By Cliff Rold
There isn’t a whole lot of anticipation in the U.S. corner of the boxing world for next Saturday’s Heavyweight tilt between Uzbekistan’s Ruslan Chagaev (23-0-1, 17 KO, WBA titlist) and the U.K’s Matt Skelton (21-1, 18 KO). Why would there be? It’s happening in Germany; there’s no U.S. television; and the victor should be a foregone conclusion.
If that last point of prophetic thought proves true, then Chagaev will wake up next Sunday morning with a retained title belt and a future to think about. That potential future is what supplies an otherwise time-killing affair with an extra dimension.
If Chagaev’s luck had worked out differently, he might be heading into this weekend with two alphabet straps to hold up his britches. He was supposed to face fellow titlist Sultan Ibragimov (22-0-1, 17 KO, WBO) last October in a unification bout he’d have been favored to win. A different turn of fate and it could conceivably be Chagaev preparing for IBF titlist Wladimir Klitschko (49-3, 44 KO) right now instead of Ibragimov.
Instead, Chagaev was forced to cancel that fight due to a medical condition. From there and for now, he waits.
In this case, waiting is an opponent like Skelton. While a solid professional, Skelton has appeared limited in the past and his resume features a split of two bouts with veteran Danny Williams and a win over veteran, and recent Chagaev knockout victim, Michael Sprott. Both are acceptable wins but neither came against what one would consider an exceptional fighter.
Chagaev might be exceptional and that gap in talent will likely tell the tale (only just likely because Skelton can punch a bit). A former World amateur champion, Chagaev, 29, has been legitimately a professional since 2001 (he had two professional fights in 1997 that he successfully argued were not intended to be and went back to the amateurs). A steady series of progression fights led him to his last four bouts, a string of consecutive victories against current top-ten Heavyweight Vladimir Virchis, Sprott, former titlist John Ruiz and finally the 7-foot something Russian Nicolay Valuev for the belt he holds.
It is that string of victories that makes a strong case for Chagaev as the second best man in his division right now. To be viewed as the single best, the winner of Klitschko-Ibragimov will have to be felled. That opportunity won’t be worth thinking about without a win next weekend.
For that reason, Chagaev-Skelton matters more than its competitive merits imply. As noted in previous pontifications by yours truly, we are enduring the longest period of Undisputable World Heavyweight title vacancy in the modern era. Fortunately, the pieces are slowly moving into place to finally end that condition of the throne. Momentum can be added to the end of the mess that has been Boxing’s flagship division if Chagaev can maintain his “0.”
A 2008 that is beginning with Heavyweight unification would be greatly aided by ending there as well. At this moment, the two best Heavyweights in the world and subsequently the best match that can be made appears to be Klitschko and Chagaev; I suspect that will still be the case a week from now and as the final bell sounds next month for Klitschko-Ibragimov. Before they can get to one another, they’ll likely have to hurdle summer mandatory defenses along the way. I suspect they’ll pull that off too. For the sake of clarity alone, let’s hope they do.
For each man, no matter who they face, every win matters if the world is to see the showdown it deserves. That includes wins in fights that don’t otherwise spark a lot of conversation.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
