Austin is on a hot streak and he might deserve a title shot as much as anyone else out there. Kind of sad to see TOS get koed like this! He is a nice guy and I hope he gets out of the game.
Dont fforget Ray Austin started boxing very late, in his 20s, so his full potential hasn't been reached probably. He clearly froze vs. Wlad, not to mention made the mistake of insulting Wlad, about the "Put his chin in a box" trash talk. Austin looked excellent vs. Golota and was going to win anyway, regardless of Golota's arm injury. Presumably he looked great vs. Touch of Sleep. Austin vs. Vitali could be very interesting, Austin wants redemption.
One reason & one reason only, because they're Don King fighters. :-( Why else would Austin have gotten a shot at Wladimir based off his loss to Sultan Ibragimov?
Austin didn't freeze against Wlad, Wlad imposed his will on Ray. :nono To be fair I think Ray is a decent boxer with reasonable power, just not in the league of either Klitschko.
It was a draw with Ibramigov. They fought for the mandatory spot and had draw. Both got shot to different belts. More than fair really