neverlast

WHO'S DA CHAMP ?




Here we go again. Sergei Liakhovich's loss to Shannon Briggs set the division back about five years. Wladimir Klitschko's win over Calvin Brock may have solidified his claim as today's best heavyweight. Wlad has a great jab and is fairly mobile for a man his size. If he can keep you at the end of that jab, he has a very effective overhand right. Just ask Mr. Brock. My question is...Was Wlad that good or was Brock that bad ? Three things I don't like about Wlad. If a fighter does get inside on him, he becomes very ordinary. In his prime Rid**** Bowe who was a big man could beat you on the outside or the inside. Bowe was a very good in fighter. Klitschko lacks this trait. Wladimir rarely goes to the body. This is something that Liakhovich does very well. Last but not least, his chin. Corrie Sanders and Brewster parked him and Williamson and Peter had him down. To be a great one, you've got to have the whiskers. I've always said that if Wlad had Vitali's chin and heart, he would be something.

Briggs ? I have statues at my church that move better then him. Sergei has got a lot of work ahead of him but I think he beats Briggs if there is a rematch. Sergei can improve. I think we saw the best Briggs had to offer. I admire Maskaev's heart and he can hit but...I've seen too many of his fights where he got clocked. It just seems like he has Rahman's number. Valuev ? Granted he's huge but for a man his size he doesn't seem to generate a lot of steam on his punches. He's very predictable too. Jab, jab, chopping right...He doesn't deviate too much. I think Wladimir would box him silly.

The best of the rest ;

I like Brewster but can he come back ? Hey I'm from Cleveland so have to be behind my man Ray Austin. He has earned a shot at the title. The Ibragamov's don't impress me that much. Sultan seems to be the better of the two. He's a five round fighter. He has quick hands and his punches have some pop on them but if he doesn't get you out early, he fades. I still think Austin deserved the decision in their bout.

John Ruiz is still around ? That ought to be a clear indication of the state of the division. He's meeting undefeated Ruslon Chagaev in a WBA " eliminator ". The winner will meet Valuev. Am I supposed to get excited about this ? James Toney is his own worst enemy. To show you how bad the division is, a talented but blown up middleweight is a major player. Could you imagine Toney meeting a young or old George Foreman ? Christ, George would have launched him into the third row. If Big George came out of retirement right now to fight Toney, I would strongly consider picking George as the winner. Sad, very sad indeed.

Sad ? Now Evander's back in the mix with his win over Fres Oquendo. I'm not quite sure where Rahman is headed and David Tua is still out there. Chris Byrd ? I think Wlad put an exclamation point on his career as a heavyweight. I would love to see Byrd meet O'Neil Bell for the cruiserweight title. Brock didn't really show me much against Klitschko but the jury is still out on him.

Oh how I'd welcome the ghosts of Quarry, Machen, Folley and Leotis. Bring back the " Big Cat ". Now those were contenders.

mtt_c

I said it in another thread but Wladdy has gotten to be so one-dimensional. He holds when his opponent is on the inside and tries to lean on them. He is not as fluid as maybe I thought he was. He still fights tall-no body shots, far enough away to escape. But he is the man now.

The other guys, other than Sam Peters, are middle tier fighters at best. Each one of them can be beaten by the other. I fail to see what is special about Ray Austin and only heard of Sultan in the day's lead up to the fight-Austin was given too much credit by Sultan and the judges.

No one seems to be able to capture the brutality of Tyson, or the heart of Evander.