Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko knows that he's in a no-win situation when he faces mandatory challenger Tony Thompson in a rematch. Klitschko beat Thompson once and is the heavy favourite to do it again on Saturday, so if the champ loses, it's a disaster. Even if Klitschko merely struggles, it will prompt a negative reaction. And if Klitschko wins? Well, big deal. Wasn't he supposed to? Klitschko doesn't have a lot to say on the topic. "I want to improve my performance, so I've been trying a lot of things, sparring very well," he said. "But if I would say I would knock him out again, or make a prediction - I don't want to talk too much. I will keep quiet, not promise anything, and then I can comment after the fight."
The first time Klitschko met Thompson was in July 2008 in Hamburg, Germany, in a mandatory fight. Klitschko started a tad slowly but was in full command in a dominant performance when he caught Thompson with a clean right hand on the chin in the 11th round and knocked him out to retain the title. Now the long-reigning king of the heavyweight division will face Thompson - who is again a mandatory challenger - for the second time, knowing that most observers expect another knockout performance in Berne, Switzerland, at the Stade de Suisse, an outdoor stadium where a sellout of 30,000-plus is expected. Klitschko, 36, made it clear that fighting Thompson again wasn't his idea. It's a mandatory bout, and because Klitschko had no intention of letting any of the heavyweight belts slip out of family control - older brother Vitali Klitschko owns the other major alphabet belt - he is again facing Thompson, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound southpaw who is one of the few challengers who measures up to the 6-foot-6, 245-pound champion.
"First of all, I didn't pick him out. I have to fight him to defend my title," Klitschko said. "Tony Thompson, I give him respect for fighting his way back to the mandatory position. I've seen some of the fights where he was always mentioning my name and wanting the rematch. He says he didn't do in the first fight what he says he will do in the second fight." Klitschko has been champion since crushing Chris Byrd in seven one-sided rounds to win a title in 2006. Along the way, Klitschko, who will be making his 12th defence, has collected three major belts and rolled to victory after lopsided victory. But of all of the defenses Klitschko has made during his second title reign, which began in April 2006, Thompson (36-2, 24 KOs), despite the violent ending, gave him the most competitive fight. Even though Klitschko was in control and leading 99-91, 98-92, 98-92 on the scorecards at the time of the knockout, Thompson at least tested Klitschko to a degree and competed round after round, which can't be said for any of the other 10 challengers Klitschko has routed, including nine knockout victims.