Klitschko Told to Defend Title

Enough is enough.

That was the decision announced Friday by the World Boxing Council in response to the request by its heavyweight champion, Vitali Klitschko, to again fight someone other than the organization’s mandatory challenger.

The WBC has ruled that Klitschko must face the winner of an Aug. 13 match in Chicago between No. 1-ranked Hasim Rahman and No. 2-ranked Monte Barrett.

The tentative date for Klitschko’s long-awaited return to the ring is Nov. 12. His arena of choice is Staples Center if the Laker, Clipper and King schedules don’t conflict.

Klitschko had planned to fight heavyweight Calvin Brock on Sept. 24. He still could if Don King, promoter of Rahman-Barrett, permitted it, but King has indicated there is no way he will allow that. So Klitschko’s absence from the ring will stretch to 11 months.

It has been a disastrous absence, preceded by an ill-advised choice of opponents. Klitschko has squandered the goodwill and favorable image he gained in his 2003 fight against Lennox Lewis, and lost his claim to being the bona fide heavyweight champion without losing a fight.

So high was his public esteem after that June match that some people have forgotten that Klitschko lost that night on a sixth-round TKO at Staples Center because of a cut on his left eyelid that forced him out of a fight he was winning on the judges’ scorecards.

No matter. Klitschko walked out of the arena perceived as the future hope of the heavyweight division, a 6-foot-7 1/2 giant from Ukraine who had crafted his skills in Germany before making his home in L.A.

He went on to defeat Kirk Johnson, beat Corrie Sanders for the vacant WBC title after Lewis’ retirement, and successfully defend against Danny Williams, whose claim to fame was beating a washed-up Mike Tyson. Klitschko received an exemption from the WBC to fight Williams rather than the mandatory challenger.

This sad trio of opponents, however, did nothing to enhance Klitschko’s rapidly sagging image. If he was really the best of the heavyweight champions, why wasn’t he fighting the others, why wasn’t he putting his belt up against John Ruiz (World Boxing Assn.), Chris Byrd (International Boxing Federation) or even Lamon Brewster (World Boxing Organization)?

The easy answer was that King controlled them and a negotiating session with King can be comparable to root canal.

But that’s no excuse. Others have made deals with King and other champions have found a way to have meaningful fights. Any loss in anticipated purse money pales in comparison to the loss in prestige suffered by Klitschko.

Finally, earlier this year, he agreed to fight a credible opponent in Rahman. Then came the injuries. An April fight had to be postponed when Klitschko injured his leg while jogging. A June date had to be postponed when the problem spread to Klitschko’s back.

Disgusted with the delays, Rahman went elsewhere, signing with Barrett.

“People say Vitali was afraid to fight Rahman,” said Tom Loeffler, an executive with Klitschko’s promotional company. “Rahman has done nothing to make him afraid. Once Vitali fights his mandatory, people will see that he is still the best out there.”

Until then, Klitschko must endure the taunts and doubts of those who question whether he is worthy of elite status, even in a heavyweight division in need of a true champion.

King has scheduled a media luncheon today to discuss the WBC ruling. Playing off Klitschko’s roots, King is serving chicken Kiev.

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After 11 years on the job, Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, said that, for the first time, he didn’t feel like going to work to oversee a fight card two weeks ago.

That’s because, earlier in the day, he had learned that 26-year-old Martin Sanchez of Mexico had died as a result of a head injury suffered in a super-lightweight bout the night before against Rustam Nugaev of Russia. Sanchez, knocked out in the ninth round, had left the ring under his own power but collapsed in his dressing room.

It was the fifth boxing fatality in Nevada since 1994, covering more than 3,000 bouts.

“One is too many, but this one really shook me up,” Ratner said. “It makes you wonder sometimes why we do this.”