After watching fights fall apart, Wladimir Klitschko just happy to have opponent

By Brett Okamoto

Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010 | 3:08 p.m.

Wladimir Klitschko has had so much trouble finding an opponent this year that just having one show up at a press conference is enough to excite him.

The current WBO and IBF heavyweight champion praised his upcoming opponent, Samuel Peter, during a conference call Wednesday for simply agreeing to a rematch with him on Sept. 11 in Frankfurt, Germany.

After watching David Haye and Alexander Povetkin withdraw from potential fights earlier this year, Klitschko perhaps knows better than any in boxing what it means to get "ducked."

"I'm glad you have Sam Peter showing up at the press conference," said Klitschko, who defeated Peter in 2005. "This man is determined. He wants to fight, and he wants to become a champion.

"That's the challenge I like to see while in camp. I love the challenge."

Challenges have been hard to come by lately for the 34-year-old Klitschko.

In addition to competing in one of the weakest divisions in boxing at the moment, the few legitimate threats out there don't seem to want any piece of him.

WBA champion Haye has turned down multiple offers from the Klitschko camp.

Povetkin, the mandatory challenger to Klitschko's IBF title for the past two years, dropped out of a fight against him in June after his manager decided he wasn't ready.

"I've never faced anything like that," Klitschko said of Povetkin's decision to pull out. "I've never had an issue where a fighter was getting paid over $2 million (and doesn't show up).

"I was surprised. Of course I was upset."

Klitschko's last scare in the ring came the first time he fought Peter (34-3, 27 KO) — apparently, one reason he's so interested in this fight.

Klitschko (54-3, 48 KO) was knocked down three times in that fight but ended up hanging on to a decision win by unanimous scores of 114-111.

Legendary trainer Emmanuel Steward, who has cornered Klitschko since 2005, remembers that fight as the most dramatic he's been involved in.

"You can't get much more dramatic than that," Steward said. "I remember going into the 12th round and it was the most tense and emotional final round I've ever experienced in my life.

"Wlad was ahead on points, but the biggest question on everybody's mind was, 'Can he make it through the next three minutes?' You could see the drama he went through in that fight, and it was a turning point in his life."

The rematch against Peter will take place at the 45,000-seat Commerzbank-Arena and be broadcast to a U.S. audience on the ESPN3 broadband network. It will re-air Sept. 12 on ESPN's main network.

Despite that broadcast power, the fight is far from garnering the worldwide attention that a fight against Haye or, to a far lesser extent, Povetkin might have.

The HBO network has all but written off carrying any Klitschko fight that doesn't involve Haye as an opponent, which Klitschko says is a primary reason his last four fights have taken place at European venues.

Although the history with Peter should add interest to the Sept. 11 fight, the night won't likely help Klitschko reach the full potential of his star power.

However, Steward, who's been involved in the careers of Oscar De La Hoya, Lennox Lewis and Thomas Hearns, says that type of fight will come.

"Wlad just needs to get some big-name opponents, and I think that will happen," Steward said. "You can only be judged by your performances against the best, and unfortunately, Wlad hasn't had anything to that degree.

"But the heavyweight division will always spring up a situation. I think if a fight with David Haye takes place, which Wladimir has said he thinks it will, he'll be considered a great fighter. If you're the heavyweight champion and you keep winning, eventually something is going to come up."

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or brett.okamoto@lasvegassun.com. Follow him on Twitter at LVSunFighting