Klitschko stepping up vs Browne. December 10th WBA title

Perhaps he wants to grab the WBA now while it's an easy fight for it, rather than trying to wrestle it from someone like Ortiz later one? If he wants to unify before he retires he'd maybe just try to make and win Browne/Wilder/winner of Joshua-Parker. Then maybe Fury?

 

Perhaps Wlad would rather hold a belt for the WBA? The IBF did strip Fury and not allow Wlad to fight for it in the rematch despite defending - and paying sanctioning fees for - their title for a decade.

 

Wlad said in The scene interview that the WBA is the oldest and most prestigious of the titles

 

wlad ran

 

Wlad making it pretty clear he wants the WBA belt back. That is his priority, and if it isn't included in the Joshua deal he won't be signing on.

 

And I agree

 

Still crossing fingers.

 

What a goddamn **** fight this is. I thought we had a real fight for a change. I swear being a boxing fan is just torture.

 

I know what you mean bro, how many times do we look forward to these big fights then get let down by injuries, politics or ducking! Boxing is such a mess these days...

 

I've never been a big fan of Wlad's, but I think this is sensible.

I think he needs this type of a fight at this stage of his career.

No disrespect to Browne, but this can be Wlad's tune up after a year of inactivity.

A fight with Joshua could still happen next year if Wlad wins. And it would be better than a fight now. Because Wlad would be better prepared and there'd be more at stake. It would also give Joshua another opponent in the meantime to gain some more experience.

I'm actually really happy with this, as long as we definitely see him fight a unification next year.

 

Yep, many of the top HWs have not fought in a year or there abouts. It kind of needs some entity to come in a impose some kind of structure that presents an attractive product not just to boxing fans but also sports fans.

Imagine if the EPL was just some collection of random games where the top teams hardly ever played each other. Some sports are going from strength to strength because they take place within an established structure that people can easily and reliably engage with but boxing is falling away as something able to attract new followers. In the past most general sports fans had a keen interest in who the HW champ was and how various fighters from their home country across all divisions were doing, but now I'm not sure that's the case. I'd rather boxing was an over-all popular sport not a niche sport, but to gain more followers it has to provide meaningful fights on a more regular basis.

 

Unfortunately, this it what happens when there's 4 rival organisations and multiple belts on offer.

There is no structure or organisation.

 

Fight is on according to boxrec. December 10 in Hamburg. What a huge disappointment if confirmed.


vacant WBA World heavyweight title
vacant International Boxing Organization World heavyweight title

 

Mate , you can't have a tune-up and a world title shot at the same time. Fighting Browne is totally fine without any belt.
The sport doesn't need these ugly mismatches at championship level. Wlad is being greedy looking for an easy route to a strap so he can milk it a few times against more bums before throwing in the towel.
Who wants to see that nonsense all over again?
People are talking like this guy is 35 or something. He's 41 and can barely box anymore. He's a one shot hitter like Mike Tyson was later on his career. Not to say he was anything like Tyson 10 years ago. He threw 2-3 shots back then , instead of a single shot like he does now.
But the point is Joshua will never be sought out if he isn't willing to face him now. He was on course to the Fury rematch so the notion he needs a tune -up is baloney.
He's ducking AJ to fight a bum. Its clearly is what it is.

 

what a hypocrite