By Jake Donovan
No sooner than Wladimir Klitschko’s arm was raised in victory on Saturday did the heavyweight parasites begin creeping out of the woodwork.
David Haye, the man whom was supposed to stand opposite the new lineal heavyweight king on Saturday, has been campaigning for next dibs from the moment he was forced to pull out of last weekend’s battle.
The war of words resumed this past weekend, with the brash Brit referring to Klitschko “a boring, unentertaining fighter” after his 9th round stoppage over Ruslan Chagaev and vowed to knock him out and wake up the heavyweight division should the Ukrainian grant him a title shot in the fall.
Even new-on-the-scene Odlanier Solis had few nice words to say of Klitschko’s performance. The transplanted Cuban waste any time throwing his hat into the ring, sending a press release moments after Saturday’s heavyweight fight, vowing to “end Wladimir Klitschko” and that “this fight showed why nobody is interested in heavyweight boxing at the moment.”
While there’s no question that if asked, undefeated heavyweight contender Chris Arreola would have plenty to say on the idea of a Klitschko fight. Even Wladimir’s stateside manager, Shelly Finkel offered his blessings on such a fight happening sooner rather than later.
Also looming on the horizon is a possible clash with Nikolai Valuev, who is currently in possession of alphabet hardware. Klitschko hardly needs any more trinkets to add to his collection – he already owns three as well as a magazine title in addition to the distinction of serving as the 43rd lineal heavyweight champion in the sport’s history.
Still, such a fight would be a huge seller in Germany, not to mention yet another between two of the top rated heavyweights in the world.
There’s no question that even in a lackluster heavyweight division, plenty of options await Klitschko for as long as he is able to remain at the top.
However, before he considers a fight with any of the aforementioned, unfinished business still awaits him in the form of his next mandatory challenger, Alexander Povetkin.
The two were scheduled to face off in Germany last December in what would’ve been a rare bout between former Olympic boxing gold medal winners. HBO was on board for the bout, one which would’ve given Povetkin the distinction of having fought in the network’s first and last non-PPV telecast of 2008, having helped kick off their year with a decision win over Eddie Chambers in their title eliminator last January.
All systems were go until an untimely injury suffered in training camp forced Povetkin off of the show. In his place came Hasim Rahman, with the agreement that Povetkin would maintain his mandatory ranking and that Klitschko would agree to face him within the nine months following the make-up bout.
The deadline is now rapidly approaching. Neither Povetkin nor his team has forgotten about it.
“The Povetkin mandatory is due on September 13,” reminds Chris Meyer, CEO of German-based promotional group Sauerland Event. “On July 13, we will be notified to negotiate.”
It has been made clear that stepping aside will not be an option.
Povetkin (17-0, 12KO) was forced to sit back and allow Klitschko to defend against another mandatory – Tony Thompson – last summer, even though the 2004 Russian Olympic gold medalist was rightfully next in line.
Many others in his position would’ve thought short-term, and demanded that the champion be stripped of his title. Instead, Povetkin waited, taking a tune-up (stopping Taurus Sykes in two rounds a week after Klitschko-Thompson) while waiting for his number to be called.
After enduring a dose of bad luck last winter, Povetkin once again came to grips with the fact that while a title shot was in the works, there stood a great chance that it wouldn’t be immediate. Such fears were confirmed when Team Klitschko spent much of the earlier part of 2009 hammering out a deal to face David Haye.
Precautionary measures were taken. Rather than grow stale on the sidelines, Povetkin accepted a stay busy fight against underachieving American heavyweight Jason Estrada. The two had the distinction of representing their countries as super heavyweights in the 2004 Olympics, which speaks volumes of the level of competition Povetkin is willing to face even for the sake of a tune-up fight.
The move came as no surprise, as Povetkin had never been averse to enduring tough competition. In a span of seven months, he faced in consecutive fights: Larry Donald, against whom nobody looks good; Chris Byrd, just two fights removed from his second reign as a heavyweight titlist; and Eddie Chambers, at the time an undefeated heavyweight contender.
Even more impressive than the aforementioned traveled path is the fact that it came after just 12 fights as a professional. Now 17 fights in, Povetkin isn’t just ready for a title shot, but ready to take on the very best.
This time around, there will be no excuses that will be accepted. An offer of step-aside money will only be met with a response of “thanks, but no thanks.” All that interests Povetkin and his handlers at the moment is a contract stating Wladimir Klitschko will appear in the opposite corner for a sanctioned world title fight on or before September 13.
“I finally want to accomplish my dream and fight him,” Povetkin stated after defeating Estrada this past April. “I still have to improve a few areas of my game but I am ready for him.
“I cannot wait for the fight to happen.”
Barring a dumping of the alphabet title for which Povetkin is the mandatory challenger, chances are he won’t have to wait much longer. That’s the good news.
The bad news: it now comes against arguably the very best available version of Klitschko we have ever seen.
There is still no hesitation in proceeding with the matchup, even in acknowledging Klitschko’s dominance over Chagaev this past Saturday, and over the heavyweight division in general.
“Klitschko dominated from the knockdown in the second round onwards,” admits Meyer. “He did want he wanted to do, increased speed then slowed down (when he needed to). The ninth round was (Klitschko’s) peak and that was realized by Chagaev, who gave up.”
The same could be said of Klitschko’s past eleven opponents, Chagaev included. No matter the talk, every fight winds up the same – Klitschko dominating with his jab, with next to nothing coming back in return.
It remains to be seen whether or not Povetkin can change that pattern. But one thing he cannot be accused of is giving up. The rapid rise through the ranks has proven that, as well as the September 13 date circled on his calendar, attached with a note stating a single sentence:
Wladimir Klitschko, you’re next.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.