If you're rooting against Sam Peter you are a poor boxing fan

[jcarr71]

It doesn't matter if you like Sam Peter. It doesn't matter if you like Klitschko. It doesn't matter if you're Eastern European or African, black or white. It doesn't matter if you think Sam is overrated and want to see him exposed, and it doesn't matter if you want Vitali to go away for good. None of that is relevant. This is an important fight for the sport of boxing and Sam Peter needs to win it. There is no emotion that needs to be involved here past this one: Do you care about boxing?

Really, do you care about boxing? Are you knowledgeable?

Do you remember the old saying that as the heavyweights go, boxing goes? While this is less true now than ever, it is still important. An interesting heavyweight division is the best thing boxing can have and we don't have it. The first step is having a champion, but we have no champion. When someone finds out you are a boxing fan and asks you who the heavyweight champion of the world is and you have to spend ten minutes explaining the ring rankings and the four belt system, something is wrong. If Vitali wins, him and Wlad will never fight each other. Never. We will have two champs until one leaves boxing. That is a doomsday scenario for the heavyweight division, a blow to boxing.

If Sam Peter wins, then suddenly a Wlad rematch becomes very feasible. Sam's camp can show the fight as proof of Sam's improvement and it provides an angle to sell the fight. Vitali has avenged Wlad twice; now the tables would be turned. Then when someone asks you who the heavyweight champion of the world is, you simply reply the winner of the rematch without hesitation like you would say Kelly Pavlik when asked about the middleweights. That is a big step for boxing.

Our options as boxing fans here are to cheer for progress or stagnation, hope or guaranteed more of the same. Do you want whats best for the sport or is your agenda more important?

[Dirk Diggler UK]

Its cool. The Hayemaker will take out both the Klitschko's by the end of 09.

[Silencers]

I agree that if Peter wins, the division would be more interesting but it still wouldn't get much attention at all.

[jcarr71]

Honestly I think the best thing would be Wlad beating Sam in the potential rematch and then matching up with Haye. It would be great for the division. How about that, a good interesting heavyweight championship fight! When is the last time we had one of those?

[KESSLER]

I guess I'm a poor boxing fan then.

[Stickman]

Its cool. The Hayemaker will take out both the Klitschko's by the end of 09.

If either of those fights ever happen, I hope and pray you don't put any significant amount of money down on Haye. If you start thinking you're going to, get hold of me and I'll organize either an intervention, or a short stay in an insane asylum, as this would surely be a definite sign of either a severe ******** addiction coupled with self destructive behaviour, or just pure insanity.

[Dan...]

I'm pulling for Vitali. Don't like it? fk yourself. I'm thinking Peter is going to take it though, Vitali has been way too inactive.

Hopefully Haye will give enough to provide the interest for this division over the next couple of years.

[toluco]

peter is already the champion and nothing good is happening

[KESSLER]

Do I want rabbit punching or a man with the highest KO percentage of any heavyweight champion of all time ?

[Stickman]

It doesn't matter if you like Sam Peter. It doesn't matter if you like Klitschko. It doesn't matter if you're Eastern European or African, black or white. It doesn't matter if you think Sam is overrated and want to see him exposed, and it doesn't matter if you want Vitali to go away for good. None of that is relevant. This is an important fight for the sport of boxing and Sam Peter needs to win it. There is no emotion that needs to be involved here past this one: Do you care about boxing?

Really, do you care about boxing? Are you knowledgeable?

Do you remember the old saying that as the heavyweights go, boxing goes? While this is less true now than ever, it is still important. An interesting heavyweight division is the best thing boxing can have and we don't have it. The first step is having a champion, but we have no champion. When someone finds out you are a boxing fan and asks you who the heavyweight champion of the world is and you have to spend ten minutes explaining the ring rankings and the four belt system, something is wrong. If Vitali wins, him and Wlad will never fight each other. Never. We will have two champs until one leaves boxing. That is a doomsday scenario for the heavyweight division, a blow to boxing.

If Sam Peter wins, then suddenly a Wlad rematch becomes very feasible. Sam's camp can show the fight as proof of Sam's improvement and it provides an angle to sell the fight. Vitali has avenged Wlad twice; now the tables would be turned. Then when someone asks you who the heavyweight champion of the world is, you simply reply the winner of the rematch without hesitation like you would say Kelly Pavlik when asked about the middleweights. That is a big step for boxing.

Our options as boxing fans here are to cheer for progress or stagnation, hope or guaranteed more of the same. Do you want whats best for the sport or is your agenda more important?

In my opinion, Peter winning wouldn't make any difference either way. The only bad thing I can see coming from a Peter loss would be that he'll probably never make it back up to the top again (I think Vitali will likely ruin Sam), and will be lucky to be in the top 20 5 years from now. I don't dislike Peter at all, he has some good **** going for him, but he's not capable of beating ANY incarnation of Vitali that I've ever seen. On his worst day, Vitali would beat Peter down inside 10. On his best, Peter doesn't make it halfway through the 1st round. I'm calling a KO win inside 4 (more likely inside 2, though).