Heavyweights: Get the lead out!

Here's a few words on the current state of heavyweight division.

1. Wlad Klitschko - IBF/WBO champ - Honestly, I don't like the guy that much. He has all the tools and yet he looks like he's taking his sweet time taking on the division. I'm pretty convinced he was gun shy against the southpaw Ibragimov. He's an athletic giant, capable of crushing nearly any opponent in the top 10, but he has this ******ed dream of holding titles with his oft injured brother. What Wlad should be doing right now is scoping out his next matchup. I'm all for a fight against Chagaev, but I'm doubting that will happen anytime soon. He should fight Tony Thompson (WBO #1) to get him out of the way, quick. That's one mandatory out of the way. Then Povetkin (IBF #1). Try to have more than two fights in a year. Then build it up to Chagaev, by the end of this year. I'd let his brother fight Sam Peter, then retire. I'd prefer to see a Wlad Vs. Sam II then seeing his brother hold one of the trinkets only to retire again.

2. Sam Peter - WBC Champ - I'm hoping this guy stays determined. He said he's ready to defend his part of the crown "tomorrow". I'm all for a fighter like that. However, even Peter has been fighting as infrequent as two fights a year like Wlad. Let's hope he lives up to it and keeps the fight machine rolling along. If he can defeat Vitali then Sam should look at cleaning out the top 10 until a proper unification with Chagaev or Wlad comes along. Potential title defenses should be WBC top 5 guys like Rahman (#3, KO this guy into retirement), J.C. Gomez (#2, could be a spoiler), Virchis (#1, another potential upset), Arreola (#6, could be a good slugfest). Peter could take out some pesky one-time title contenders.

3. Ruslan Chagaev - WBA Champ - Ugh, he wins it from Valuev. Defends against the boring (but strong) Matt Skelton. And now he's primed towards fighting his mandatory Valuev. Boring. I'd say this guy should be fed to Wlad, ASAP. The WBA has the WEAKEST top 10 out of all the belts.
Here's the WBA top 5 (as of Jan 2008)
1. Valuev
2. Liakhovich (should be lower by now)
3. Ruiz (goddamnit)
4. Meehan (wtf?)
5. Bidenko (ugh)
Oh, and by the way #6 is Michael Moorer (he's 40 now). Fighting any mandatories looks insanely boring for Chagaev. There's no question about it, this guy is nearly setup as the weakest looking champ holding a strap. Feed him to Wlad or Sam, NOW! Line up Valuev and set up a unification.

What should happen this year:
-Wlad Vs. Thompson, followed by Povetkin, then unification late 2008 with Peter or Chagaev.
-Sam Vs. Vitali
-Chagaev Vs. Valuev, then become unification fodder by the end of 2008

What probably will happen this year:
- Wlad just fights his mandatories, no more unifications till 2009.
- Sam loses to Vitali in a boring match that takes forever to setup due to injuries. Even if Vitali wins he will probably retire once him and his brother "hold the belts together". Trust me, I'd prefer Peter to win. He's the more exciting champ.
- Chagaev beats Valuev again in a boring match of jab'n'dash, then takes on a boring mandatory row. No unification till 2009.

Contenders and Prospects to watch:

Alexander Povetkin - IBF #1 Contender - Some will say he's a legit contender now, but I'm not impressed by his performance against Chambers. The kid has volume and heart, but I seriously think he needs some more ring experience. I'd say he should have aimed getting Ruslan Chagaev's belt (the path is much easier). Taking on Wlad mid to late 2008 is dangerous. If he can crispen up those punches in combos then I'd say he should feed on old contenders like Rahman, Moorer, Ruiz, Meehan, Williamson, Golota, and Liakhovich. If I were him I'd look at those guys for 2008, and take on Wlad in 2009. Late 2009.

Chris Arreola - IBF #9, WBC #6, WBA #14, WBO NA - I recommend nearly the same thing for this guy. He's got some old contenders he can take on, and perhaps an early title shot against Sam Peter.

Vladmir Virchis - IBF #3, WBC #1, WBA NA, WBO #3 - This guy has a title shot coming this year, or at least early 2009. I'm limited on this guy's info, but from what I hear he's not gonna be eliminated from the top 10 for a decent amount of time.

Odlanier Solis - WBC #19 - The way this guy moves he'll be in contention by late 2009. All he has to do is keep his weight in check, and clean out all the older competition. He'll rocket to the top. Also, he should come to America and get on a Vegas undercard for exposure.

David Haye - WBC, WBA, WBO Cruiserweight champ - Take on Cunningham then come on up to the boring heavyweight stratosphere. The fans need the excitement of a powerful puncher, but it might be a while till "The Hayemaker" gets his turn.

Random notes:
- Jason Estrada, Kevin Johnson, Travis Walker, and Chazz Witherspoon need to test their mettle against outside world. This American "merry-bum-go-'round" is annoying. There are decent fighters in other parts of the world. Men like Alex Dimintrenko, Sinan Samil Sam, and Kali Meehan are all sitting in ripe contender positions.
- John Ruiz, James Toney, Danny Williams, Audley Harrison, and Andrew Golota need to **** or get off the shitter. It's getting old watching these old guys amble around.
- Keep an eye on Mike Perez.

 

I see what you mean on the Haye Vs. Cunningham matchup. Leaving Cunningham there allows a new fight for the lineal crown in the cruisers and they still have a wealth of talent on the rise. Jonathon Banks comes to mind. Haye can easily climb the rankings on old men like Rahman. Ha, I just had a random thought. Wouldn't it be funny if Rahman landed a lucky punch against Haye? It would follow in the tradition of the dark humor the heavyweights seem to produce these days.

 

First, I don't care if he likes me. That's a pointless response.

Second, I'm not a "hater", I just don't like his approach to becoming the best. If he can look dominant in his important fights, then he'll get some respect. Brock, Austin, Byrd, and Brewster aren't that impressive in terms of defenses. I was really hoping Wlad would keep the ball rolling and KO Ibragimov, and show how powerful he really is. Like I said, he's got the tools to be the very best and I'm implying he should use them.

 

It happened to Lewis...I guess you don't see the humor. I doubt it will happen, just a silly musing on how boxing sometimes can throw some serious curves in people's plans.

Kinda like the commercial where the fighter trains his heart out only to get KO'ed by a falling microphone in the ring.

 

The heavyweights outside of Wlad are chock full of instability. The aforementioned scenario is a long shot possibility.

 

I feel like I also left out some European prospects:

Denis Boystov - Has some real potential if he continues to progress. He's young (22), undefeated (20 wins with 17 via KO), has some hype, and a lot of Europeans he can chew up on the way. Currently he has journeyman, Robert Hawkins, to beat around. I see this fight as a great litmus test.

Albert Sosnowski - Basically this guy is sitting on the fence. All he needs to do is start taking on anybody within a belt organization's top 20. The WBF don't fly as nothin' special, but if he decides to step it up, he might be worth mentioning. He's 29 with a huge record that has feasted upon a lot of no hopers (42-1). Only recently he's been taking on the very fringe of decent competition. There's loads of fading talent in the European ranks, and lots of American journeymen. Let's see if he in 2008 he takes this to his advantage, and decides to come out around 2009.

Francesco Pianeta - Was supposed to fight "soon to be Duva flop" Michael Marrone for the WBC Youth title. Instead he got Donnell Wiggens and KO'ed him in three rounds. Still, nothing impressive. He beat one blown up light heavyweight journeyman instead of a journeyman posing as a well managed prospect. People say he's got the talent, but lacks the dedication against lesser opponents.

That isn't all of them, but these guys have the ability to add some interest to the division in the coming years. Some sooner than most.

 

I look at it as ******ed because it defeats one of the sole purposes of boxing. It's much more proper to declare one champ. Even if I had a brother I would be competitive. It would make sense if they ended up fighting each other, but they aren't. Instead they delay any possibility of having one fighter hold all the belts. It just sounds...so ridiculous for this situation to even come into play.