It’s Time to Watch the Heavyweights: Mid-Year Look
By Joe Harrison
As most sports fans are aware, Floyd Mayweather Jr. recently announced his retirement from the sport of professional boxing. It is always unfortunate when any sport loses one of its biggest stars regardless of whether or not the decision was best for the athlete. This does not mean that boxing is in any danger. Perhaps this is an opportunity for us to focus more on boxing’s other stars. This is an opportunity for us to check out the heavyweight division, which is at its best since Lennox Lewis retired in 2003.
No one can really blame you if you've ignored the heavyweights over the last four or five years. In 2004 and 2005, a couple of the division’s biggest names were John Ruiz and Chris Byrd, neither of whom were crowd-pleasing boxers. Then the Eastern Europeans conquered the heavyweight division through ’06 and ’07 mainly because of names such as Valuev, Chagaev, Maskaev, and Ibragimov. We can keep those days in the past now. Today’s heavyweight scene is a little more dynamic. Not only do we have the dominance of the unified champion, IBF and WBO title-holder Wladimir Klitschko, but we also have the knockout power of the WBC champion, Samuel Peter. Then there are also those prospects who are now legitimate challengers such as Chris Arreola and Alexander Povetkin. With the addition of the undisputed cruiserweight champion, David Haye, things can get very interesting.
There are many other interesting names to keep our eyes on. We are halfway through 2008, so we should take a look at what the heavyweight division has to offer now. So below is my list of the best in today’s heavyweight division.
1. Wladimir Klitschko (IBF/WBO Champion) – With his defeat over Sultan Ibragimov last February, “Dr. Steelhammer” secured the WBO title to go along with his IBF belt and the insignificant IBO belt. Next, Wladimir will face his WBO mandatory challenger, Tony Thompson, on July 12th. It is a safe bet that Wladimir will rack up another victory before moving on to face his IBF mandatory challenger, Alexander Povetkin.
2. Ruslan Chagaev (WBA Champion) – After making his unimpressive title defense against Matt Skelton last January, “White Tyson” will face the man whom he defeated to win the WBA strap, Nikolai Valuev, on July 5th. Considering the razor thin decision that Chagaev earned in his first bout with Valuev, he will definitely need more than a mediocre performance in his next battle with the hungry and determined giant.
3. Samuel Peter (WBC Champion) – Finally, the “Nigerian Nightmare” has become a world heavyweight champion. In March, Peter defeated Oleg Maskaev by TKO in the 6th round to win the WBC title. Now he is expected to face the former heavyweight champion, Vitali Klitschko, possibly in October. Although many boxing fans would have Peter at number 3 on this list, getting knocked down by Jameel McCline three times really is not impressive. Especially since John Ruiz recently defeated McCline with little problem. Considering that Ruiz lost to our current WBA champ, it should be acceptable to have Peter below Chagaev for the time being.
4. Nikolai Valuev (WBA #1 contender) – The seven-foot tall Russian wasted little time getting back into the heavyweight mix. With his near shutout victory by points against Sergei Liakhovich last February, Valuev earned the right to face Ruslan Chagaev in a rematch for the WBA championship. Since Chagaev is coming off a less-than-stellar performance in his last bout, the odds of Valuev regaining the title are better than fair.
5. Alexander Povetkin (IBF #1 contender) – Even with the limited professional experience, Povetkin has defeated top opposition including Larry Donald, Eddie Chambers, and Chris Byrd. Now that he is the IBF mandatory challenger, he is in line to face Wladimir Klitschko, possibly before the end of this year. Until then, Povetkin is looking to stay busy. He is currently scheduled to face Taurus Sykes on July 19th.
6. Sultan Ibragimov (former WBO champ) – This former champions should feel little shame in losing to the world’s best heavyweight, Wladimir Klitschko. After all, going twelve rounds with Klitschko is an accomplishment these days. Taking into account his big wins over names such as Lance Whitaker, Evander Holyfield, and Shannon Briggs, Ibragimov is still a dangerous player in the heavyweight division. As long as he stays active, he can be a problem for any of the other champions.
7. Tony Thompson (WBO #1 contender) – Not only is Tony “The Tiger” one of America’s top hopes at becoming a heavyweight champion, but he is next in line to face the IBF and WBO champion, Wladimir Klitschko. There is no doubt that this will be Thompson’s biggest fight ever. Unfortunately for him, many doubt that he has any chance of defeating Klitschko come July 12th.
8. John Ruiz (former WBA champ) – As “The Quietman” defeated Jameel McCline last March, he was lifted right back into the heavyweight rankings. Holding a controversial loss to Valuev and close decision loss to Chagaev, Ruiz would love to get back into the ring for a rematch with either boxer. There’s a good possibility that the winner of the Chagaev-Valuev rematch will be forced to face Ruiz in the near future.
9. Juan Carlos Gomez (WBC #2 contender) – It was the victory over Oliver McCall last October that helped “The Black Panther” quickly climb the WBC rankings. While the WBC champ, Samuel Peter, awaits his bout with Vitali Klitschko, Gomez will likely face the WBC #1 contender, Vladimir Virchis, in September. It is more than probable that the winners of Peter-Klitschko and Gomez-Virchis will face each other in 2009.
10. Oleg Maskaev (former WBC champ) – Since his knockout loss to Samuel Peter, Maskaev has been inactive, but insists that he will continue boxing. If this is the case, he could be a tough challenge for any of today’s top prospects or contenders. Whether or not he can fight more than once a year is a different story.
Other Notable Mentions:
Vitali Klitschko – Once again, “Dr. Ironfist” was KO’d by injury as he was preparing to face Jameel McCline last fall. Now he looks to face Samuel Peter this upcoming fall. Is it possible for Vitali to complete a training camp successfully without getting injured? Very few think he can.
Vladimir Virchis – “The Hunter” has four straight victories since suffering his only defeat to Ruslan Chagaev back in early ‘06. He is ranked #1 by the WBC and only needs a win over Juan Carlos Gomez to get his shot at the WBC title.
Chris Arreola – With his first-round TKO over Cliff Clouser last February, “The Nightmare” is now 23-0 with 21 KOs. His next opponent is another undefeated prospect, Chazz Witherspoon, which takes place on June 21st.
Alexander Dimitrenko – This undefeated 6’7 Ukrainian has knockout victories over six of his last seven opponents. Now “Sascha” is looking for bigger and better names. He had no interest in facing Sinan Samil Sam on July 4th, so we can only wonder who he has in mind instead.
David Haye – Looking to make an impact in the heavyweight division, “The Hayemaker” only wants the best. He made it clear that he wants Wladimir Klitschko, but that can not happen anytime soon. Therefore, he is now calling out Samuel Peter. If Vitali Klitschko is not ready to face Peter by fight time, which is very possible, Haye says that he will be ready to step in.
Andrew Golota – At the age of 40, he seems to have finally matured as a boxer. In his last three bouts following a 2-year layoff, Golota scored a 2nd-round TKO over Jeremy Bates, a 6th-round TKO over Kevin McBride, and an impressive twelve-round decision over fellow Chicagoan Mike Mollo. Now it seems that Golota has the confidence he needs to compete with the elite in today’s heavyweight division. It is only a matter of whether or not there is anyone willing to face him.
Obviously, today’s heavyweight division is not completely different than it was before. There are still a lot of Eastern Europeans taking charge and there is still John Ruiz. On the brighter side, there are plenty of heavy hitters looking to make their mark, either trying to be a “Nightmare” or a “Nigerian Nightmare” for other heavyweights. Potential showdowns between “Steelhammer” and “Hayemaker” may be around the corner as well. Then again, if you enjoy the Eastern European dominance even more so than watching heavy hitters from everywhere else, then you may find yourself to be very satisfied regardless. Either way, it is time to watch the heavyweight boxers, especially while they are so close to crowning an undisputed champion. Some may find that to be even more impressive than a top pound-for-pounder only looking for the big money bouts.