Sanders Has Nothing to Lose Against Klitschko

When Vitali Klitschko steps into the Staples Center ring tonight to fight for the vacant World Boxing Council heavyweight title, he will clearly have a size advantage over Corrie Sanders.

At 6 feet 7, Klitschko is three inches taller. At 245 pounds, he is 10 pounds heavier, a disparity that might have grown since Thursday’s weigh-in.

At 32, Klitschko also is six years younger.

End of story for Sanders?

Not necessarily.

Although Klitschko has the physical edge, the mental aspect seems to favor Sanders. As any fighter who has ever stepped inside the ropes can attest, a solid body is useless if it is not complemented by ease of mind.

The difference between the fighters was evident at Wednesday’s news conference.

Klitschko was tense, unbending, his lips pressed tightly together. He appeared to have an unpleasant duty to perform.

Sanders was loose, amiable, a bright smile lighting his face. He appeared ready to head for his favorite refuge, the golf course.

After years as a lightly regarded journeyman, Sanders, who wanted to quit boxing after losing to Hasim Rahman four years ago, finds himself fighting for the crown generally regarded as the bona fide heavyweight title.

Having surprised the boxing world last year by dominating Wladimir Klitschko, Vitali’s brother, and winning by TKO in the second round, Sanders now has the opportunity to become the man who finished off boxing’s hottest brother act. The toast of his native South Africa, Sanders will earn $952,500 tonight to ease him into retirement, win or lose, in the near future.

So what’s not to smile about?

“I’ve got nothing to lose,” Sanders said. “Whatever happens, I can now say I’ve had a nice career.”

Klitschko, cannot say that yet. On his broad shoulders, he will bear many concerns when he answers the opening bell.

First, there is the other Klitschko. Wladimir fell apart at the end of the fifth round of his fight against Lamon Brewster two weeks ago, collapsing from exhaustion, and was deemed unfit to continue.

Unwilling to accept the possibility of Wladimir as a four-round fighter, better suited to facing Butterbean than Brewster, the Klitschko camp floated a conspiracy theory, based on the detection of Wladimir’s higher-than-usual blood sugar. There were suggestions of tainted food or water.

“They even had us check Wladimir’s trunks,” said Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. “We have found nothing abnormal in regard to the fight. According to our commission doctors, the blood-sugar level was a little elevated, but that means nothing. There are no answers to what they are looking for.”

But the Klitschko camp intends to continue looking. “We don’t know what happened to my brother right now,” Vitali said. “It’s all speculation. I won’t think about that now. I am going to concentrate on [tonight].”

There’s also the distraction of K2. The Klitschkos are testing the length of their contract with European promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl in court while launching K2, their promotional company.

K2 also has come under fire because of the weak undercard on tonight’s show. A welterweight match between Vernon Forrest and Teddy Reid had to be scrubbed because of chronic injuries to Forrest’s shoulder and elbow. Female star Lucia Rijker had to drop out because of a stomach injury. Attempts to fill in with an International Boxing Federation lightweight title match between champion Javier Jauregui and challenger Julio Diaz, or a heavyweight fight between Rahman and Jameel McCline failed.

K2 President Tom Loeffler said he and the Klitschkos had been unfairly criticized.

“It wasn’t our choice to have Vernon Forrest and Teddy Reid on the card in the first place,” Loeffler said. “That was strictly HBO. And they turned down Jauregui-Diaz.”

HBO executive Kery Davis said the match between Forrest and Reid, neither of whom has local connections, was put on the card before it was known that L.A. would be the site. And that Jauregui-Diaz was better suited for HBO Latino.

Besides the controversy, there is matter of the fight itself. Sanders is a southpaw, awkward but a heavy puncher. Vitali watched from the corner when Sanders knocked Wladimir down four times. Vitali showed he himself had a strong chin when he withstood an onslaught of blows from Lennox Lewis in their title fight last year.

Now, Vitali must withstand onslaughts from both inside the ring and out and counterattack effectively against Sanders.

“Everything the Klitschkos built up over eight years could be lost in two weeks,” said Gunnar Meinhardt of the German Press Agency.

That’s pressure.

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Tale of the Tape

Tonight’s bout at Staples Center between Vitali Klitschko and Corrie Sanders is for the vacant WBC heavyweight belt. The main event is scheduled for 7 p.m. on HBO:

*--* Klitschko Sanders Record 33-2 39-2 Knockouts 32 29 Age 32 38 Weight 245 235 Height 6-7 6-4 Reach 78 77 Chest (normal) 46 1/2 45 Chest (expanded) 48 48 Biceps 17 1/2 17 1/2 Forearm 17 15 Waist 35 1/2 41 Thigh 23 1/4 25 Calf 17 15 1/2 Neck 18 1/4 17 1/2 Wrist 7 1/2 8 1/2 Fist 11 13

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