VITALI KLITSCHKO vs JUAN CARLOS GOMEZ

Back from an injury-plagued, almost four-year layoff, Vitali Klitschko looked as good as he has ever done when stopping Samuel Peter in eight one-sided rounds last October.

Peter was right in front of Klitschko and slow with his punches. The towering Ukrainian was able to enjoy target practice and hardly took a punch in return.

Klitschko faces a different type of fighter on Saturday (live TV on ESPN Classic) when he defends his WBC heavyweight title against Juan Carlos Gomez, the German-based Cuban who was a superb cruiserweight champion before moving up to the heavyweight division.

Gomez is a skilled, cagey southpaw who is outgunned as regards firing power in this fight but does have the speed and savvy that could give Klitschko problems.

The two boxers were once stablemates when they were promoted by Universum, so they know each other well although I have heard that Gomez never liked to spar with Klitschko, who was far too big for him when the Cuban was in his cruiserweight days.

Gomez has put on some bulk since then and at about 6ft 3ins and around 230 pounds he is not exactly a small heavyweight although of course he will very much be the small man in the ring on Saturday. He did box well against a bigger man, though, when he outscored the Ukrainian Vladimir Virchis in their WBC eliminator last September.

This was Gomez’s first fight under the direction of the Cuban-born Miami trainer Orlando Cuellar, and the partnership worked beautifully. Cuellar and Gomez seem very confident, and while the Cuban fighter can seem boisterous in his manner I take this as genuine self-belief rather than an effort to pump himself up psychologically.

Gomez is said to have taken his conditioning to a new level for this fight. One concern about Gomez in the past has been a lack of focus and commitment, but he does seem to be strongly motivated for this fight.

The big problem for Gomez is going to be manoeuvring into position to land his punches while not getting caught by one of Klitschko’s heavy shots.

With his long reach, Klitschko can hit fighters when they normally would feel safely out of range. Gomez is going to have to time things exactly right, seeking to get in quickly, score and get away.

Gomez is not a hit-and-move type of fighter and is often quite prepared to be aggressive against bigger, slower men, relying on his reflexes and superior speed to achieve success. On Saturday he will have to be slicker, smarter and shiftier than in any fight he has ever taken part in if he is to enjoy a good night.

Klitschko’s power is impressive but quite often he needs some rounds to wear down his opponents. Of his last seven wins, only one came before the start of the eighth round, and that was when he blew out the overweight and undermotivated Kirk Johnson, who had a beached-whale appearance and quickly went down.

As a rule, Klitschko tends to be a careful fighter. He likes to stay back and hit the other man from long range, the way an artillery battery shells an infantry position. Because Gomez will have to be wary of getting caught, I can see a tactical fight unfolding during the early rounds.

Gomez’s chin has been questioned because of his shocking 106-second loss to Yanqui Diaz in 2004, but it is well-known that he was ill-prepared for that fight. This was why the bout was reduced from 10 to eight rounds. I think that Gomez thought he would be able to enjoy a virtual sparring session against a fellow-countryman whom he deemed to be of vastly inferior ability, but Diaz came out and basically got lucky when he threw and landed a right hand. Gomez stayed on his feet but was being clubbed by right hands, his hands down and his back to the ropes, when the referee intervened.

There was something of the fluke about that defeat. I believe that if the two boxed one another 100 times there would only be one winner each and every time, which would be Gomez.

Since then Gomez has shown he can take a good punch from a heavy-handed heavyweight in wins over Oliver McCall and Virchis. He was under pressure late in the fight in his rematch with McCall, suffering a swollen eye and having to weather one very rocky passage, but he boxed his way through the crisis and was a worthy winner. I believe that Gomez has increased his fitness and focus levels for the Klitschko fight. He is 35 and if he is going to grab glory as a heavyweight it is now or never.

Klitschko’s right hand is going to be a threat to Gomez throughout. The 6ft 8in Ukrainian boxer will be trying to time Gomez for the right hand all night. Gomez will have to try to neutralise the right hand, perhaps by moving to his right or by being first and quickest to the punch.

If Gomez starts to get hit too early, too hard by Klitschko’s right hand he will probably get stopped by the halfway stage. If, though, he can avoid most of Klitschko’s rights, score with his own punches and make the bigger man a little hesitant, he can get into the fight.

A lot depends on Gomez’s reaction the first time he gets hit solidly. If he shows signs of distress, or, worse yet, wobbles or goes down, the fight will be as good as over — but if the challenger shows he can take Klitschko’s punch, and keep functioning without wavering, it will be a highly encouraging sign for the Gomez faction.

I do give Gomez a chance — quite a good one, in fact — but I’m just not convinced that he will be able to take too many of Klitschko’s right hands. At some point, perhaps from the eighth round onwards, I suspect that Gomez might begin to wear down, leaving him vulnerable to getting knocked out. If Gomez’s chin holds up, however — and it’s a big “if” against someone who hits as hard as “Dr. Ironfist” — he does have the talent and the experience to make this a very difficult night for Klitschko.