By Dave Wilcox

WBC Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko is probably the only hope for our beloved division of Heavyweights. On December 11th, he will take one step closer to accomplishing everyone’s hope of unification when he takes on the latest State Lottery winner, Danny Williams at The Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Williams has a name in the division now due to his victory over that guy from The Catskills, and was smart enough to jump on the chance to cash in on his fifteen minutes before it’s too late and everyone forgets him. (See Antonio Tarver) I like Danny Williams and he is a nice story and all, but in reality I give him little chance to dethrone Vitali Klitschko. At 6’ 8" and around 250 pounds, Klitschko will be much too strong for Danny Boy. Look for V.K. to push Williams around and get him out of there by round nine. He’ll pepper Williams with those straight shots of his and shouldn’t have much trouble with "Buster" Williams.

I got my prediction out of the way, now for the real point of this conversation. I think Vitali Klitschko is a shot in the arm for the Heavyweight division. No, I’m not a "nut hugger", nor am I a "hater". By the way, is it just me, does anyone else hate those terms? Sounds like something that would come out my teenager’s mouth. Anyway, Klitschko brings out emotion in his fans and detractors. Don’t you dare say V.K. lost to Lewis legitimately around a Klitschko fan. You would surely get a tongue lashing from them. His rabid fans are so freaking crazy, it also makes detractors of the Ukrainian more critical of him than he might deserve. I myself am guilty of disliking Vitali on occasion, not because of him, but because of some of the ludicrous comments I read and hear from his fans. All of this is good though. People are talking and caring about the Heavyweights again. What the hell do I care if half of the audience is rooting for him to win and the other 80% is coming to see him get knocked out? (I love Yogi Berra) Bottom line is that I love Heavyweight Boxing and V. K. gives me hope for the future.

I wouldn’t sit here on my barstool and tell anyone that Vitali Klitschko is great, but I would tell you he could be. His resume is solid with victories over Donald, Hide, Sanders and Kirk Johnson, among others. His only two defeats would be considered controversial. He "lost" to Byrd, but was clearly putting a whupping on Chris when the fight was stopped. The fight against Lewis was stopped before we had true closure. I thought the Klitschko fans were a bit beer-goggled when they say Lewis was on his way to being knocked out. When the bout was halted, it seemed to me Lennox was finding the range. Regardless of that, V.K. proved he is a damn good fighter and has earned my respect as such.

Vitali Klitschko seems to have enough Boxing ability to take over the Division. I know for damn sure he has plenty of heart and whiskers. Time will tell if he does so, but I can tell you for sure that I will be watching it every step of the way. We can only hope that Klitschko is able to unify soon, then he’ll be able to lure Lennox Lewis out of retirement. (I can dream can’t I?)

If we could only get rid of his brother, we’d be in business. I guess that would be a story for another day. As a wise man once said, chins and Vaseline are NOT hereditary.

Keep punching

utbdave@msn.com