Tweet
By Robert Morales - Emanuel Steward's first phone call Sunday was from heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.
"He said, 'Did you see that (Eddie) Chambers beat (Alexander) Dimitrenko?' " said Steward, who trains Klitschko. "I said, 'Chambers beat Dimitrenko?' I was a little surprised, but not really that surprised."
Chambers is 6-foot-1 and weighed 208 1/4 pounds when he squared off with Dimitrenko on Saturday in Germany. Dimitrenko is 6-7 and came in at 253 1/2. But Steward intimated that the skills of many of these bigger European fighters don't match their size, so their size advantage shrinks a bit. He said that is not the case with Klitschko.
"Wladimir is not winning all these fights just because he is big, but because he is a good fighter," Steward said.
Steward said Klitschko did not have any particular comment on the performance of Chambers, who won a majority decision.
"I think the most important thing is he was just looking at who he was going to fight with all these mandatories," Steward said Wednesday via telephone.
Alexander Povetkin is the mandatory challenger to Klitschko's International Boxing Federation belt, and the third-ranked challenger to Klitschko's World Boxing Organiztion crown. Dimitrenko was ranked No. 1 by the WBO, but Chambers is now that organization's mandatory challenger.
Well, if Steward had his druthers, Klitschko's next fight would not come against Povetkin or Chambers. It would come against Southern California's Chris Arreola, who is ranked in the top 5 of both governing bodies; he is also ranked No. 1 by the World Boxing Council, whose champion is Vitali Klitschko. [details]
"He said, 'Did you see that (Eddie) Chambers beat (Alexander) Dimitrenko?' " said Steward, who trains Klitschko. "I said, 'Chambers beat Dimitrenko?' I was a little surprised, but not really that surprised."
Chambers is 6-foot-1 and weighed 208 1/4 pounds when he squared off with Dimitrenko on Saturday in Germany. Dimitrenko is 6-7 and came in at 253 1/2. But Steward intimated that the skills of many of these bigger European fighters don't match their size, so their size advantage shrinks a bit. He said that is not the case with Klitschko.
"Wladimir is not winning all these fights just because he is big, but because he is a good fighter," Steward said.
Steward said Klitschko did not have any particular comment on the performance of Chambers, who won a majority decision.
"I think the most important thing is he was just looking at who he was going to fight with all these mandatories," Steward said Wednesday via telephone.
Alexander Povetkin is the mandatory challenger to Klitschko's International Boxing Federation belt, and the third-ranked challenger to Klitschko's World Boxing Organiztion crown. Dimitrenko was ranked No. 1 by the WBO, but Chambers is now that organization's mandatory challenger.
Well, if Steward had his druthers, Klitschko's next fight would not come against Povetkin or Chambers. It would come against Southern California's Chris Arreola, who is ranked in the top 5 of both governing bodies; he is also ranked No. 1 by the World Boxing Council, whose champion is Vitali Klitschko. [details]
Comment