Time For Klitschko To Push The Interest Envelope

By Lyle Fitzsimmons

Now that’s he’s run his heavyweight title defense total to 17 (a heady consecutive height only reached by Hall of Famers named Louis and Holmes) it’s high time for Wladimir Klitschko to change his tack.

His violent Saturday erasure of unbeaten No. 1 challenger Kubrat Pulev has seemingly gotten the last of the perpetual contrarians into the boat – as evidenced by “we knew it all along” gushing on premium cable and social media – so why not dispense with the rote assembly line dismissal of anonymous Eastern European heavy bags and move on to matches that might actually move the interest needles?

Fortunately for the still-prime 38-year-old, some options exist amid the flotsam.

Though I’m sure Luis Ortiz would be a fine drug-free foil as a WBA No. 1 foe and top WBO man Dereck Chisora would do no worse than 10-2, 10-2, 9-1-2 blowout loss he suffered to big brother Vitali in 2012, there are at least a small handful of other directions in which the four-belt champ can go to step away from the clinical automaton character he’s played so well for the last eight-plus years.

Toward that end, may I first suggest one Shannon Briggs?

Yes, I went there.

But no, I’m not actually claiming the 42-year-old New Yorker has legitimately earned a shot.

Instead, in fact, he’s gone to just about every other length to attract eyeballs to his quest to face “Dr. Steelhammer,” with the latest being actually springing for a plane ticket to Germany just so he could drop in on a training session, toss verbal grenades at the weigh-in and get face time on the broadcast. 

It’s patently ridiculous. It’s a purist’s nightmare. 

But at some point, even though his six foes this year have had roughly the same street cred as a surf champ in Kansas, the guy’s got to get some commendation for the effort, right?

No one is predicting an upset win. No one is figuring he’d be horizontal for more than half the fight. What I am saying, though, is that the run-up to the match would provide more fireworks and attract more attention than any collective half-dozen of the first 17 to robotically who’ve come and gone.

And c’mon, we all deserve a little silliness once in a while, don’t we?

Still, if “The Cannon” isn’t your cup of tea, perhaps the “Bronze Bomber” would be.
 
Sure, Bermane Stiverne’s got the WBC belt. And so long as he has the WBC belt, he’s presumably the most desirable challenger that a complete unification-seeking Klitschko could want.

But in reality, it’s Deontay Wilder who’s the most intriguing of all wannabes.

While it’s true that for the former Olympic medalist hasn’t faced the top-flight opposition, he does have the sort of confident persona and, more importantly, the sort of stat line – 32-0, 32 knockouts – that’s bound to bring American television networks to the table if a Klitschko fight is suggested.

If Wilder and Stiverne do get in the ring and Wilder comes away with a belt, a winner-take-all title match might not be the easiest to make – after all, Wilder is tied in with omnipotent behind-the-scenes operator Al Haymon – but it’ll generate the sort of focus on the heavyweights that’s not been seen since the big-man turf was last patrolled by guys named Lewis, Tyson and Holyfield.

Maybe he can fight. Maybe he can’t. But if you’re claiming you wouldn’t at least tune in to see if the shots that have felled everyone else could dent Wlad’s armor, too, you’re probably lying.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

This week’s title-fight schedule:

SATURDAY

WBC super featherweight title – Yokohama, Japan
Takashi Miura (champion/No. 3 IWBR) vs. Edgar Puerta (No. 1 contender/No. 44 IWBR)
Miura (27-2-2, 20 KO): Third title defense; Unbeaten since 2011 (7-0, 4 KO)
Puerta (23-4-1, 19 KO): First title fight; Second fight outside Mexico (0-1, 0 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Miura is one of those guys who seems to have gotten better once he stepped up his competition and ultimately won a championship. Puerta’s No. 1 rank is suspect, too. Miura in 10

WBC flyweight title – Yokohama, Japan
Roman Gonzalez (champion/No. 1 IWBR) vs. Rocky Fuentes (No. 8 contender/No. 17 IWBR)
Gonzalez (40-0, 34 KO): First title defense; Held WBA titles at 105 and 108 pounds
Fuentes (35-7-2, 20 KO): Second title fight (0-1, 0 KO); Sixth fight in Japan (5-0, 2 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Fuentes is a good veteran fighter who’s traveled well in the past, but he’s in there with one of the sport’s true non-U.S. superstars and won’t overcome such a capable foe. Gonzalez in 7

WBO welterweight title – Macao, China
Manny Pacquiao (champion/No. 2 IWBR) vs. Chris Algieri (unranked/unranked IWBR)
Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KO): First title defense; Held titles at 112, 122, 130, 135, 140 and 154
Algieri (20-0, 8 KO): Second title fight (1-0, 0 KO); First fight outside New York
Fitzbitz says: Algieri is a good-looking and well-spoken kid with charm and a nice back story, but this match has more to do with Bob Arum’s promotional ability than his chances to win. Pacquiao in 6

WBO featherweight title – Macao, China
Vasyl Lomachenko (champion/No. 29 IWBR) vs. Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (No. 1 contender/No. 45 IWBR)
Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO): First title defense; Fourth pro fight, fourth fight location
Piriyapinyo (52-1, 33 KO): Second title fight (0-1, 0 KO); Second fight outside Thailand (0-1, 0 KO)
Fitzbitz says: It’s not often – read: never – that a guy with one loss in three fights would be favored over a guy with one loss in 53 fights, but that’s the case here. And it’s legit. The kid is good. Lomachenko in 9

Last week's picks: 3-1 (WIN: Cuadras, Klitschko, Nietes; LOSE: Belaev)
2014 picks record: 80-27 (74.7 percent)
Overall picks record: 627-221 (73.9 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.