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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
"I could beat that guy, man. Maybe not easy, but I could knock him out... I watch a lot of fights with Wladimir, and I see a lot of holes. Wladimir, the Klitschkos, they're amazing. I like to watch them fight, especially Wladimir, but it's kind of boring. They are really good at what they do, but they are very careful. They don't go to the fight to finish the fight. They stay there in that safe strategy all the time. It's not the Mike Tyson time. Guys don't finish fights."
-UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos comments on champion boxer Wladimir Klitschko in an Associated Press interview.
Penick's Analysis: Dos Santos is a great MMA striker, but there are very big differences between elite MMA strikers and elite, world-class boxers. He clearly believes in his striking game, but saying he'd knock out a championship boxer at this stage is a little crazy. Not to mention he's just off in his assessment of Klitschko's career despite the commonality of that criticism. As Brent Brookhouse at BloodyElbow.com points out, Klitschko has finished 84% of his career fights, a higher percentage than Tyson. Not only that, but in his victories, 88% have been stoppages, which is the same mark for Tyson. So it's a mischaracterization of Klitschko from the UFC Champ, and a bit of an overinflation in his mind about where his striking game is at. Regardless, it's not something we're going to actually find out or not, because dos Santos and Klitschko are not going to fight one another.
[Junior dos Santos art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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