Wladimir Klitschko's Big 5: The Way Back to the Top vs. Samuel Peter

Wladimir Klitschko's Big 5: The Way Back to the Top vs. Samuel Peter

The difficult battle with Samuel Peter, which paved a new path to the top for the Ukrainian

Wladimir Klitschko is one of the most successful boxers of this century. The Ukrainian is a long-time heavyweight champion and provides us with truly amazing fights in the professional ring that leave unbiased fans breathless. In a series of articles, we will recall the best five games of his career. We have already talked about his dominance against the Bulgarian competitor Kubrat Pulev in 2014. In this clash, the Ukrainian made the seventeenth successful defense of his title.

In the second part, we will go back more carefully in time. Or more specifically, until September 2005, when Klitschko faced one of the most powerful boxers at the time, known as the "Nigerian Nightmare" Samuel Peter. An overwhelming number of fans and pundits wrote Wladimir off before the start of the fight. This comes in light of the fact that he was knocked out by Lemon Brewster in the vacant world title match a year earlier. Explanations after his third defeat in the ring related to him not being able to take punches to the chin, having no stamina and being mentally weak. Facing a beast like Peter, all these qualities tip the scales significantly in favor of the Nigerian, who also enters the match undefeated.

However, the fight changed people's opinion, as well as Klitschko's career. This meeting can easily be defined as the turning point from which the Ukrainian's confidence, strength and capabilities acquired unexpected dimensions.

The game was played on September 24th in Atlantic City, New Jersey in front of just over 10,000 at Broadwalk Hall. Subscriptions paid to HBO to watch this match exceed 2 million, and the national rating is estimated at 7.0 out of a maximum of 10.0. Everything points to this being one of the two most watched games of the year. And the spectators are not disappointed, as they have the opportunity to watch 12 rounds of extremely classy boxing.

During the entire fight, the 24-year-old Nigerian chased Klitschko all over the ring, who was trying to avoid the heavy hits to his head. In the first four rounds, the Ukrainian seemed to stick to his main idea of wearing down his opponent and beating him on points, proving to everyone that he has tremendous stamina. What he cannot prove is the possession of a strong chin. Precisely for this reason, in the fifth part, Klitschko was knocked to the ground, not once, but twice. After the two knockdowns, Peter takes a slight advantage in the match.

But Wladimir tightens up and it is in the final moments that he looks more concentrated, delivers more accurate hits, mostly in the head of his opponent. The Ukrainian made only one error from the sixth round onward, but that too resulted in a knockdown that allowed Samuel Peter to claw his way back into the match and make the final two legs extremely intriguing. However, they already show the improved physical shape of Klitschko, who shows that he is ready for something big. And in the final part, he almost knocked out the "Nigerian Nightmare".

The victory for the Ukrainian boxer came after a unanimous decision of the judges, as in the cards, he won with 114:111 on all three judges. Peter has landed just 100 points from 440 attempts, or 23%, while Klitschko is deadly more accurate with 204 from 523 attempts, or an impressive 39% accuracy. Nothing that his punches are weaker. They end up being more effective.

After the end of the meeting, Vladimir said that he left the losses behind him and boxed for fun, because that is the most important thing for him. He states that he is now ready to fight anyone.

The victory over Samuel Peter puts Klitschko back among the contenders for the world title in his division. And not only that, it is a sign of confidence and increasingly serious qualities that the 1996 Olympic champion possesses.