Knockout Nation: Klitschko Victorious! Pavlik-Williams? Augustus Partners with EA Sports! Big George Tribute

  Klitschko Stops Thompson in the 11th   Wladimir Klitschko continued his dominance of the heavyweight division with an 11th round knockout over a game but overmatched Tony Thompson this past Saturday (July 12).   Throughout the first six rounds, Thompson was able to find success whenever he pressured a still gun-shy prone Klitschko. With a 240 pound plus frame, the challenger was able to muscle to the inside and land sporadic hard lefts to the body, followed by clubbing rights to the head.   Still, the more skillful Klitschko was able to score quick knockdown off the right hand in the second round.   Klitschko remained consistent with his powerful right cross, and found a home for the punch repeatedly from the seventh round on.   By the championship rounds, a worn down Thompson was caught with another straight right behind a jab which sent him to the canvas. With his energy spent and a cut over the right eye, Thompson slowly rose by the count of nine only to see referee Joe Cortez call a halt to the bout.   While the fight wasn’t a barnburner, it was a significant improvement over Klitschko’s sloppy, pedestrian performance against Sultan Ibragimov five months ago. The champion also pads his resume with his sixth win over a top 10 ranked heavyweight.   Unfortunately, the barren wasteland that is the heavyweight division does not have many challengers left for Klitschko. Samuel Peter is still standing, but Dr. Steel Hammer already holds a win over the Nigerian from their 2005 encounter. Plus that rematch has lost some luster after Peter was nearly kayoed by Jameel McCline.   Ironically, the next big fight for Klitschko may come from the cocky cruiserweight champ David Haye, who’s already on record as stating the Klitschko-Thompson bout was lackluster.   Check out the two champs facing off. As much as I like Haye, I see visions of Apollo Creed vs. Ivan Drago if this comes off.   www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnOANul82Tw   Pavlik-Williams a Strong Possibility   Maxboxing.com broke the story that middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik is nearly signed to face two time WBO welterweight champ Paul Williams on September 23 in Atlantic City.   “I’m dealing with [Dan] Goossen, it’s a deal. But [it’s] not sure,” Arum told maxboxing.com. “You never know if it’s a deal. I think there is a deal. But if my life depended on it, I wouldn’t swear to it. With Goossen, you’re never quite sure.”   At first glance it seems peculiar that Arum would match his fighter with a champion two weight classes below. But since Arthur Abraham is tied up with a mandatory defense, it doesn’t seem as bad since Williams is coming off an impressive, high profile destruction of Carlos Quintana last month.   Still, Pavlik is too strong a puncher for Williams and would likely brutally stop him. We should hope that their backup choice, Allan Green, gets the call for what would be a more competitive bout with Pavlik still the favorite.   Emanuel Augustus Signs On for Fight Night Round 4   Cult favorite and ESPN Friday Night Fights legend Emanuel Augustus has announced a deal to feature his likeness in the 2009 edition of EA Sport’s Fight Night.   In the twilight of his career, the deal marks a huge exposure opportunity for Augustus, who has had to deal with many controversial and heartbreaking decision losses in his career.   “To all my doubters in the pro boxing industry now that I am working with EA Sports I have definitely made it to the big time,” Augustus released in a statement. “I hope my actions inside the ring and outside the ring will turn all my doubters into Emanuel Augustus believers. I want to thank all my fans for their continued support and I want to show special appreciation to ‘Irish’ Micky Ward. We will forever be linked together by our historic fight in 2001. Everyday Micky Ward continues to be a great inspiration to me as I continue to move forward in my career.”   In his fourteen year career, Augustus has become a fan favorite due to his bizarre “drunken master” style offense and fearlessness to take on any fighter even on short notice.   His most famous bouts are his spirited efforts in losing performances to Floyd Mayweather (2000) by TKO and Micky Ward (2001) by decision.   Throwback Fighter of the Week: “Big” George Foreman   The affable, product hawking George Foreman that we see today is a far cry from the brutish, Sonny Liston molded Foreman of the ‘70s that terrorized the heavyweight division.   After mowing down mostly easy competition, Foreman earned in his first title shot against undefeated Muhammad Ali conqueror Joe Frazier in 1973. All it took was two rounds for Foreman to drop Joe six times in route to a merciful stoppage.   The following year he demolished Ken Norton in two rounds before running into well prepared and motivated Ali. In one of the most famous bouts in history, Ali outsmarted his younger and stronger foe with the Rope-a-dope to score an upset 8th round stoppage. Foreman was never the same mentally after that bout, taking two years off to recover.   He returned to barely survive a classic shootout with Ron Lyle before knocking out Joe Frazier again in a return bout. After being upset by slickster Jimmy Young he retired in 1977.   Returning 10 years later, Foreman was amazingly able to compete with the top fighters due to his immense power and physical strength. He eventually regained the title in 1994 against Michael Moorer before retiring for good in 1997.   Foreman is considered by most to be one of the powerful, physically and punch-wise, fighters in heavyweight history. His final record stands at 76-5, 68 KOs.   www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL7KnkWWXbQ   www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0lRwBb9lbA