Wladimir Klitschko Fighting Style Analysis

Let’s jump into a Wladimir Klitschko fighting style analysis, well worth it given the quality of the Ukrainian heavyweight king.

Wladimir Klitschko won the gold medal in the super-heavyweight class in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He held versions of the heavyweight title in the professional ranks for almost 10 years and for a large part of that time he was pretty much dominant. This short video covers my analysis of the Wladimir Klitschko fighting style:

Now, whilst for me Wladimir was involved in one of the most boring heavyweight fights I’ve ever seen (when he lost his title to Tyson Fury), there is a huge amount to admire and indeed learn from the Wladimir Klitschko fighting style.

Starting with his boxing stance, Wladimir has quite a wide stance and has his body largely side on (often called ‘bladed’). His weight is most often on his rear leg, so he has a keen eye on risk management – he has a defensive fighting style.

A really interesting aspect of the Wladimir Klitschko fighting style is his lead hand position. His lead hand is often half extended towards the opponent. This has a number of benefits – there is a shorter distance for the jab to travel, it provides a presence in the opponent’s ‘space’ helping apply pressure, it acts as a probe, assisting with range finding and provides an advanced defensive position.

There can be a vulnerability with the half-extension of the lead hand in that wide hooks can come over the top. The Wladimir Klitschko fighting style deals with this risk by always being willing to push away at any sign of trouble.

The Wladimir Klitschko jab is fantastic, it’s interesting to wonder how much the half-extension contributes to the quality of his jab.

Wladimir’s long range work is excellent, regularly combining the jab with the lay back. The Wladimir Klitschko fighting style also includes a fantastic right hand, incorporating lots of rotation of the hips driving real power. Klitschko doesn’t want to mess about with close range work, infighting, he simply ties up the opponent.

The Wladimir left hook is also outstanding. He uses lots of feints and will regularly deliver super left hooks off the feint. Even when using left hooks (which is more high risk than using straight punches), Klitschko slams his weight onto his back leg thereby enabling that defensive posture to follow (risk management is always there).

So, for me Wladimir Klitschko fighting style is all about wearing the opponent down at long range, tiring them out to then move in for the kill when he feels the risk levels have dropped.

Plenty to learn

Cheers

Fran

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