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Heavyweight prospects. None look really spectacular right now, but here's my top-ten. My criteria is primarily quality of opposition, although I take a look at what their skill sets are too.
1) Sam Peter. I know I'm gonna take some flak for this because he failed to stop his last two opponents, he's not particularly fast and his build makes him look out of shape. But he is the most advanced heavyweight prospect out there. He's never taken on complete bums and has stepped up the competition each time, even though he's one of the youngest heavyweights out there and has plenty of time left. If someone could teach him how to throw a combination or two I think he could develop into a great fighter. Until then his great strength, decent power and good chin should keep his digits in the W coloumn.
2) Audley Harrison. He's definitely the closest thing to a star among these guys. He's entertaining when he speaks, and he can be pretty flashy in the ring. Furthermore, he fights pretty well on the inside for such a big guy. Given the quality of his opponents and his advanced age though, the only reason he's ranked here is that he could probably beat anyone else on this list. He's been a pro for four years now and doesn't seem to worried about wasting time for a guy his age. By the age Audley turned pro, Mike Tyson had already won and lost the title. Twice.
3) Yanquee Diaz. A lotta you guys are probably saying, "Who?" This is the guy formerly known as Yamplier Azcuy. Yunno, the one who knocked Juan Carlos Gomez out in one round. He's pretty raw, and he's only been a pro for two years, but you have to like the fact that he fought seven times in 2004 alone, and didn't get gun shy after his first loss, unlike another Latino heavyweight we all know of...he doesn't always look like a star, but he's a hell of a lot more fun to watch than John Ruiz.
4) Calvin Brock. We all saw him on NBC last year. He's a decent fighter who does everything well, but he doesn't seem to want it as much as he should. Still, we can probably expect a few things out of him.
5) Gerald Nobles. He has a date with the Russian giant Valuev later this month, and he has a decent chance at winning it despite the size diadvantage. For one thing, he's not an incredibly physical fighter and he has good speed, so it'll be hard for Valuev to catch him. He's not bad but hasn't come to the ring in shape since his earliest days as a pro.
6) Owen Beck. This is really where things start to get murky. No one knows that much about Beck. He's undefeated through twenty four fights, eighteen by knockout, and he's had to get off the mat twice. He seems to be a decent enough fighter, but may be biting off more than he can chew if a fight with Monte Barrett ever comes off.
7) Ruslan Chagaev. He comes from the Eastern Bloc with an amateur pedigree tha includes beating Felix Savon twice. He's been beating passable guys, but he's basically untested. Though he's been pretty successful so far, he may just be a plodder with early luck. He's been fighting in Germany for a while now and may end up staying there.
8) Matt Skelton. This guy's all about aggression. He's been able to beat thirteen of his first fourteen opponents into early submission, but he's pretty crude, and given his age (37) we can't expect too much out of him.
9) Alexander Didmitrenko. A Ukrainian tough guy whose toughest opponent so far has been Ross Purrity. Still, he had more luck with Purrity than the younger Klitschko, so he may pan out. If he's lucky.
10) Taurus Sykes. He has only five stoppages in twenty three fights, but he's made what he has work for him. He has fought at the second tier for about three or four years now and has been steady in his success. The time's gonna come soon for him to step up, and though I give him props for not fighting guys like Frankie Hines, I think when the toughter comp comes the guy we call Bull will be called Bull ****.
I'm not really convinced that I have them all ranked correctly, but I think I was fair in my assessment, and that's all I really wanted to do. Anyway, these are the guys who are up and coming, and thought it's true that some of them won't pan out, I think it's a pretty complete list.
1) Sam Peter. I know I'm gonna take some flak for this because he failed to stop his last two opponents, he's not particularly fast and his build makes him look out of shape. But he is the most advanced heavyweight prospect out there. He's never taken on complete bums and has stepped up the competition each time, even though he's one of the youngest heavyweights out there and has plenty of time left. If someone could teach him how to throw a combination or two I think he could develop into a great fighter. Until then his great strength, decent power and good chin should keep his digits in the W coloumn.
2) Audley Harrison. He's definitely the closest thing to a star among these guys. He's entertaining when he speaks, and he can be pretty flashy in the ring. Furthermore, he fights pretty well on the inside for such a big guy. Given the quality of his opponents and his advanced age though, the only reason he's ranked here is that he could probably beat anyone else on this list. He's been a pro for four years now and doesn't seem to worried about wasting time for a guy his age. By the age Audley turned pro, Mike Tyson had already won and lost the title. Twice.
3) Yanquee Diaz. A lotta you guys are probably saying, "Who?" This is the guy formerly known as Yamplier Azcuy. Yunno, the one who knocked Juan Carlos Gomez out in one round. He's pretty raw, and he's only been a pro for two years, but you have to like the fact that he fought seven times in 2004 alone, and didn't get gun shy after his first loss, unlike another Latino heavyweight we all know of...he doesn't always look like a star, but he's a hell of a lot more fun to watch than John Ruiz.
4) Calvin Brock. We all saw him on NBC last year. He's a decent fighter who does everything well, but he doesn't seem to want it as much as he should. Still, we can probably expect a few things out of him.
5) Gerald Nobles. He has a date with the Russian giant Valuev later this month, and he has a decent chance at winning it despite the size diadvantage. For one thing, he's not an incredibly physical fighter and he has good speed, so it'll be hard for Valuev to catch him. He's not bad but hasn't come to the ring in shape since his earliest days as a pro.
6) Owen Beck. This is really where things start to get murky. No one knows that much about Beck. He's undefeated through twenty four fights, eighteen by knockout, and he's had to get off the mat twice. He seems to be a decent enough fighter, but may be biting off more than he can chew if a fight with Monte Barrett ever comes off.
7) Ruslan Chagaev. He comes from the Eastern Bloc with an amateur pedigree tha includes beating Felix Savon twice. He's been beating passable guys, but he's basically untested. Though he's been pretty successful so far, he may just be a plodder with early luck. He's been fighting in Germany for a while now and may end up staying there.
8) Matt Skelton. This guy's all about aggression. He's been able to beat thirteen of his first fourteen opponents into early submission, but he's pretty crude, and given his age (37) we can't expect too much out of him.
9) Alexander Didmitrenko. A Ukrainian tough guy whose toughest opponent so far has been Ross Purrity. Still, he had more luck with Purrity than the younger Klitschko, so he may pan out. If he's lucky.
10) Taurus Sykes. He has only five stoppages in twenty three fights, but he's made what he has work for him. He has fought at the second tier for about three or four years now and has been steady in his success. The time's gonna come soon for him to step up, and though I give him props for not fighting guys like Frankie Hines, I think when the toughter comp comes the guy we call Bull will be called Bull ****.
I'm not really convinced that I have them all ranked correctly, but I think I was fair in my assessment, and that's all I really wanted to do. Anyway, these are the guys who are up and coming, and thought it's true that some of them won't pan out, I think it's a pretty complete list.
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