WBC Heavyweight Betting: Vitali Klitschko v Samuel Peter

Boxing Betting / Editor / 10 October 2008 / Leave a Comment

Big-punching Nigerian could have the guns to shock part-time Klitschko, says Richard Douglas.

Even an undefeated champion with a granite chin and dynamite fists will eventually lose his fight against time.

Had Vitali Klitschko fought Samuel Peter ([2.94]) 46 months ago and not on Saturday night in Germany then the Ukrainian would be a lot shorter than [1.56 ] to be WBC world heavyweight champion once again.

However, since the 6ft 7ins technician annihilated Danny Williams in December 2004, his career has been office-based not gym-based. An anterior cruciate knee injury forced him out of a WBC title defence against Hasim Rahman in 2005 so he retired. But not before being granted the status of 'champion emeritus' by the governing body, meaning he could get an immediate shot at the holder should he come back.

That did not seem likely when Klitschko twice stood for Mayor of Kiev. He also became an advisor to the Ukranian president as well as sitting on committees for his country's Olympic and, ahem, Eurovision Song Contest organisations.

He says that not a week has gone by without training. His daily diary apparently read '6am - Gym, 9am - Office'. However he is now 37 and an attempted comeback last September was curtailed by a leg injury that needed surgery. All that, along with the lack of a warm-up fight, places a huge question mark over his ability to last 12 rounds.

That said, the Vitali Klitchsko of 2004 was technically sound, heavy handed and possessed physical advantages that few could match. Even Lennox Lewis struggled in the early rounds before his opponent succumbed to cuts in the sixth. It was one of only two defeats in 37 fights.

The mauling, brawling Peter would still have had a puncher's chance against that version. The so-called 'Nigerian Nightmare' knocked out 21 of his first 24 opponents and clubbed Vladimir Klitschko to the canvas three times when they met in 2005. However Vitali's younger brother, the current WBO/IBF holder, bossed the rest of the fight and each judge saw him the winner by three rounds.

Peter followed that with a pair of creditable decisions over James Toney, an 81-fight veteran who has never been stopped. However his next bout saw him dropped three times by Jameel McCline, a relatively light-puncher. He won on points but the bout posed questions over his chin as well as answering ones surrounding his fighting heart.

Peter recovered some ground by bombing out Oleg Maskaev in six rounds to take the WBC title in March. However he is still struggling for real recognition among the boxing trade.

They see this as broadly a 50:50 fight which, of course, suggests there is better value in Peter's price.

However, with the power each boxer possesses, the questionable whiskers of the champion plus the fitness and stamina issues of the returning Klitschko, the prevailing wisdom suggests this fight will not go the distance.

Peter to win by knockout ([3.6]) will always be tempting because, as the 28-year-old should be aware, both Klitschkos are as good as home fighters having spent most of their careers in Germany, a country where away decisions are notoriously hard to get.

You can also see the usually cautious Vitali prodding his way through the early rounds and being caught late on as he tires. Or alternatively he builds up a lead and Peter has to go for broke. In either scenario the Nigerian is interesting at [34.0] to win in each of rounds six to 11 and [40.0] in the last.

The fight is live on Setanta late on Saturday night and therefore perfect for in-running betting. It will be followed in the early hours by Chad Dawson ([1.4]) against Antonio Tarver ([3.4]) in an IBF/IBO title fight at light-heavyweight. There is 13 years difference between the two southpaws and the suggestion is that this match only came about because of the varying strength of their opponents last time out.

The fresh, unbeaten Dawson struggled past the teak-tough Glencoffe Johnson, getting up off the canvas to take a unanimous decision. Veteran Antonio Tarver was handed his title by Britain's Clinton Woods, who was strangely lethargic on the night. Tarver hasn't knocked anyone out for four years but has never been stopped, so Dawson by decision at ([1.72]) stands out.

If you think Tarver's 39-year-old tank is empty then there is the option of betting the fight won't go the distance ([3.0]).