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WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko is the overwhelming favorite on Saturday to defend his title belt against Albert “The Dragon” Sosnowski.
The Ukrainian-born “Dr. Iron Fist” Klitschko, who lives in Hamburg, enters the fight at the Veltnis Arena in Gelsenkirchen with a 41-2 (37 KOs) record. Sosnowski, a native of Warsaw who lives in Brentwood, England, has a 45-2-1 (27 KOs) record. Read on for more…
Despite Sosnowski’s impressive record in his 12-year career, the 31-year-old former European champion is not highly regarded in boxing circles. Sosnowski, who is shorter and lighter than Klitschko, has relinquished the European belt in order to challenge for the world belt.
Still, Klitschko is not underestimating the hard-hitting Sosnowski.
“I expect Albert Sosnowski to be in the best shape of his life,” Klitschko said. “He said that he will give his all to get my belt, but I am well prepared and will not underestimate him. He will be very powerful and will always go forward. He will do anything to get my title.”
Klitschko trainer Fritz Sdunek said his client is in “extraordinary shape” and trained hard for this fight.
“Once again, he improved his boxing skills,” Sdunek said. “We have worked a lot on his footwork and he went through more than 110 rounds of sparring,”
Klitschko’s two losses came on injuries, one to Chris Byrd and the other to Lennox Lewis. Klitschko was leading on points in both bouts before the fights were stopped.
Sosnowski, meanwhile, came back to upset Danny Williams in nine rounds in November 2008 and followed that with a 12-round draw with undefeated Francsesco Pianeta of Italy for the EBU-EU title. In his last bout, Sosnowski won the European belt with a 12-round decision over Italian veteran Paolo Vidoz.
“I had a perfect preparation and came here to write history. Klitschko will regret giving me this chance,” Sosnowski said. “He has passed his zenith and there are many who fight like living sand sacks.”
Sosnowski is counting on having about 40,000 Polish fans in Gelsenkirchen on his side.
Though Klitschko tried to keep the focus on his upcoming fight, he couldn’t avoid talking about WBA title holder David Haye, whom he recently accused of trying to avoid him and his brother, IBF and WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko.
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