Put on the list of a long line of heavyweight contenders with unrealized potential, Wladimir Klitschko stepped into the ring Saturday the 23rd in Dortmund, Germany to take another shot to get himself back into the mix of heavyweight contention. His opponent was an undefeated Cuban heavyweight Eliseo Castillo with solid boxing skills and an impressive amateur background.

What some thought would perhaps turn into another upset instead turned into a completely one sided affair. Klitschko, the bigger man, was the aggressor which was not awfully difficult since he was the only one throwing any punches. Castillo on the other hand limited himself to simply moving around the ring hoping that Wladimir would eventually punch himself out. But unlike all his previous fights Klitschko fought at a perfectly controlled pace that is much more suitable for a big man. He was patient and focused on doing precisely what Emanuel Stewart asked him to do.

For the first two rounds Klitschko controlled the pace with his left jab while occasionally throwing hard left hooks off the jab that landed with perfect accuracy. Castillo did little in return and just seemed to be patiently waiting for an opening to strike. Unfortunately for him he was perhaps a little too patient because by not pressuring Klitschko he let the big man take his time and ultimately impose his will.

In rounds 3 and 4 Klitschko began to throw the right hand behind his jabs. Form that point on it was apparent that it was only a matter of time until Klitschko closed the show. The end came abruptly as a Klitschko right hand landed flush on the chin of Castillo placing him on the seat of his pants. Castillo did manage to beat the count, but he was in no shape to continue the fight. The official particulars were 2 min 51sec in round #4 Wladimir Klitschko winner by knockout.

There were both negatives and positives when evaluating Wladimir’s performance in this bout. The main criticism would obviously have to be the choice of the opponent who although a skilled boxer obviously lacked the punching power and the size of some of the top heavyweights. Other than that Klitschko showed that he still has those amazing skills that made all of us rant about how perfect he was in the not so distant past. Most importantly he showed that he has the ability to fight at the pace that is more appropriate for a heavyweight. While the doubts regarding Wladimir’s ability to take a punch still linger it would be premature to think that he should simply be written off after his two latest losses. Lenox Lewis was also criticized for having a suspect chin after suffering two knockout losses yet today he is remembered as the most dominant heavyweight of his era. I am not saying that Klitschko will be that dominant, all I’m saying is that we should patiently wait and observe his attempted comeback before calling him a broken man and a mentally weak boxer. Hopefully in his next fight Wladimir will meat a top heavyweight, perhaps then we will see whether his comeback is fact or fiction.

Post Script - Wladimir Klitschko's easy win over Eliseo Castillo drew approximately 10,000 fans to the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund as well as 8.9 million watching on ARD.