Heavyweight Boxing

Top 10

1. Wladimir Klitschko (WBO/IBF Champion)
2. Vitali Klitschko (WBC Champion)
3. Ruslan Chagaev
4. Alexander Povetkin
5. Nikolai Valuev (WBA Champion)
6. Samuel Peter
7. James Toney
8. Sultan Ibragimov
9. Chris Arreola
10. Juan Carlos Gomez

2008 was supposed to be a big year for Heavyweight boxing, with the first unification bout for over a decade taking place at ‘The Mecca of boxing’ that is Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately, 2008 turned out to be the same as the last 5 years as far as Heavyweight boxing goes. Never has the term ‘overweight’s’ been so relevant to the Heavyweight division. A division that was once the pride and crowning glory of boxing has become a laughing stock. The majority of fighters today are slow, unskilled and poorly conditioned, gone are the days of the supremely athletic big men, such as Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis or Mike Tyson. Anyway, rather than dwelling over what we haven’t got, let’s look at what we do have with the Heavyweights of today.

Wladimir Klitschko is still the number one, but after rather unimpressively unifying belts against Sultan Ibragimov followed by another less than impressive display against Tony Thompson, there are still question marks over his future. It’s a sad state when the best HW in the world is a bore with a glass chin, but that’s the unfortunate reality. His brother made a fantastic comeback in 2008, and is most likely the REAL best Heavyweight (with one fight in 4 years, it’s hard to put him as the ‘official’ best). It cannot be doubted that the two Klitschko’s are the best Heavyweights at the moment; they hold ¾ of the titles with the only other champion being Valuev, the 7’0 giant who barely breaks the top 5. Its very sad that the next opponents of Wlad and Valuev, which will be Rahman and Holyfield respectively. How these two guys continue to get chances because of former glory (or just one punch, in Rahman’s case) is beyond me.

After the three belt holders, there is a string of mediocre Heavyweights occupying the top 10. Chagaev proved to have some class in out boxing the giant Valuev, but his health problems and lack of activity is a big problem, as he recently vacated his WBA strap which Valuev has since picked up. Povetkin was forced to pull out of his fight with Wlad, which could be a blessing in disguise as, at least in my opinion, he is not quite ready to fight the best in the world but he will be a very good fighter. Both Samuel Peter & Sultan Ibragimov are coming off big defeats to title holders, but such is the lack of depth at Heavyweight both still make the top 10 with ease. James Toney is a familiar name back in the mix, and seemingly back in shape (I know, how many times has this been said?) and looking for another crack at a Heavyweight belt. Chris Arreola perhaps has the potential to bring some life back into the Heavyweights, he has looked impressive in recent bouts, albeit against lacklustre opponents. A potential bout between him and David Tua would be interesting to watch. At the bottom of my top 10 is Juan Carlos Gomez, which tells you alot about the Heavyweight division today. He has looked fairly decent lately, and will be looking to fight Vitali as he is the WBC mandatory.

So, what about the future? Well, there is some hope. As mentioned earlier, young prospects Chris Arreola and Alexander Povetkin are undefeated and pushing the top 10. Both fighters have aggressive styles, and both have been in some entertaining bouts as of late. November 15th is a big date in the Heavyweight calendar, the long awaited first fight (not including his early cameo) for David Haye at his new weight. He comes with great credentials from Cruiserweight, and he takes on respectable opponent Monte Barrett in his first fight. After months of talking Haye needs to deliver a great performance in order to push for his fight with one of the Klitschko’s. The other stand-out prospect is Odlanier Solis, the big Cuban with great amateur credentials. Hes undefeated in 12 fights, but my feeling is he needs to improve his conditioning and lose some weight if he wants to become an elite Heavyweight.

What is my prediction for the next 12 months? Well, when it comes to the Heavyweights I am very much a pessimist. Something tells me Arreola will still be fighting mediocre fighters, Solis will still be out of shape and struggling with nobodies and Povetkin will still be stalling on the big fights through ‘injuries’. That leaves David Haye, now as much as I would love to see Haye clean up the division in the fashion Tyson did in the 80s, I have my doubts. In my opinion, Haye fights Wladimir Klitschko and gets stopped early on due to his weak chin, which leaves the Heavyweights... well, the same way it’s been since the great Lennox Lewis retired; very disappointing.