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Sanders a reluctant warrior
23/04/2004 13:29 - (SA)
Los Angeles - Corrie Sanders would rather be on the golf course, or tending to the water buffalo on his ranch in South Africa.
At 38, he's a little old to be an overnight success, and he was never too excited about this boxing thing anyway.
It's hard to imagine Sanders is only one big left hand away from being a heavyweight champion. So hard that he even seems to have trouble visualising it.
"I want to get in the ring, get out and go home and be champion," Sanders said.
Sanders gets that chance Saturday night when he meets Vitali Klitschko of Ukraine for the WBC heavyweight title that became vacant when Lennox Lewis retired earlier this year.
Klitschko is the big name, but Sanders knows something about fighting big names. It was his shocking knockout of Klitschko's younger brother, Wladimir, last year that finally made him a contender so late in his career.
The golf and the ranch will have to wait, while Sanders tries to take advantage of a second Klitschko in a fragmented heavyweight division filled with pretenders and contenders.
A week after John Ruiz and Chris Byrd showed there's plenty of room at the top for a big hitting heavyweight champion to emerge, Sanders gets the biggest fight of his 15-year career against a brother looking for revenge.
"I got this opportunity, so now I feel like a 32-year-old," Sanders said.
Klitschko is a 3 1/2-1 favourite in the fight at Staples Centre, but Sanders has nothing to lose and everything to gain - much as he did in March 2003 when he knocked out Wladimir Klitschko in the second round at Hannover, Germany.
'Pressure on Vitali'
"The pressure is on Vitali," Sanders said. "You saw what happened to his brother. It could happen to him."
Whatever happens, the fight isn't expected to go the distance. It pits two big men - Sanders is a 1.93m, 107kg southpaw and Klitschko is 1.98m, 111kg - who are known more for their ability to punch than their ability to box.
If it does go more than a few rounds, Sanders could be in trouble. He's fought only four rounds in the last four years, and is not known for his stamina.
Sanders won the WBO title in the fight with Wladimir Klitschko, a title so lightly regarded that he gladly gave it up to get a chance to fight for the WBC crown. Still, it was a step above the South African heavyweight championship which was the best he had done up to that point in a career that began in 1989.
Things got so bad for Sanders (39-2, 29 knockouts) that he was on the verge of retiring a few years ago when Hasim Rahman stopped him in the seventh round.
The thought of playing golf for a living instead of getting punched in the face enticed him. He hits the ball 274m and is a scratch player, and Sanders thought there might be an easier way to make money.
"I would love to get into the PGA Tour," he said. "But, it all depends. If I could have made it on the European tour, I would have done that, too."
- AP
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