved behind an extended left arm, sometimes jabbing and sometimes using the hand merely to occupy Shufford’s guard while he searched for the right. Shufford remained cautious and attempted to move his head as he edged forward, but he seldom came near enough to work effectively. The challenger threw punches from outside Klitschko’s reach without finding the target, while Klitschko remained upright and controlled the centre of the ring. There was little sustained action, but the champion’s jab and positional command gave him the round.

The first knockdown came late in the second. Klitschko pawed with the left, persuaded Shufford to lower or separate his gloves and drove a straight right through the opening. Shufford went down heavily and remained seated for several seconds, his eyes showing the effect of the punch. He rose during Bayless’s count and survived the remaining moments of the round, but his confidence had plainly been disturbed. Klitschko did not rush carelessly after him. He returned to the jab and waited for another clear opening rather than allowing Shufford the chance to counter during a reckless finish.

Klitschko produced a similar result in the third. Shufford tried to remain beyond the champion’s right hand and offered little offence of his own, but his movement was not quick enough to keep him permanently out of range. Klitschko again used the left to measure and obscure the challenger’s view before sending the right directly to the head. Shufford fell for the second time and again beat the count. He showed courage in continuing, but thereafter his principal concern appeared to be avoiding another clean right. His attacks became still less frequent, and he was reluctant to remain within punching distance long enough to deliver combinations.

The fourth and fifth rounds were controlled rather than forceful performances by Klitschko. He continued to jab from long range, occasionally bringing the right behind it, but did not expose himself in pursuit of a quick conclusion. Shufford circled, ducked and attempted sporadic advances, yet he was unable to pass the champion’s lead hand with any consistency. Emanuel Steward, commentating for HBO several years before he became Klitschko’s trainer, drew attention to the unusual rhythm of the champion’s jab and described his straight right as one of the finest he had seen. The crowd became impatient with the measured pace, but the official position was beyond dispute. Judges Mike Glienna, Bill Graham and Patricia Morse Jarman each had Klitschko leading 50–43 after five rounds, awarding him every session and scoring both knockdowns.

Shufford showed greater willingness to approach in the sixth, though he remained unable to establish an attack. Near the end of the round, he attempted to move inside Klitschko’s reach. The champion, who had done most of his damage with the right hand, met him with a short left hook. The punch turned Shufford and sent him collapsing into the corner between the ropes. He rose at eight but was unsteady and unable to demonstrate that he could continue safely. Bayless stopped the contest with five seconds remaining in the round. The crowd’s reaction included boos, which contemporary reports attributed partly to betting on whether the fight would last beyond five and a half rounds rather than solely to dissatisfaction with either boxer’s performance.

The figures reflected the one-sided nature of the contest. Associated Press reported that Klitschko landed 58 of 255 punches, while Shufford connected with only 16 of 190. Shufford’s caution lengthened the fight but did not make it competitive. Klitschko was not required to exchange at close quarters or recover from adversity; he controlled the range, dropped the challenger twice with straight rights and ended the match with the less-used left hook. Afterwards he explained that Shufford’s careful style had required patience and that he had adjusted rather than attacking without preparation. The performance lacked the violence of Klitschko’s two-round defeat of Derrick Jefferson in his previous defence, but it demonstrated the combination of size, balance and precise long-range punching that was making him an increasingly important figure in the heavyweight division. His record advanced to 37–1, while Shufford fell to 17–2.

I never considered Charles Shufford a genuine threat to Wladimir Klitschko, although he had earned some respect by beating Lamon Brewster and arriving with only one defeat. Klitschko was 25, enormous, athletic and already being presented as a future ruler of the heavyweights. He had taken the WBO belt from Chris Byrd and then demolished Derrick Jefferson. Hence, the attraction was obvious: people wanted to see whether this gifted Ukrainian could become the next dominant big man.

Shufford’s plan was survival dressed up as caution. He stayed outside, moved his head and threw very little, but you cannot surrender the initiative to a man with Klitschko’s reach. Wladimir probed with the jab, disturbed the guard and dropped him with straight right hands in both the second and third rounds. Those were beautifully set-up punches, not wild swings. Emanuel Steward, commentating for HBO years before training him, was already praising the quality of that right hand and the awkward rhythm of his jab.

Klitschko was criticised for not rushing the finish, but I have no problem with that. Shufford was waiting for a mistake, and Wladimir refused to give him one. The crowd grew restless, yet the challenger landed only 16 punches all night. When Shufford finally tried to move inside in the sixth, Klitschko caught him with a short left hook and left him stumbling after he rose. Kenny Bayless stopped it at 2:55.

It was not a thrilling fight, because Shufford was too negative to make it one. But Klitschko showed patience, control and power in either hand. He did exactly what a proper heavyweight champion should do against an overmatched challenger: won every round, took no foolish risks and finished him cleanly.