AP News, March 9th, 2007
Not many believe American challenger Ray Austin will take the IBF heavyweight title away from Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday.
But Austin's camp is promising to send a different fighter into the ring against the hard-hitting Ukrainian than the one that compiled a mediocre 24-3-4 record with no big wins.
Stacy McKinley has trained Austin for the past two months, after drawing praise for improving Samuel Peter of Nigeria, who is in line for a title shot against WBC champion Oleg Maskaev.
"You're going to see a much improved fighter," said McKinley, who was the assistant trainer for Mike Tyson for a decade. "I don't see any reason he can't win. Once you get past the punching power of Klitschko, there is nothing there."
Three straight wins against top fighters have ranked Klitschko _ 47-3 with 42 knockouts _ at the top of the current heavyweights.
He beat Peter _ before McKinley trained him _ then stopped Chris Byrd and Calvin Brock. Now, the 30-year-old Ukrainian is looking beyond Saturday's mandatory defense to loftier goals.
Klitschko's hopes of a unification fight, however, have been thwarted by the competing interests of the four boxing organizations and their champions' promoters.
"I have been working on that since I won the title again, but I'm not one step further," said Klitschko, who was once the WBO champion. "But fights can happen that everybody wants to see."
Wladimir and older brother Vitali Klitschko _ who promote themselves _ see Saturday's bout as about more than just two boxers. Austin fights for Don King, whom the Klitschkos have generally refused to work with.
"This isn't just about two fighters, it's about two promoters," said Vitali Klitschko, the former WBC champion who is planning a comeback.
Like Austin, Wladimir Klitschko has also received a boost from his own corner.
Emanuel Steward, who trained Lennox Lewis, is credited for vastly improving Klitschko since two knockouts threatened to end his career. Klitschko was stopped in two rounds by Corrie Sanders in 2003 and in five by Lamon Brewster in 2004.
"Most trainers ignore the basics. Steward and I are the few that don't," McKinley said. "It's like a house. You have to start with the structure, then build from there. That's what I did with Peter and that's what I'm doing with Austin."
McKinley said Austin, for the first time in his career, has the benefit of a professional training camp, multiple sparring partners and conditioning coaches.
Before a July draw against Sultan Ibragimov, which earned him the Klitschko fight, Austin had just eight sparring rounds.
Now Austin has been fine-tuned by the pros to beat Klitschko, according to McKinley. They are close to the same height and weight at around 6-foot-6 and 246 pounds.
"Steward has been saving Klitschko from the corner in his last fights," McKinley said. "The downside of Klitschko is he can't take a punch and he hasn't got the heart."
Klitschko, avoiding any trash talking, said he hoped for a quick end to the fight.
But Steward was quick to defend his fighter.
"After one minute of the first round, everything will change for Ray Austin when he realizes who he is in the ring with," Steward said. "Wladimir is on a different level."
