Brotherly back-up outside the ring
Wednesday 21 October 2015 15:59, UK
The only thing more frightening that running into one Klitschko in a dark alley would be running into two.
Several bands of boxing brothers are about to fight for the family name and before Wladimir Klitschko defends his gold against Tyson Fury on November 28, live on Sky Sports Box Office, Gavin McDonnell aims to match his twin Jamie's success this Saturday live on Sky Sports 1 HD.
We've considered the brotherly love from inside the ropes.
The colossal Ukrainians, as menacing wearing expensive suits as they are when delivering shuddering jabs, set the bar as boxing's most dominant brotherly duo.
Doctors Steelhammer and Ironfist have ruled heavyweight prize-fighting for a decade based on a methodical technique blended from PhDs in sports science and preparation so thorough it could have been written in the pages of Frankenstein. The intelligence and articulacy with which they speak adds a unique allure and a deeper sense of danger when it's time for the talking to stop.
Vitali, 44, hung up his gloves in 2012 to fight a more pertinent battle for democracy in his homeland and retired with a 45-2 record. Lennox Lewis, in 2003, was the last man to better Vitali but the eldest Klitschko - 'Ironfist' to his friends - held the WBC belt for eight years until handing it back to begin a different fighting career without referees or gloves.
Wladimir, the little Klitschko for whom a threat to involve his big brother would have been the playground's most dreaded fear, has enjoyed an even longer reign at the top. Having ironed out the possibility of losing with the help of the late Emanuel Steward, the 39-year-old sports a 64-3 record and hasn't lost in 11 years. Step forward Tyson Fury, also of fighting family stock, to challenge for Wladimir's WBA, IBF and WBO belts.
The Doncaster duo have grown up looking alike but it remains Gavin's job to ensure their career paths are also twinned.
This weekend, the younger - by nine minutes - McDonnell defends his European super-bantamweight title against Jeremy Parodi as he bids to replicate the only thing that differentiates him from his brother Jamie - a glistening world championship belt.
His ascent to world level, Gavin admits freely, is driven by a desire not to be shunted into Jamie's shadow. As one of nine British world champions, the task to match Jamie's credentials are daunting but the bloodline is thick enough to give Gavin the appetite to try.
A pair of wins on American soil against Tomoki Kameda solidified Jamie as WBA bantamweight champion and he has also held aloft the IBF belt, which has only served to sharpen Gavin's focus to make sure the McDonnells are defending titles on twin fronts.
The famous band of the same name sang about a light that would never go out but, judging by the most recent victims of the latest Smiths quartet, some daylights have been emphatically knocked out.
Paul, the eldest of the Liverpool foursome, led his younger brothers into world championship contention always claiming that the fledgling trio would eventually prove superior. Finally, it is clear what the two-time world championship challenger was talking about.
Liam, 27, won the race to bring the first world title back to the Smith household when he shut down John Thompson for WBO honours before mentioning Shane Mosley as a high-profile future foe, while Callum, the youngest at 25 and ranked No 1 contender by the WBC, fights Liverpudlian rival Rocky Fielding for the British super-middleweight title on November 7 on Sky Sports.
The 30-year-old Stephen is also coming off a career-best showing against Devis Boschiero. The Smiths, one way or another, are here to stay and with three brothers backing up whoever has laced up the gloves, who's going to argue?
Anthony and Andre are still licking their wounds from the most trying period of the Dirrell story, as both American brothers returned from world championship fights without the gold they strived for.
Anthony, in April, surprisingly suffered his first loss to Badou Jack with the WBC super-middleweight strap changing hands in the process. In turn, Jack then defeated George Groves, casting Anthony further out of the limelight.
Andre, a year older than Anthony at 32, has lost just twice in 24 outings - first to Carl Froch, then to James DeGale in May for vacant IBF gold. The Michigan siblings have enjoyed no luck when their names are pitted in the same breath as super-middleweights from these shores.
Yet both have gritted their teeth towards greater victories. Andre is a bronze medal winner from the 2004 Olympics and Anthony won his ultimate battle with his own health by surviving cancer.
Long before the flame-haired Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez emerged as one of the top punchers of his generation, his elder brother Rigoberto was slugging it out with the world's very best.
Perhaps best known for defeats to Marco Antonio Rubio and Austin Trout, the latter for the vacant world title, Rigoberto retired four years ago with a 27-4 record. He was the WBA light-middleweight champion.
Ricardo and Ramon, two more brothers, competed at a more humble level but the ace in the pack has turned out to be 25-year-old 'Canelo', nicknamed after his red hair. One of Floyd Mayweather's 49 victims, the Mexican is preparing for an explosive world title showdown with WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto in November.
Watch Gavin McDonnell fight on Chris Eubank Jr's undercard on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD at 8pm.
