By Rick Reeno
When the news broke on Saturday that IBF mandatory Alexander Povetkin (16-0, 12KOs) had withdrawn, due to injury, from his Dec. 13 title bout with IBF/WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko (51-3, 45 KOs), questions were raised as to Klitschko's possible options for the December date. As many already know, WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev is scheduled to return on the working date of December 20.
Like Klitschko, Valuev is without an opponent. Considering the common dilemma of both men, the simply solution would be a Klitschko-Valuev unification bout. But, like everything in boxing - there are no simple solutions.
Chris Meyer, CEO of Sauerland Event [who promote Valuev and Povetkin], would tell BoxingScene.com that a lot of hurdles would have to be overcome in order to make a Klitschko-Valuev bout possible for any date in December, and the likelihood of everything coming together is very slim.
The biggest hurdles have to do with the German television rights and the IBF's willingness to allow a Klitschko-Valuev unification bout. Klitschko is under contract with German television network RTL, while Sauerland has a deal with German rival ARD. In other words, it's like Oscar De La Hoya trying to get permission from HBO to fight a major opponent on Showtime.
The second hurdle has to do with the IBF. Klitschko has already been granted an exception by the sanctioning body; when they allowed him to defend his titles in July against WBO mandatory Tony Thompson. The chances of Klitschko being granted a second exception, even for a unification bout, are very low. More than likely, Klitschko will have to defend his title against the highest available contender in the IBF rankings.
The highest ranked contenders under Povetkin are Chris Arreola and Alexander Dimitrenko. Arreola is scheduled to fight Travis Walker on November 29 on HBO, and Dimitrenko has a scheduled fight with Luan Krasniqi on November 15. If a deal is reached with either, the agreed upon fighter would have to withdraw from his scheduled date.
Going any lower in the rankings would bring up names [in ranked order] like Hasim Rahman, Oleg Maskaev, Sultan Ibragimov, Eddie Chambers, Andrew Golota and James Toney. Would HBO really put up the money for Klitschko-Rahman or Klitschko-Maskaev?
In the case of Rahman, there is always the storyline of how older brother Vitali never fought him in 2005 [when Rahman was the mandatory and Vitali retired], and now younger brother Wladimir will try to make it right by beating Rahman. But, Rahman was knocked out by Maskaev in 2006, Maskaev was knocked out in March by Sam Peter, and both Klitschko brothers beat Peter.
As for Valuev, Meyer tells BoxingScene that several names are in the running, including Evander Holyfield and Andrew Golota.
"We are still looking for an opponent. Evander Holyfield is not out of the picture yet. There are couple of names, but nothing has been finalized," Meyer said.
Don Majeski, the American agent for Sauerland Event, says that a fight between Klitschko and Valuev would be a major event in Germany, one that requires more time to properly plan and promote.
"December is a short window of time for a fight like that. That's a fight that could easily draw 30,000 or more fans," Majeski said.
