By Lyle Fitzsimmons
When was the last time anyone really cared about heavyweights?
After enjoying decades of transcendent champions like Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Holmes, Tyson, Holyfield, Bowe and Lewis, the latest generation of boxing fans has only known the Eastern European wrath of mammoth Ukrainian brothers menacingly nicknamed Drs. “Ironfist” and “Steelhammer.”
That pair’s older sibling, Vitali Klitschko, retired as a two-time WBC champion after a 2012 stoppage of Manuel Charr became his 45th win in a 16-year career that included 41 knockouts and just two losses -- one due to a shoulder injury and the other to a ghastly eye cut.
The younger, Wladimir Klitschko, remains in the midst of a reign that’s seen him hold two of the division’s five significant championship belts -- the IBF and IBO -- since 2006, while picking up two of the others, the WBA and WBO, during a subsequent 17-defense run.
Just how dominant have they been, you ask?
Even in an era of splintered title claims, for the 22 months prior to Vitali’s last appearance, not a single heavyweight championship fight was won by a fighter not named Klitschko.
Additionally, at least one fighter named Klitschko has held at least one of the five shares of the heavyweight title for 139 of a possible 174 months since Vitali captured the WBO crown in June 1999.
To put it another way, that’s 11 1/2 of the last 14 1/2 years.
But if Bermane Stiverne has anything to say about it, the conversation is about to change.
Stiverne, a Haitian-born Canadian citizen, became Vitali’s successor to the WBC throne when he stopped former Klitschko victim Chris Arreola in six rounds in a match for the vacated title in May. He’ll make his first championship defense on Saturday in Las Vegas, where he faces unbeaten American challenger Deontay Wilder atop a two-bout card to be broadcast by Showtime from the MGM Grand at 10 p.m.
And though the outspoken Wilder -- thanks to a shiny Olympic medal, a catchy “Bronze Bomber” nickname and a six-year pro career that’s yielded 32 consecutive victories by knockout -- gets the bulk of available microphone and camera time in the pre-fight run-up, the incumbent is hardly a wallflower.
“His job, I guess, is to make himself big by talking,” Stiverne said. “I feel like I'm fighting Muhammad Ali. He's a great promoter, better than his or my promoter. There's a lot of hype about him and that's great for our fight because it'll come down to everybody knowing who beat him after the fight.”
Many agree with Stiverne’s take that Wilder is more gimmick than threat.
Nonetheless, odds-makers at Bovada.com have installed the challenger as a favorite with a line that’ll require a $170 outlay on Wilder to recoup $100 if he wins the title. Meanwhile, if Stiverne wins, a $100 pre-fight investment will bring back $140.
Not at all surprisingly, the champion suggests the latter is a certainty.
“I'm focused on beating him,” Stiverne said. “I'm not going to just knock him out, I'm going to hurt that kid.”
A win for either would presumably elevate talk of a grand unification with Wladimir, who’s insisted for years that he wanted all the relevant belts but would never agree to an awkward showdown with Vitali after their mother suggested it was something she’d rather not see.
“My big wish is to bring the WBC belt back into the family,” Klitschko said.
Conveniently, the WBC -- whose rules suggest it has the right to force its champions to choose between belts in the event of a unification win -- has indicated an on-the-record willingness to endorse a Wladimir title try, thanks to his familial tie to its former claimant.
The suddenly fan-friendly organization has a clause that states it “may permit exceptions” in the “case of elite champions and/or under by considering special circumstances, in the best interests of boxing.”
Its president, Mauricio Sulaiman, called Wladimir “a true icon” and indicated the WBC would “completely support a unification fight.”
“Wladimir couldn't have been a WBC champion for a long time, because his brother held the title and they didn't want to fight each other,” Sulaiman said. “The fact that Vitali clearly won't fight again means the way is clear for Wladimir.”
* * * * * * * * * *
This week's title-fight schedule:
SATURDAY
WBC heavyweight title – Las Vegas, Nev.
Bermane Stiverne (champion/No. 6 IWBR) vs. Deontay Wilder (No. 1 contender/No. 9 IWBR)
Stiverne (24-1-1, 21 KO): First title defense; Unbeaten since lone loss in 2007 (12-0-1, 9 KO)
Wilder (32-0, 32 KO): First title fight; Never fought past fourth round (32 fights, 58 total rounds)
Fitzbitz says: I can’t lie. I’d love to see the kid win. I think it’d be great for the sport. But I haven’t seen enough to prove to me that he can handle someone on the level that Stiverne has reached. Stiverne in 7
WBC super bantamweight title – Las Vegas, Nev.
Leo Santa Cruz (champion/No. 2 IWBR) vs. Jesus Ruiz (unranked/No. 27 IWBR)
Santa Cruz (28-0-1, 16 KO): Fourth title defense; Sixth fight in Las Vegas (5-0, 3 KO)
Ruiz (33-5-5, 22 KO): First title fight; Thirteenth fight scheduled for 12 rounds (8-4, 3 KO)
Fitzbitz says: It’ll keep Santa Cruz busy and fill out the Showtime undercard with a recognizable and watchable commodity, but it does little but make us want big fights even more. Santa Cruz in 8
Last week's picks: None
2015 picks record: 0-0
Overall picks record: 639-223 (74.1 percent)
NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body's full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA "world championships" are only included if no "super champion" exists in the weight class.
Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.
