Super heavyweight Klichko wins gold, marking major upset in boxing world

by Roman Woronowycz

ATLANTA - On the last day of the Olympics, in one of the very last events, Volodymyr Klichko put the exclamation point on Ukraine's Olympic competition by taking the gold medal in boxing in the super heavyweight division.

The 6-foot-5-inch Klichko opened the third round with a series of combinations, outscoring his opponent, Paea Wolfgramm of Tonga, 5-0, which gave him a 7-3 victory.

Klichko said afterwards that he felt he was dominating the fight even as the bout went on, and was confident that he had won. "I already felt that I won, he explained. "I gave 110 percent. I exerted the minimum energy and didn't take any risks that might keep me from winning."

Indeed the first two rounds were very slow. In the opening round, Klichko and Wolfgramm circled each other, measuring punches but throwing very few. Both boxers had trouble finding scoring opportunities. With 34 seconds left, Wolfgramm, who outweighed Klichko by 79 pounds, landed a left hook for the only point of the round.

The second started the same until Klichko found his aim, landing two rights. But Wolfgramm saw an opening when Klichko dropped his left guard and landed a right cross that seemed to stun Klichko. At the end of the round the Tongan still led by a slim 3-2 margin.

In the final round Kyiv-born Klichko began taking advantage of his superior speed. He stiffened his jab and used it effectively to bloody Wolfgramm's nose. He weaved in and out and landed several rights and convincingly dominated the round for the victory.

Wolfgramm said he wasn't used to the Ukrainian boxer's style. "They have a different style. Tonight he outboxed me," said Wolfgramm.

Days before Klichko had stunned the boxing world and made himself the favorite when he beat Laurence Clay-Bey, the U.S. hopeful in the second round of the tournament. He followed that performance with a whipping of Attila Levin of Switzerland and Alexei Lezin of Russia, another favorite.

He said the victory over Lezin was almost as satisfying as his gold medal win. Lezin had beaten Klichko in the finals of the 1996 European Championships. He also beat Klichko's brother, Vitaliy, in the super heavyweight class in the 1995 World Boxing Championships.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, August 11, 1996, No. 32, Vol. LXIV

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