{"id":2080,"date":"2010-04-14T00:01:47","date_gmt":"2010-04-14T04:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ringsidereport.com\/?p=2080"},"modified":"2010-04-14T00:01:47","modified_gmt":"2010-04-14T04:01:47","slug":"wladimir-klitschko-david-haye-the-clean-up-of-the-heavyweight-division","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=2080","title":{"rendered":"Wladimir Klitschko & David Haye: The Clean Up of the Heavyweight Division"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Geno McGahee<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Public Challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n

The IBO\/IBF\/WBO Heavyweight Champion, Wladimir Klitschko, 54-3, 48 KO\u2019s, has done what a champion is supposed to do.\u00a0 He is cleaning out the division, and although you can criticize the current state of boxing, Wlad\u2019s safety first style, and the lack of appeal in the United States, you cannot argue with success.\u00a0 One of the big problems with Wlad is that most of the opponents are not worthy of a title shot, but they are listed by the sanctioning bodies as the best of the worst and end up in the ring and then end up carried out of the ring.\u00a0\u00a0 None of them have captured the public\u2019s imagination, but there is one guy out there that has made some noise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fresh off his WBA Title defense against John Ruiz, David Haye, 24-1, 22 KO\u2019s, has been rumored to be close to striking a deal with Wladimir in a unification bout.\u00a0 They were close to fighting before, only to have it fall through, and the two have a history.\u00a0 Haye\u2019s antics have not impressed or amused \u201cDr. Steelhammer.\u201d\u00a0 The artwork that he had created featuring himself holding the severed head of Wladimir raised some eyebrows and when he realized that he offended both Klitschkos, he made a tee shirt, featuring both the brothers in a mangled heap with Haye standing above, holding both of their severed heads.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the prefight psychological warfare, Haye was winning easily, but Wlad has done something that will help his reputation in the states and help boxing as a whole.\u00a0 He called out Haye via video, sent to every boxing publication and youtube, where he used the term \u201cbitched out,\u201d referring to two failed bouts, one with Wlad and one with older brother Vitali.\u00a0 Now the ball is in Haye\u2019s court.\u00a0 Will he accept the challenge and will he take on Wlad in the biggest fight in the heavyweight division since Lennox Lewis \u2013 Vitali Klitschko?\u00a0 Most likely yes.<\/p>\n

Vitali in Their Sights<\/strong><\/p>\n

The WBC has ordered an eliminator between the \u201cRussian Giant\u201d Nikolay Valuev, 50-2, 34 KO\u2019s, and Odlanier Solis, 16-0, 12 KO\u2019s.\u00a0 This is an incredibly compelling fight.\u00a0 Valuev is the 2-Time WBA Heavyweight Champion, but he is also the most disrespected champion to come along since John Ruiz, remarkably the man that he won the title from in 2005.\u00a0 Valuev has victories over Sergei Liakhovich, Evander Holyfield, John Ruiz (twice), and Jameel McCline, but the public is not sold on him at all.\u00a0 Some contend that Holyfield and Ruiz both beat him, although when you watch the fights (if you can remain awake), you will have a hard time scoring them.\u00a0 Whatever the case, the fights were close and Valuev came out on top.\u00a0 He is a legitimate force in the division.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Solis has a world of potential but there is also concern from his fan base team about his weight.\u00a0 He stands just over six feet tall and has ranged from 247 to 271 in weight.\u00a0 In his last fight, he came in at 268 and stopped Carl Drumond in three rounds.\u00a0 He is a knockout puncher and is showing interest in a title shot.\u00a0 This fight with Valuev is a huge step up for Solis, but if he were able to chop down the giant, it would send a message to the rest of the division.\u00a0 Despite Valuev\u2019s reputation, nobody has been able to make a dent in him.\u00a0 David Haye came the closest to dropping him, but spent most of the fight on the retreat.\u00a0 Solis only knows one way to fight and that is to come forward and come through his opponent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m in the vast minority that consider Valuev one of the top heavyweights in boxing today and a threat to the Klitschko rule.\u00a0 He is enormous and confident.\u00a0 His biggest issue is his inability to step up the tempo, and he tends to allow his opponents to set the pace.\u00a0 Solis is a good fit for Valuev.\u00a0 He should allow the big man to set his range and use his jab. Solis should really check the chin of Nikolay on several occasions but nobody has dropped him yet.\u00a0 This fight is a pick\u2019em at this point.\u00a0 We should either see a Valuev decision win or a Solis KO win.\u00a0 Either way, we have another good challenger emerging to challenge Vitali.<\/p>\n

Good Small Man vs. Good Big Man<\/strong><\/p>\n

On April 24th, the former Cruiserweight Champion, Tomasz Adamek, 40-1, 27 KO\u2019s, collides with Chris Arreola, 28-1, 25 KO\u2019s, in a twelve round eliminator.\u00a0 This bout will be featured on HBO and we will either see another former cruiserweight champion emerge as a true player in the heavyweight division or we will see a smaller man beaten down by a powerful and popular brawler.<\/p>\n

Arreola has the same issues as Solis.\u00a0 His dedication to the gym is constantly in question.\u00a0 For his title opportunity against WBC Kingpin, Vitali Klitschko, he came in at a high 251.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t have the speed or stamina to push the champion and took a beating.\u00a0 He cried after the fight and stated that he would be back and he was back\u2026and he brought an extra twelve pounds with him.\u00a0 Against the smaller Brian Minto, a 263 pound Arreola used his size to overwhelm and claim victory in four rounds.<\/p>\n

The thought here may be to match Arreola against small men\u2026men that he can easily crush.\u00a0 Minto at 218 was easy prey.\u00a0 Adamek at 220 or so, may be seen as the same, but is very skilled and has much more power in his shots than Minto possessed.\u00a0\u00a0 This will be a very heated match.\u00a0 Arreola, from reports, is apparently in better shape than he has been in in a very long time.\u00a0 Adamek is very motivated to follow in the footsteps of cruisers like Evander Holyfield and David Haye.\u00a0 Don\u2019t miss this fight.<\/p>\n

Mismatch of the Year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The WBC Champion, Vitali Klitschko, 39-2, 37 KO\u2019s, is getting highly criticized for his choice of opponent in this upcoming May 29th defense.\u00a0 Albert Sosnowski, 45-2-1, 27 KO\u2019s, has a good record on the surface, but his opposition has been very weak and one of his defeats came to Zuri Lawrence.\u00a0 Lawrence is a journeyman heavyweight, yet he dominated Sosnowski over eight rounds, winning a clear cut unanimous decision.\u00a0 The biggest win for the Polish challenger was an eight round stoppage of a shot Danny Williams.\u00a0\u00a0 He is not, on paper, qualified for a title shot\u2026but champions typically take an optional defense against somebody in the bottom of the top ten or so.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vitali should easily win this fight.\u00a0 Sosnowski\u2019s defense is minimal, his punching power is unremarkable, and he is rather small at 6 feet 2 inches, compared to the champion.\u00a0 Even if he gets inside, can he do any damage to Vitali?\u00a0 Probably not, but there is hope.\u00a0 Kevin Johnson confused and frustrated Vitali.\u00a0 He showed how mechanical he can be and if Sosnowski can take some pointers from Johnson\u2019s performance, maybe he can outwork Vitali and pull a big upset.\u00a0 Don\u2019t bet on it though.<\/p>\n

Evander Holyfield\u2026Heavyweight Champion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It happened, Evander \u201cReal Deal\u201d Holyfield, 43-10-2, 28 KO\u2019s, regained the heavyweight title with a TKO over Frans Botha.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t know Botha was the champ?\u00a0 No, not too many people did.\u00a0 Yes, he was the holder of the WBF Heavyweight Title and you cannot argue that it is one of the top belts, but it may be a bargaining chip for the 4 \u00bd Time Heavyweight Champion.\u00a0 The \u00bd is the WBF belt.\u00a0 Maybe I\u2019m giving it too much credit.<\/p>\n

Holyfield stated after his victory that he wanted to unify the titles again and become the undisputed champion of the world. At least he didn\u2019t say \u201cor die trying.\u201d\u00a0 The sad truth is that the 47+ year old former champion has nothing left and had Botha came into the fight in any shape other than round, he would have won it.\u00a0 Now, if a 44 year old Botha can control Holyfield, and hit him at will, what would the Klitschkos do?\u00a0 What would David Haye do?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Holyfield has a few options.\u00a0 The most appealing to him and the fans is a rematch with the returning Iron Mike Tyson.\u00a0 It would be a title fight, be a chance for redemption for Tyson, win or lose, and would sell well.\u00a0 Holyfield proved he cannot sell a PPV anymore.\u00a0 The Botha PPV crashed and burned with pitiful ticket sales.\u00a0 Part of the problem was a horrible undercard, but Evander had stated in interviews recently that he could sell a fight and that Tyson would need him to make money\u2026but it\u2019s quite the contrary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fear is that one of the top fighters in the division will look at Holyfield as a way to increase their marketability and the older fighter would get seriously hurt.\u00a0 With Evander\u2019s heart and lack of reflexes, he would be a lamb led to the slaughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Remaining Factors<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are a few heavyweights right now that you should keep your eye on, even though you have probably dismissed a few of them already.\u00a0 The former WBC Champion, Sam Peter, 34-3, 27 KO\u2019s, was a very exciting heavyweight at one point and was getting compared to Mike Tyson and David Tua, but after losses to Vitali Klitschko and Eddie Chambers and an obvious lack of desire, people gave up on him.\u00a0 Now he\u2019s back, he\u2019s in great shape, and he\u2019s knocking people out with regularity.\u00a0 Peter is pushing for a rematch with Wladimir Klitschko in a fight where he dropped \u201cDr. Steelhammer\u201d on several occasions before losing a decision.\u00a0 Peter, if he stays focused, he has everything it takes to be a huge factor in the division.<\/p>\n

Alexander Povetkin, 19-0, 14 KO\u2019s, will most likely take the million dollars to step aside and allow Haye-Klitschko.\u00a0 Under the tutelage of Teddy Atlas, Povetkin is starting to resemble the Mike Tyson \u2013 crouching power-puncher style.\u00a0 This will help him as he goes for the title.\u00a0 Povetkin is a true top contender and a big threat, especially with Atlas in his corner.<\/p>\n

Tony Thompson, 33-2, 21 KO\u2019s, will be taking on Owen Beck this Friday night, and should come through with an easy victory.\u00a0 Thompson is still a player in the division and his only recent defeat was a late KO loss to Wladimir Klitschko.\u00a0 It was obvious that Thompson was overwhelmed by the event and did not fight that well.\u00a0 Although he did not fight well, he had some good moments. He is still a player in the division.<\/p>\n

David Tua, 51-3-1, 43 KO\u2019s, one of the biggest underachievers in boxing, seems to have his head together and is planning to challenge for the title in the near future.\u00a0 His power and good chin make him a big threat to any fighter and in the mediocre division, Tua could certainly realize his dream.<\/p>\n

The top 10\u2019s of the sanctioning bodies can be so strange at times, that I have come up with an RSR\u2019s Heavyweight top 10, which is certainly debatable, but probably more realistic than the sanctioning bodies\u2019 lists.<\/p>\n

Champion: Wladimir Klitschko
\n1.Vitali Klitschko
\n2.David Haye
\n3.Alexander Povetkin
\n4.Nikolay Valuev
\n5.Tomasz Adamek
\n6.Chris Arreola
\n7.Tony Thompson
\n8.Samuel Peter
\n9.David Tua
\n10.Eddie Chambers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heavyweight boxing has some new life and we are seeing some heavyweights define or redefine themselves.\u00a0 We should have some interesting times ahead of us with the big men of boxing.<\/p>\n

Advertise Now On RSR<\/a><\/p>\n

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Watch The Trailer For Family Secret<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Geno McGahee The Public Challenge The IBO\/IBF\/WBO Heavyweight Champion, Wladimir Klitschko, 54-3, 48 KO\u2019s, has done what a champion is supposed to do.\u00a0 He is cleaning out the division, and although you can criticize the current state of boxing, Wlad\u2019s safety first style, and the lack of appeal in the United States, you cannot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[105,153,319,716,763],"class_list":["post-2080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-boxing","tag-champions","tag-heavyweight","tag-tony-thompson","tag-wladimir-klitschko"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2080\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}