Your picks for the three upcoming HW *title fights

WBC title
Vitali vs. Arreola -- I feel Arreola is a bigtime hypejob. He's tough, strong and pretty decent skills all around but has zero defense, poor conditioning and a questionable chin. Additionally, he has not faced one legit top 15 hw. Vitali has age issues surrounding him but I don't see any noticeable decline many of the haters like to claim. He's come back to dominate two legit top 10 hws dropping 1 round in 17. Vitali is bigger, more durable, better skilled and conditioned, more powerful, etc...

I see Arreola completely tailormade for Vitali. Arreola will walk in exposed and Vitali, a good counter-puncher will hammer him from a variety of angles. This is a complete mismatch imo. Vitali tko 3

WBA paper title
Valuev vs. Haye -- The two biggest jokers in the division fighting for a joke belt. I don't rate Valuev and Haye I can't rate cause he hasn't done **** at hw. Valuev has a solid jab if he has a stationary target, a decent right hand, good stamina, and at least a solid beard. However, he's slower than a glacier, lacks any variety, lacks power and very little defense aside from size. Haye is a good counter-puncher with top notch speed early on and good power. He uses both hands well but neglects the jab. However, he has major defensive liabilities and big ??? about his durability and stamina at hw since he has faced no legit top 15 hws. He's wild and swings for the fences way too much and also bottles fights.

So, I see this as pretty evenly matched with Valuev having the advantage fighting in Germany. If Haye guns for the KO though, he could be in big trouble although he should be quite successful early on due to the speed disparity. Could go either way but I reckon Haye fights foolishly and gasses himself after a good start. Valuev tko 10

Real HW Championship
Wlad vs. Povetkin -- Povetkin is a skilled inside fighter with both fists and possesses good handspeed and variety. He has top notch stamina, output, heart and fights with aggression. Often gets better as the fight progresses. Looks like he can take a decent punch. However, Povetkin has major defensive issues because he doesn't keep his hands up or use movement. He languishes in the pocket too much and isn't good at distance. He's doesn't have quick feet or good hw power. Wlad has the best jab and right hand in the business and controls distance with his left hand, size, quick feet and threat of power as well as anyone today. Utilizes an excellent left hook against orthodox boxers which he can lead with or fire off the jab which could be very apparent in this matchup. Wlad's chin while not that good isn't in jeopardy against Povetkin, who isn't featherfisted, but no huge puncher either.

Wlad has all the advatages here. Stylistically, Povetkin will come right at him with little to no head movement presenting an acceptable target. Povetkin doesn't jab coming in and Wlad will dominate him and control space with the left. Povetkin does his best work inside but Wlad won't let him get off. He will grab povetkin or throw him off with his strength. Then, Povetkin will languish at mid or long range and get hammered by jabs and powershots. Povetkin's toughness and workrate give him a very slight chance if Wlad tires by deviating from his typical controlled style. Wlad tko 8

 

hmmm...Wlad - a paper champion?

In his last 9 fights/wins (7kos) he's beaten three reigning belt holders (Byrd, Sultan, Chagaev) and one future titlist (Peter), seven top 10 ring ranked hws (Peter, Byrd, Brock, Brewster, Sultan, Thompson, Chagaev), 4 undefeated fighters in that stretch (Peter, Brock, Sultan, Chagaev)

 

Yeah...this one is very hard to predict. Haye is an unknown quantity in many respects at this point but Im using the info I got from the Barrett fight. Haye would be best served just using scoring combos and moving to his right. Chagaev did a lot of potshotting and moving. But Haye typically puts everything behind each shot and ends up gassing and throwing wider and wider punches which happened against Barrett. That's why he got KD as he was wild and off balance. Valuev is more disciplined than barrett and throws slow but far straighter punches which could be a major problem for the Savior if he gets sloppy again.