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You read down the list of the top 20 heavyweights in the world today and just about all of them have been beaten by a Klitschko. The handful who haven't, like Povetkin, Haye, and Valuev, pretty blatantly ducked them even though they were offered generous revenue shares.
Just about all of them were briefly hyped as ushering in a new era or being a dangerous style matchup for the Klitschkos. Just about all of them were humiliated on fight night. Over time the hype became less enthusiastic. At this point nobody even bothers to set themselves up for the disappointment.
And as a result, they're all called weak competition and their careers fade into oblivion after losing to either brother.
Even though I'm personally glad it hasn't been the case and that the Klitschkos have pursued fights with nearly everyone quite aggressively, what if they didn't? What if they were... More like Floyd and let a name rot around for years and years before fighting them, winning, and having an epic "I told you so" moment?
David Haye, if he finally takes on a Klitschko, will be a hugely anticipated fight. Why? Not because of a boring decision over Valuev and ugly victory over an old, chubby, grey-haired Ruiz who looked like he fell over from exhaustion, not because he's really wielding a resume any more impressive than older Klitschko rivals, but because Haye has dragged it on for so long and focused so much on his own PR. He has the UK convinced he's, to quote a clueless British journalist we all laughed at last year, "the new Muhummad Ali". He's aware that had he fought one of them as soon as he had a belt, it would have been a minor story and he would have become another "exposed" fighter, another statistic on their record.
This is especially true for the guys who ONLY lost to a Klitschko, like Chagaev and Sultan. What if they had sat on their belts for another couple years and put down challengers and become bigger celebrities before the Klitschkos took the fights? Chagaev for example had a very US-friendly fighting style, aggressive and fast, more of an old-school bully than a modern giant. He could have spent a couple years on PPV cards and racked up a highlight reel. But how many Americans (truthfully) saw ANY of his fights OTHER than Klitschko? To them he's yet another European gibberish name padding their record, another journeyman clown who "didn't even train" and "didn't even try". In reality he may have dominated the division if the brothers were never born, or been in a high-profile war with another undefeated-except-for-against-Klitschko fighter. But he just fell off the map before he had a chance.
As odd as it seems, guys like Haye and Povetkin remaining undefeated and putting off their title shots might be the best thing that could possibly happen to the Klitschko legacy; as long as the fights eventually actually take place.
Just about all of them were briefly hyped as ushering in a new era or being a dangerous style matchup for the Klitschkos. Just about all of them were humiliated on fight night. Over time the hype became less enthusiastic. At this point nobody even bothers to set themselves up for the disappointment.
And as a result, they're all called weak competition and their careers fade into oblivion after losing to either brother.
Even though I'm personally glad it hasn't been the case and that the Klitschkos have pursued fights with nearly everyone quite aggressively, what if they didn't? What if they were... More like Floyd and let a name rot around for years and years before fighting them, winning, and having an epic "I told you so" moment?
David Haye, if he finally takes on a Klitschko, will be a hugely anticipated fight. Why? Not because of a boring decision over Valuev and ugly victory over an old, chubby, grey-haired Ruiz who looked like he fell over from exhaustion, not because he's really wielding a resume any more impressive than older Klitschko rivals, but because Haye has dragged it on for so long and focused so much on his own PR. He has the UK convinced he's, to quote a clueless British journalist we all laughed at last year, "the new Muhummad Ali". He's aware that had he fought one of them as soon as he had a belt, it would have been a minor story and he would have become another "exposed" fighter, another statistic on their record.
This is especially true for the guys who ONLY lost to a Klitschko, like Chagaev and Sultan. What if they had sat on their belts for another couple years and put down challengers and become bigger celebrities before the Klitschkos took the fights? Chagaev for example had a very US-friendly fighting style, aggressive and fast, more of an old-school bully than a modern giant. He could have spent a couple years on PPV cards and racked up a highlight reel. But how many Americans (truthfully) saw ANY of his fights OTHER than Klitschko? To them he's yet another European gibberish name padding their record, another journeyman clown who "didn't even train" and "didn't even try". In reality he may have dominated the division if the brothers were never born, or been in a high-profile war with another undefeated-except-for-against-Klitschko fighter. But he just fell off the map before he had a chance.
As odd as it seems, guys like Haye and Povetkin remaining undefeated and putting off their title shots might be the best thing that could possibly happen to the Klitschko legacy; as long as the fights eventually actually take place.
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