Who should Ruslan Chagaev fight in his first defense of the WBA title?

[beez721]

Holyfield says he was fighting injured when he lost to Toney and Donald, and that he is completely healed now. After seeing how devastating he was against Maddalone, I believe him. I know Vinnie's not a top heavyweight, but he and Oquendo are not bums either.

beez721, I agree with about 98% of what you write on this website, but on this I disagree. Although he is past his prime, Holyfield is still a tough boxer and he has a couple more good fights left in him.

hey,,,,I'd love to believe that it was his shoulder. Ive always been a fan of holy and would love to see him shock the world but I just cant buy it. maddalone is a total bum. he was beaten up to a pulp easily by a shot al cole. he's the perfect style for holyfield. as slow as an ox and right in front of you. oquendo used to be a descent fighter but he's a shell of himself. he took a beating by ruiz and clearly wasnt the same fighter that fought byrd and tua in that fight and has gone even further downhill since. not to mention many thought he actually should have got the decision over holyfield. now larry donald and toney both had speed and some movement. holyfield at his age cant deal with that anymore. as soon as he steps up Im afraid we'll see a replay all over again. I dont wanna see holyfield take another beating but unfortunately he likely will when he faces a guy with some speed,,,movement and pop in his punches. I so hope Im wrong but I just cant envision it going any other way

[Steelhammer86]

It's now been a month and a half since April 14, when Chagaev won the title from Valuev. The Russian Giant already has a fight scheduled with Bergeron in September.

So Chagaev and his management must by now be getting close to deciding on the opponent for his voluntary defense of the WBA heavyweight title.

[Steak]

Holyfield doesnt want a title shot yet. He wants to wait until hes older than Foreman, so he can break the oldest champion of all time record.

Hes just biding his time, and will edge his way torward the title shot without taking huge risk fights that also dont do much physical damage on him.
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[Eno]

I just want him to fight a name not some random european guy no one has heard of maskaev style.

[Derranged_]

There have been rumors that the winner of Skelton-Sprott fight would be granted a shot against Chagaev; I have also heard that WBA #4 ranked contender Mike Mollo is looking to get a shot....I don't know if Chagaev signed over any options to DK but if he did then look for a fight against Mollo. I also don't know how Mollo got ranked so high but he'd probaby be an easy opponent for Ruslan..

[Chipper]

Tony Thompson should get it!

We need more American heavyweights at the top.

[Steelhammer86]

Tony Thompson should get it!

We need more American heavyweights at the top.

He deserves a title shot, he hasn't lost a fight in years. If he beats Krasniqi, he will likely get a shot at one of the titles, if not the WBA.

[Derranged_]

Tony Thompson should get it!

We need more American heavyweights at the top.

Forget about nationality; we need an exciting hw champ who will at least partially unify, fight the best opponents, and will try to fight more than twice per year. Plus, Thompson's a borefest and brings very little excitement to the game. You probaby haven't seen him fight and nor should you.

[Easy-E]

he should fight Valeuv again.
the first one was close, a MD and Valuev gave him a shot at the title.
He deserves a rematch, imo.

[Derranged_]

he should fight Valeuv again.
the first one was close, a MD and Valuev gave him a shot at the title.
He deserves a rematch, imo.

IMO, the first fight was a borefest because of the lack of action and Chagaev's cautiousness and respect for Valuev's power. No need of a rematch just yet; let Valuev do something to warrant him getting a title shot.