By Cliff Rold
Even if Wladimir Klitschko fights never turn out to be thrillers, more of the men beneath him fighting like what fans saw on Saturday from Germany would make up for a lot of it. One of the things that made the dominant era of Larry Holmes hard to swallow wasn’t Holmes but the lack of fire in the men around him.
This era has suffered from some of the same. While the evidence doesn’t suggest the same problems with drugs that were around in the 1980s, there has been plenty of bad conditioning, and limited dimension, in the Heavyweight pool.
Saturday, fans got fights. It was that simple. Alexander Povetkin-Ruslan Chagaev was the more technical of the two but no one watching could say both men failed to fight hard and the level of skill was evident. Concerns about the conditioning of Povetkin were dispelled by the action itself.
Robert Helenius-Sergiy Liakhovich was even better, a nasty scrap that saw both men dig deep for one of the best Heavyweight action fights of the last five years. Blood, guts, and a knockout.
Heavyweight boxing.
Let’s go to the report card.
Grades
Pre-Fight: Speed – Povetkin B; Chagaev B/Post: Same
Pre-Fight: Power – Povetkin B; Chagaev B/Post: Same
Pre-Fight: Defense – Povetkin B-; Chagaev B/Post: Same
Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Povetkin B; Chagaev B+/Post: A-; B+
This author provided coverage of the Heavyweight action on Saturday and was impressed with both.
Povetkin (22-0, 15 KO) looked like he was going to gas right around the halfway mark of the fight. He didn’t. Everyone watching should take note of that. Povetkin, whose career had come off the rails just a bit after looking like the next big thing with victories in 2007 and 2008 over Chris Byrd and Eddie Chambers, stared down a serious veteran and found his next gear.
He might not ever beat Wladimir Klitschko. He still has serious problems with balance and is way too easy to hit. That’s okay. He’s a fighter, with serious heart and some educated uppercuts. He’s not going to show up just to lay down to anyone. That’s all anyone can ask. He can be expected to notch an easy defense or two of a hollow WBA belt picked up over the weekend, but the real task is out there and everyone knows what it is.
Chagaev (27-2-1, 17 KO) was a credit. He showed off some great blocking skills and took away a lot of Povetkin’s offense in the first half. His left hand work was solid and, as he flagged late, he dug deep to stay with the younger man even as victory got farther away. The former WBA beltholder again showed though that there is a limit to his reserves. As the fight was slipping away, he never went for broke to get it back. Chagaev is a smart, tough man but sometimes, maybe, he might be a little too smart. The same problem was there in the loss to Klitschko in 2009. Once he thought he was beaten, he knew it to be so. There’s not that extra sort of crazy that says damn the torpedoes and wills out a win.
Every fighter doesn’t have that. It’s okay. We can wonder if Povetkin might. He adjusts well and this was not his first comeback in a second half. Chambers appeared to be outboxing him and Povetkin surged to change that fight as well. Somewhere, someone like an Alexander Dimitrenko (or other notably tall man) is needed to allow Povetkin to tangle with serious Heavyweight size.
Eventually, if he keeps winning, he’s going to have to roll the dice on a shot at the real Heavyweight title. Povetkin will need to see some size before then because Klitschko probably isn’t going anywhere. Big brother Vitali, who is hitting his 40s, might be ripe for the picking in the next year.
There could also be Helenius (16-0, 11 KO).
At near 6’7, the Finnish banger is developing the makings of a star. His defense isn’t great but he is fluid, has good balance, throws the best short shots of any really big man in years, and can crack like hell. He, like Povetkin, doesn’t look quite ready for the top of the class.
But he, more than Povetkin, looks like the man to watch of the two trying to get there. Against Liakhovich (25-4, 16 KO), he found a veteran willing to leave it all in the ring. That forced Helenius to do the same and there was a lot to learn there.
Helenius has a decent chin, some real character, could use slightly better conditioning, and he needs to stick his jab with more authority. He probes well with the stick, and he’s consistent with it, but he had to be pushed to resist getting a little lazy with it, as was the case early in the fight. A lazy jab is a hole to punch through. If Helenius corrects that, he could be an even bigger force than he already is.
To his benefit, he can relax knowing there is time to work it out. Helenius is only 27 and hasn’t yet had 20 fights. Because of the scarcity of compelling, and dangerous, contenders at Heavyweight there might be pressure to rush to a title shot.
It is pressure that should be resisted. Helenius is good now. He could be much better a year from now. It will be fun to see where this goes.
Even if defeat, Liakhovich can hold his head high. He’s never been the same since a war with Lamon Brewster in 2006, but he showed Saturday that the warrior heart he had that night still beats. He went out like a man against Helenius and gave a hell of a show before that.
It was a hell of a show period, maybe the best yet since Epix got into the U.S. premium cable fight market (though that Sturm-Macklin Middleweight fight earlier this year was good too). More shows like this, and HBO and Showtime will have a real competitor on their hands.
Report Card Picks 2011: 27-10
Ratings Update
Heavyweight: Povetkin takes a bump up but remains a step behind a Helenius who continues to show he knows how to close.
Light Heavyweight: Having not competed there in one year, and having signed for his next fight at 168 lbs., Glen Johnson is removed from the ratings at 175 lbs. He had been rated in both divisions.
Super Middleweight: Inactive for a year, with no fight signed, Dmitri Sartison is removed for now from the top ten.
Welterweight: After well over a year off, and with no fight signed, Joshua Clottey exits the top ten. He had remained after a planned fight earlier this year fell through.
Jr. Bantamweight: Having vacated his alphabet strap under the claim he can no longer make weight, Cristian Mijares is out of the ratings. He has not yet earned a Bantamweight rating but eyes are out for his latest attempts at 118 lbs.
Strawweight: Moises Fuentes, fresh off a surprising and reportedly exciting upset of Raul Garcia, enters strong at 105 lbs. Garcia doesn’t slip much, having lost a close split nod. Oleydong Sithsamerchai, despite competing most recently at 115 lbs., remains rated for a little longer while his future is more clearly determined.
These results and more are reflected a page away.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com