By Joe Harrison
It was only recently that Miguel Cotto successfully defended his WBA welterweight title over Shane Mosley by a unanimous decision. The victory solidified Cotto’s name among the biggest names in boxing over this past year. Some of the other big names for 2007 are Floyd Mayweather Jr, Juan Manuel Marquez, Bernard Hopkins, Joe Calzaghe, and Juan Diaz among many others. These boxers continue to impress their audiences by earning victories over the greatest challenges available for them. As we relish the year in which boxing has regained the attention of the public, something is missing from the picture. Where are the heavyweights?
It is unfortunate that the ongoing problem with the heavyweight division over the last few years has yet to be resolved. Once again, we will head into a new year with four different heavyweight champions. We can only hope that 2008 will bring us a unified, or better yet, an undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Although 2007 brought us new champions in Ruslan Chagaev (WBA) and Sultan Ibragimov (WBO), we still desperately need the satisfaction of heavyweight unification.
The man recognized as the number one heavyweight, IBF champ Wladimir Klitschko, still claims that unification is his primary goal. As he looks to face Sultan Ibragimov in February, no one can blame fans for being skeptical of this bout actually taking place. First was the collapse of the Ibragimov/Chagaev unification bout scheduled for last October. Then a plague of injuries crushed other major heavyweight matches such as Maskaev/Peter and V. Klitschko/McCline. It almost appears that a W. Klitschko/Ibragimov contest seems too good to be true, even after it was made official.
Of course, there are the mandatory challengers and other top prospects who would love to get their opportunity at a heavyweight title. Samuel Peter is the WBC “interim” champion and will finally get his title-shot against Maskaev at the beginning February. Juan Carlos Gomez and Vladimir Virchis will face each other to determine the WBC’s mandatory challenger, after Vitali Klitschko gets his shot. Also, Alexander Povetkin and Eddie Chambers will face each other to become the IBF’s mandatory while Nikolai Valuev and Sergei Liakhovich meet to determine the WBA’s mandatory. Plus, Tony Thompson awaits his shot at the WBO belt.
That is not all we have. Not only do we have the champions and their mandatory challengers, there are many others climbing their way into the spotlight. Top prospects are working their way into the limelight with many more to follow. With so many heavyweights looking for their opportunity, it seems reasonable to break down the best in today’s division.
Shown below are my rankings of today’s top heavyweights.
Wladimir Klitschko (IBF) – In 2007, Ray Austin and Lamon Brewster were victims of “Dr. Steelhammer”. Without a doubt, Wladimir is the best heavyweight in the world today. If the match-up with Ibragimov actually takes place, look for Klitschko to become the unified champion.
Ruslan Chagaev (WBA) – He has yet to defend his WBA title, but the “White Tyson” looks to defend his title soon, possibly in the early part of ‘08. With victories over top names such as John Ruiz and Nikolai Valuev, Chagaev will be a difficult champion to dethrone.
Sultan Ibragimov (WBO) – There are no title-holders by the name of Shannon Briggs or Evander Hoyfield thanks to Ibragimov. Unfortunately, he is still shadowed by the draw that he earned against Ray Austin last year, a man whom Wladimir Klitschko TKO’d in two rounds with one hand last March. If Ibragimov actually faces Klitschko, the odds are definitely against him.
Oleg Maskaev (WBC) – After postponing his match-up with Samuel Peter, Maskaev is finally ready to defend his title in February. It will be the first time he has stepped into the ring in over a year, and Peter could potentially be the man to end his title reign.
Samuel Peter (WBC interim) – Before the “Nigerian Nightmare” stepped into the ring with Jameel McCline, boxing fans saw Peter as the one of the most dangerous heavyweights challengers. It seemed inevitable that he would become a heavyweight world champion. Shockingly, Peter had a very rough battle with McCline, being floored three times before outworking McCline to a unanimous decision. Regardless of his performance, a win is a win. On the other hand, a victory over Maskaev may not be as easy as we originally expected.
Nikolai Valuev – Jean-Francois Bergeron failed to defeat the “Russian Giant” last September, losing by a unanimous decision. Now Valuev looks for another chance to regain the WBA title. He will get the opportunity if he can defeat Sergei Liakhovich in a WBA eliminator.
Alexander Povetkin – It was one thing to defeat Larry Donald by unanimous decision last June, but Povetkin made a bold statement by defeating Chris Byrd via 11th-round TKO in October. With the victory, Povetkin will face Eddie Chambers in a final eliminator to determine the mandatory challenger for the IBF title. You can expect Povetkin to become that mandatory challenger.
John Ruiz – Since losing to Valuev and Chagaev, Ruiz is on a mission to get back the WBA strap. With the impression that a title-shot was within grasp, the “Quietman” chose more swinging over hugging in his bout with Otis Tisdale, scoring a 2nd-round TKO in October. Unfortunately, Ruiz learned that it would be Valuev and Liakhovich competing for a shot and not him. Now Ruiz can only keep busy.
Hasim Rahman – The saga of good Rahman and bad Rahman continues. Over the past year, “The Rock” has gotten back into the swing of things by defeating journeymen in Taurus Sykes, Dicky Ryan, Cerrone Fox, and Zuri Lawrence. Bad Rahman showed up against Sykes and Lawrence, and it was even more unfortunate that it was these two bouts which were televised on the Versus Network. Would they dare show Rahman again?
James Toney – The man referred to as ‘Light Out” expects to make his comeback to the ring sooner than later. In his last bout, coming off two losses to Samuel Peter, he earned an unimpressive split decision victory over Danny Batchelder. At this point, it seems unlikely that Toney will become a serious contender again.
Eddie Chambers – With a victory over Calvin Brock, “Fast” Eddie only needs a victory over Alexander Povetkin to become the mandatory challenger for the IBF title. If Chambers loses decisively, he will only become another “Calvin Brock” in the heavyweight division.
Tony Thompson – After scoring meaningful victories over Dominick Guinn, Timor Ibragimov, and Luan Krasniqi, “The Tiger” is now the mandatory challenger for the WBO title. He is hoping to face a top-ranked opponent while awaiting the victor of Klitschko/Ibragimov.
Juan Carlos Gomez – “The Panther” has already beaten Oliver McCall, but he must now face Vladimir Virchis in a final eliminator to become the mandatory for the WBC title. Even then, he will have to allow Vitali Klitschko to get the next title-shot before getting his opportunity.
Shannon Briggs – The WBO title-reign of Briggs was very short-lived as Ibragimov defeated him in June to become the new champion. Since then, hibernating over the winter seems to be the plan for Shannon “The Cannon” as there doesn’t appear to be a fight in sight.
Sergei Liakhovich – Low and behold, after sitting out the entire year, the “White Wolf” is a getting a gift from the WBA in the form of a WBA eliminator. His opponent will be Nikolai Valuev in a bout that could happen as early as January. Can Liakhovich pull off the same magic that he pulled off against Lamon Brewster in ’06?
Other Notable Mentions:
Vitali Klitschko – Once again, “Dr. Ironfist” was recently KO’d by injury, but still plans on returning to the ring. No bouts are scheduled for him, but the word is that he will wait and take on the winner of Maskaev/Peter. Is it possible for Vitali to complete a training camp successfully without getting injured?
Vladimir Virchis – “The Hunter” has four straight victories since suffering his only defeat to Ruslan Chagaev back in early ‘06. If he can only score a victory over Juan Carlos Gomez, he will be in line for a mandatory shot at the WBC title.
Jameel McCline – As a step-in for an injured Oleg Maskaev, “Big Time” defied expectations by giving Samuel Peter more than he bargained for. Although McCline lost by decision, he amazed observers everywhere by flooring Peter three times early in the contest. Now McCline is hungry, and he is looking to face a top-ranked opponent in early ’08.
Kali Meehan – Never count out Kali “Checkmate” Meehan. After DaVarryl Williamson spent some time claiming that everyone was ducking him, Meehan stepped up to the plate and delivered a crushing 6th-round knockout. Officially back in the picture, Meehan is looking to take advantage of his recent impact.
Chris Arreola – With 20 knockouts in 22 bouts, “The Nightmare” is creating bad dreams for more and more young prospects such as Damian Willis, Malcolm Tann, and Thomas Hayes. It will be interesting to see how he progresses when he faces the more experienced boxers higher up in the rankings.
Alexander Dimitrenko – This undefeated 6’7 Ukrainian just made Timo Hoffman his latest victim last week by a 12th-round TKO. Now “Sascha” is closing in a world title opportunity.
Andrew Golota – He’s back and he’s serious. After sitting out for two year, Golota scored a 2nd-round TKO over Jeremy Bates, and then a 6th-round TKO over Kevin McBride. Recent rumors are circulating that Golota’s next opponent could be fellow Chicagoan Mike Mollo. If the rumor is true, it will be a very dangerous match-up for Golota. Then again, a victory over the heavy-handed Italian should give Golota the confidence he needs to compete with the elite in today’s heavyweight division.
