By Joe Harrison
 
During a recent press conference that was held in Keiv, Ukraine, the Klitschko brothers expressed their desires for the futre. Wladimir talked about David Haye on June 20th and wanting to "shut his mouth". Then Vitali spoke of his upcoming bout with Juan Carlos Gomez and his interest in facing WBA champion Nikolai Valuev.

“I know Gomez well. We boxed together at Universum, but I am sure of a victory and I will do everything to knock him out. Then I wish to fight against WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev so that we have the four championship titles. We’ll make it!" said Vitali.

Unfortunately, a match-up between Vitali and Valuev can not happen until a couple of roadblocks are passed. While Vitali needs to focus on his bout with Gomez scheduled for March 21st, Valuev will likely face Ruslan Chagaev in a rematch. Therefore, if Valuev does face Chagaev and loses, this bout probably won't happen. On the other hand, if Valuev wins, then things can get very interesting.

This is a bout boxing fans have been curious about for quite some time. If Vitali does face Valuev to unify the WBC and WBA heavyweight titles, the event would be enormous in the overseas market, with two enormous men. Vitali stands at 6'8 while Valuev is 7 feet tall. It would be another step closer to having an undisputed heavyweight champion, but only if Valuev wins. Otherwise, you would have to settle for two unified champions, Vitali Klitschko and Wladimir Klitschko.

So how good is Valuev (50-1, 34 KOs)? Well, it may depend on which fight you watch. Before entering the top ranks, Valuev dismantled opponents such as Dicky Ryan, Paolo Vidoz, and Clifford Etienne. By that point, he was 41-0, and appeared to be a big threat to the top heavyweights.

Suddenly, a few fights later, Valuev was not as dominant as many expected. He looked very unimpressive while defeating Larry Donald by a controversial majority decision in a WBA eliminator back in October of '05. Then, only two months later, he had another disappointing performance while defeating John Ruiz by another controversial majority decision to capture the WBA heavyweight title. In April of '07, after two successful defenses against unworthy opponents in Owen Beck and Monte Barrett, Valuev would lose his WBA title to Chagaev by a split decision.

Valuev appeared to be much improved after losing his title, scoring decision victories over Sergei Liakhovich and John Ruiz without much controversy. As for his bout with Evander Holyfield from last December - now that was a different story. It was also a candidate for "Most Boring Fight of the Year". More disturbing than the low activity during the bout was the controversial outcome. Once again, Valuev was given a majority decision victory in a bout that he appeared to lose. Valuev's performance was considered disgraceful, especially against a 46-year-old boxer who looked younger than Valuev, outworked him and dancing around him.

Then there is Vitali Klitschko (36-2, 35 KOs). A man who never once lost on points and has never been knocked down. His only two losses are to Chris Byrd by way of injury and to Lennox Lewis by way of cuts. Vitali was leading on the scorecards in both fights.

When Vitali quit during his bout against Byrd due to an injured shoulder, he received much criticism. Then, bloody from the numberous cuts on his face, he redeemed himself by showing so much heart in the bout with Lewis. After stopping Kirk Johnson within two rounds in December of '03, and stopping Corrie Sanders during the eighth round in April of '04, Klitschko had become the WBC heavyweight champion.

Vitali had only made one successful defense, an 8th round stoppage of Danny Williams in December of '04, before retiring due to repeated injuries while preparing to face Hasim Rahman in 2005. During his absence, he called out Lennox Lewis repeatedly, and failed in his campaign at becoming the mayor of Kiev. Last October, he returned and dethroned Samuel Peter by an eighth-round TKO to regain his WBC title. At this point, at the age of 37, Vitali appears to be just as dangerous as he was over four years ago.

So what if Vitali does face Valuev? Well, they definitely make an interesting comparison for a couple of giants. They both have an excellent jab, and they both lack speed. Age is on Valuev's side by two years, but Klitschko has the advantage in strength, as shown by his knockout percentage. As far as competition, well, it is difficult to brag in a lackluster heavyweight division. If anything is for certain, Vitali tends to serve a beating to most of his opponents. If Klitschko faces Valuev, you can expect Klitschko to serve him a beating as well.