COULD THIS BE A “BIG TIME” UPSET? - KLITSCHKO VS McCLINE

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By Ron Brashear

Inside Boxing Writer/Columnist

Photos: Rene Martinez/InsideBoxing.com

LAS VEGAS, NV (IB-December 5, 2002) - The main event of the boxing double-header scheduled for Saturday night December 7th, and Televised on HBO live from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV, will be the Heavyweight showdown for the WBO Heavyweight Championship. Dr. Wladimir Klitschko (39-1, 36 KOs) will defend his title against the WBO’s #1 contender in Jameel “Big Time” McCline (28-2-3, 16KOs).

Since Klitschko is 6’ 7” and weighed in at 240lbs and McCline is 6’6 and weighed in at 263, this will truly be a HEAVYWEIGHT bout in the true sense. Therefore, any mistake by either fighter could mean “good night” very quickly.

The odds makers have Klitschko as a 6-1 favorite to defeat McCline in this bout. On the surface, I can see why they would view this fight in this manner. After all, Wladimir is being discussed as the top contender that may be able to dethrone Lennox Lewis. Granted Wladimir has been very impressive in his previous bouts and his only lost came back in 1998 against journeyman Ross Puritty by TKO in the 11th round (keep this comment in mind).

Although McCline is relatively unknown outside of the immediate boxing circles, which is prompting a lot of folks not to even give him a chance of winning this fight, I truly believe he has a legitimate chance in this fight. Additionally, I will tell you this, the longer this fight last, the better the chances will be for McCline to pull off a “Big Time” upset! Klitschko is a very good offensive fighter. However, his defense is suspect in the way that he is a stand up fighter. If his defense it not any better than it was against the aging Ray Mercer in his last fight, this will become a very intriguing battle. Mercer was able to land a very high percentage of jabs against Wladimir but didn’t have the ability to unload his combinations.

McCline is known for being able to punch in combinations, which at a minimum, gives him a puncher’s chance.

I don’t know about you, but I would love to see a very competitive Heavyweight fight!

Who knows, it could just turn out to be a “Big Time” upset to end the boxing year of 2002!

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