{"id":4489,"date":"2010-09-03T00:00:55","date_gmt":"2010-09-03T04:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=4489"},"modified":"2010-09-02T21:40:50","modified_gmt":"2010-09-03T01:40:50","slug":"the-klitschko-brothers-some-heavyweight-musings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=4489","title":{"rendered":"The Klitschko Brothers & Some Heavyweight Musings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Michael \u201cRubber Warrior\u201d Plunkett<\/strong><\/p>\n

The last few weeks have been an interesting time relative to the current state of heavyweight boxing. We watched a top contender pay his dues against a former contender from a different era, a fighter over a decade removed from his moment of truth, and another, justify the growing stance that any reference to his current form and the top-ten rankings need be rethought. Adding to the mix IBF\/WBO\/Ring Magazine heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has signed to defend his crown in September against former WBC champion Samuel Peter while his brother Vitali, the current WBC heavyweight kingpin, has agreed to face destructive big man and former top division dog Shannon Briggs later in the fall \u2013 another name from memory lane.<\/p>\n

The heavyweight division has mostly been devoid of excitement and drama the last five years. There have been momentary blips of drama, to be sure, but generally speaking it has all been very mundane stuff. Take a look at the rankings from the summer of 2005 and you\u2019ll have a very different picture than that of today. Go back even further to the year 2000 and one wonders where it all took a turn. But the reality of the matter is that all things in boxing, as in life, are cyclical. There\u2019s really no hard and fast rule that says this is the way things are and this is the way things will always be. Time, as it relates to the human condition of fighters and the ever-changing set of variables is really the only constant dynamic in boxing. What didn\u2019t look possible a year ago has possibility today. What looked impervious six months ago looks vulnerable today. And what seemed like a heavyweight desert a year ago suddenly looks like a landscape of promise today. Possibility has entered into the mix.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve followed the sport long enough to realize how shortsighted a good percentage of the fan base really is. It never ceases to amaze me how far to extremes the pendulum swings with some people; a given heavy has one big moment on center stage, a dramatic highlight reel knockout perhaps, and it\u2019s the second coming of Mike Tyson; a pedestrian points win over a faded and perceived fragile fighter and suddenly dispersion is heaped upon the chances of the victor, not allowing any room for overall context to enter into the mix. Big picture thinking is out, lofty instant gratification is the only thing in demand and anything else is given little or no thought or consideration; let the parroting of given party lines be the out in any semblance of a reasonable discussion as it may pertain to a given fighter or career direction.<\/p>\n

I once said that boxing is akin to soap opera with the wheeling and dealing that goes on behind the curtain. The current game of wits that is Floyd Mayweather JR versus Bob Arum is an excellent example of real life soap playing out before the fan base. Forget Manny Pacquiao, he\u2019s basically just a plot device if you break it all down. And fans eat it up, becoming in many cases emotional and even irrational, attaching themselves to a fighter to the point that all else really doesn\u2019t matter. Finite details and political nuances don\u2019t apply. It\u2019s as if they\u2019ve already decided who their idol is and following the sport has taken a back seat to the pursuit of idolatry. For some, it\u2019s not about understanding what kind of a man takes up the pursuit of prizefighting or the hard and hazardous route required to make it to a key moment of truth and crossroads, but rather it\u2019s more about the hope and expectation of violence, cartoonery and blood. They expect a sudden flash and a mushroom cloud\u2026.and damned if it doesn\u2019t happen quick enough in a given contest if even at all! No understanding whatsoever is applied to the combatants and the ever-changing variables I mentioned earlier. If it doesn\u2019t happen the way they feel it should a given fighter sucks, has no hope whatsoever or worse, is without sack. Pretty damming, emotional stuff when you get right down to it and it to me it speaks more about the accuser than about the subject matter.<\/p>\n

I like to balance it out more, having understood long ago that I enjoyed following well trained professionals in the pursuit of a grand prize against other highly trained professionals, on a scale mostly unimaginable and at a level unattainable to laymen. Some of the stories and personalities of the fighters appeal to me while others don\u2019t. I always try to appreciate what I\u2019m seeing and what goes into getting to that point in their lives and careers where I and others are willing to shell-out to watch them.<\/p>\n

The recent heavyweight clash between Tomasz Adamek and Michael Grant produced a result that has many writing-off the former two-division world champion, as fine of a fighter as Poland has ever produced. The day before the contest Tomasz Adamek was praised for his skill and ambition and expected to wipe-out Grant, a 6\u20197 former world title challenger. Forget that Adamek has always been more workman than knockout artist or flashy boxer, or that he is campaigning well beyond his natural fighting weight against a man a literal giant compared to the size of fighter he has historically gone up against. The consensus expectation was that Adamek would prevail via stoppage and that Grant couldn\u2019t possibly have anything left on top of never really having been very good to begin with. In truth this match-up presented problems for Adamek from the outset, and clearly he and his team knew it, which is why they asked for it. Team Adamek were focused on the big picture, understanding that the Grant assignment was more about development than about measurement.<\/p>\n

That Grant fought aggressively in spurts with a grit and resolve the masses didn\u2019t think he possessed shouldn\u2019t be cast upon Adamek as a negative point, rather it is a testament to the maturity, character and remaining semblance of skill Michael Grant had. That Adamek rode out the rough patches and solved a complicated style in fact speaks volumes about who he is as a fighter, his courage as it relates to his profession and the overall picture. In hindsight, the result was a close win that raised some questions and provided some answers. It suggests that the education of Tomasz Adamek is ongoing, and that he will look to further refine his game in the pursuit of a Klitschko challenge. In no way does it suggest that there is little to no hope despite what some short-sighted types think. Can Tomasz Adamek one day procure one of the major world titles at heavyweight? Only time and that constantly shifting set of variables that undermine the illusion of absolutes will tell, but don\u2019t be shocked if Adamek leaves his mark someday, the guy has the heart and mindset of some of the best professional heavyweights we\u2019ve seen over the last quarter century.<\/p>\n

Moving along to Chris Arreola and his recent return to the win column, I, like many others came away wondering what lies next for this affable brute, a heavy that strikes me in many ways as a modern-day incarnation of \u201cTerrible\u201d Tim Witherspoon. Having promised to return to action svelte and in condition, Arreola actually came in over five pounds heavier for Manuel Quezada than he had for Tomasz Adamek some four months earlier. Lumped-up throughout, and fighting with a rubbery-arm resolve, Arreola managed to floor his inferior opponent and pull out the win in a fashion that had most writing him off as a future in the division. And while I cannot speak to Arreola\u2019s failure to trim-up as promised, that ever-changing set of variables I mentioned earlier affected the direction of the contest with the Californian living \u201cThe Nightmare\u201d, having injured both of his hands over the course of rounds, explaining that \u201crubbery-armed\u201d resolve. Video playback is a wonderful thing. Let\u2019s see if Arreola pays attention, gets busy and takes off the unnecessary baggage. His challenge last year for the WBC heavyweight title suggests a grit and in-the-ring character rare in this day and age. His biggest fight going forward will be at home late at night when the hunger pangs strike.<\/p>\n

Speaking in terms of signed heavyweight title fights, the brothers Klitschko leave me impressed. Both keep a busy schedule and both dominate their opposition, which speaks to their level of talent more than it rips at their vanquished foes, all talented fighters in their own right. The very fact that an odd turn of events caused Alexander Povetkin to again pull-out of his mandatory challenge of Wladimir has many questioning Povetkin\u2019s heart and net worth, but his reasons aside, the consolation prize was a fight with a refocused and hungry Samuel Peter, a once compelling slugger that mauled and rabbit-punched the younger Klitschko to the canvas three times in an entertaining points loss five years ago. Personally, I like this match-up and expect to see Wladimir at his very best, but I cannot dismiss an in-shape Peter as a challenger and suspect that \u201cThe Nigerian Nightmare\u201d will show up focused with much to prove, looking to exact revenge and beat the recognized Ring Magazine heavyweight champion, setting the stage for a unification rematch with the man who took his WBC title two years ago, Vitali Klitschko.
\nIn the case of the aging elder Klitschko, the scheduled October title defense with former WBO and linear heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs promises to provide two or three of the most thrilling early rounds since Mike Tyson challenged Lennox Lewis over eight years ago. The very fact that Briggs storms out of his corner like he is perpetually double-parked, and that he has an enormous amount of first-round kayos, coupled with Klitschko\u2019s high knockout percentage, suggests sparks within seconds of the first bell. Forget the odds in this one. We might be in for a terrifically explosive brief encounter, one way or another.<\/p>\n

Can you imagine what the outlook on the heavyweight landscape would be if both Sam Peter and Shannon Briggs managed to defy the odds and upend the Klitschko\u2019s for their titles? Can you imagine what a fun unification encounter Peter and Briggs would be? Stranger things have happened.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the expectation some place upon fighters such as Tomasz Adamek, Cristobal Arreola and Alexander Povetkin, it\u2019s about the learning curve and the journey as opposed to anything else. Their foibles and limitations round out who they are as ring characters and it\u2019s their drive and willingness to step to it in the ring that sets them apart from the David Haye\u2019s of today. Love them or hate them they aren\u2019t running their mouths from behind a closet door. As for the so-called bleak picture today at heavyweight, the brothers Klitschko are giving us a world of possibility with Sam Peter and Shannon Briggs. As far as I\u2019m concerned, things are in a very real way better today in the land of the giants than at any time over the last five years. Enjoy it while it lasts.<\/p>\n

\n

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By Michael \u201cRubber Warrior\u201d Plunkett The last few weeks have been an interesting time relative to the current state of heavyweight boxing. We watched a top contender pay his dues against a former contender from a different era, a fighter over a decade removed from his moment of truth, and another, justify the growing stance […]<\/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":[319,749,763],"class_list":["post-4489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-heavyweight","tag-vitali-klitschko","tag-wladimir-klitschko"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4489","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=4489"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4489\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}