NEW YORK — Wladimir Klitschko looks around the boxing landscape and sees young heavyweights, lots of young heavyweights. At his age, 39, that's hardly unnatural.
What is unusual is that none of those youngsters — or any other opponent — has presented much of a challenge for his championship belts.
Klitschko has been on top for nearly a decade since taking the WBO crown from unbeaten Samuel Peter in 2005. He added the other alphabet titles during a string of wins that now has reached 19. Yes, many of them came against unimpressive opposition, but that's hardly Klitschko's fault. If the rest of the heavyweight field is, well, lightweight, he just goes about his business of compiling victories.
He has 63 of those, 53 by knockout, heading into Saturday night's defense against undefeated American Bryant Jennings (HBO, 10 p.m. ET). That will be his 27th title fight, matching a heavyweight record set by Joe Louis.
"How long I've been champion, how many title defenses I've made, I still don't want to compare myself with any of the great heavyweights," Klitschko said. "I'm still looking up to those guys, they are still icons to me."
Klitschko chuckled at the thought of being placed on the boxing Olympus with the likes of Louis, Marciano and Ali.
"I'm getting a little allergy," he said with a smile about the record within his reach. "I never track it or count it, but I hear of it, people tell me of it. As an insider, I know inside the ring what to do. But I don't want to compare myself with any great heavyweights. It doesn't matter who is in front of me in the ring, I'm going to destroy him. But comparing me is kind of fantasy to me to say I am better than other fighters."
In the last decade, Klitschko has been good enough to add the WBA, IBF and IBO belts to his collection. There have been plenty of fighters many years his junior — Jennings being the latest at 30 — eager to end Klitschko's reign.
