On Saturday night in Russia heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko successfully defended his title for the 15th time. This time around he easily outpointed Alexander Povetkin in an ugly fight that had many fans booing in the arena and changing the channel at home. Yet again fans are left frustrated by the way Klitschko fights and also by the fact that there seems to be no legitimate challenger to his thrown.
When casual fans declare that "boxing is dead" they are utterly uninformed, however what they usually mean is that "the heavyweight division is dead." That statement isn't very far off at least in the eyes of American fans. Ever since Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield were dethroned as heavyweight royalty, American fans have been waiting for the next great American champion. There have been contenders but never a true threat Klitschko.
So now fans find themselves in a very familiar place, it is a few days after another dominant Klitschko performance and fans are wondering when they will be put out of their misery. It's not that Klitschko isn't a good fighter, he has proven many times that he is. The problem is that Klitschko is to smart for his own good. Klitschko has never had a solid chin so he is a fighter who doesn't like to take unnecessary chances. That usually means fans get a boring fight where Klitschko lands his jab at will and initiates clinch after clinch so he can lean his massive body over the neck and shoulders of his opponent, draining them of stamina and weakening their legs. Because Klitschko is so effective with this style his opponents only hope is to try and land a homerun punch and knock him out because he is almost impossible to box with. The good news for fans of exciting fights is that Klitschko is 37 years old and is seemingly coming down the final stretch of his career.
The big question now is whether Klitschko will lose before he retires or if he will ride off into the sunset still a champion. It looks more and more like Klitschko won't lose ever again because there just doesn't seem to be a challenger with the right mix of power, boxing skill, and size. There is one man who seems to possess the skills to actually challenge Klitschko but he needs at least a few more fights before he is ready for the big stage. That man just so happens to be the last American to win an Olympic medal in boxing, winning a bronze medal in 2008 and he goes by the name Deontay "The Bronze Bomber" Wilder.
Wilder showed in the Olympics that he has the boxing skills to compete at a high level and as a professional he has showed he also has the power to be very dangerous going 29-0 with 29 knockouts. What makes Wilder such an intriguing opponent for Klitschko is that unlike many Klitschko opponents Wilder would not be severely undersized, that is because Wilder stands at 6'7'' the same height as Klitschko. For fans who say Klitschko has never really been tested during his historic title run would certainly welcome a challenger who seems to have the skill, power, and size to compete on equal footing with the champion, but they will need to be patient.
For one thing it isn't a certainty that Klitschko would want to fight Wilder, who possess a serious threat, towards the end of his career. Many fighters like to go out on a high note and Wilder represents an opponent who could spoil that for Klitschko. Age will also come into play, Klitschko is 37 and doesn't have many years left while Wilder who is 27 still needs to prove himself against better competition before he gets a shot at the king of the heavyweight division. Wilder's next fight is scheduled for October 26th against Nicolai Firtha who represents a small step up in competition but is still nowhere near the talent that Klitschko is. If Wilder handles Firtha it should be time for him to take that next step up and fight boxers such as Steve Cunningham, Tomasz Adamek, Bermane Stiverne, or Povetkin. If Wilder successfully takes that next step up in competition and beats one or two of those fighters it would definitely be time to take on Klitschko. Hopefully Klitschko sticks around long enough to give Wilder his shot at becoming the new heavyweight champion of the world.
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| Someone please stop this man |
So now fans find themselves in a very familiar place, it is a few days after another dominant Klitschko performance and fans are wondering when they will be put out of their misery. It's not that Klitschko isn't a good fighter, he has proven many times that he is. The problem is that Klitschko is to smart for his own good. Klitschko has never had a solid chin so he is a fighter who doesn't like to take unnecessary chances. That usually means fans get a boring fight where Klitschko lands his jab at will and initiates clinch after clinch so he can lean his massive body over the neck and shoulders of his opponent, draining them of stamina and weakening their legs. Because Klitschko is so effective with this style his opponents only hope is to try and land a homerun punch and knock him out because he is almost impossible to box with. The good news for fans of exciting fights is that Klitschko is 37 years old and is seemingly coming down the final stretch of his career.
The big question now is whether Klitschko will lose before he retires or if he will ride off into the sunset still a champion. It looks more and more like Klitschko won't lose ever again because there just doesn't seem to be a challenger with the right mix of power, boxing skill, and size. There is one man who seems to possess the skills to actually challenge Klitschko but he needs at least a few more fights before he is ready for the big stage. That man just so happens to be the last American to win an Olympic medal in boxing, winning a bronze medal in 2008 and he goes by the name Deontay "The Bronze Bomber" Wilder.
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| Is this man America's greatest hope? |
Wilder showed in the Olympics that he has the boxing skills to compete at a high level and as a professional he has showed he also has the power to be very dangerous going 29-0 with 29 knockouts. What makes Wilder such an intriguing opponent for Klitschko is that unlike many Klitschko opponents Wilder would not be severely undersized, that is because Wilder stands at 6'7'' the same height as Klitschko. For fans who say Klitschko has never really been tested during his historic title run would certainly welcome a challenger who seems to have the skill, power, and size to compete on equal footing with the champion, but they will need to be patient.
For one thing it isn't a certainty that Klitschko would want to fight Wilder, who possess a serious threat, towards the end of his career. Many fighters like to go out on a high note and Wilder represents an opponent who could spoil that for Klitschko. Age will also come into play, Klitschko is 37 and doesn't have many years left while Wilder who is 27 still needs to prove himself against better competition before he gets a shot at the king of the heavyweight division. Wilder's next fight is scheduled for October 26th against Nicolai Firtha who represents a small step up in competition but is still nowhere near the talent that Klitschko is. If Wilder handles Firtha it should be time for him to take that next step up and fight boxers such as Steve Cunningham, Tomasz Adamek, Bermane Stiverne, or Povetkin. If Wilder successfully takes that next step up in competition and beats one or two of those fighters it would definitely be time to take on Klitschko. Hopefully Klitschko sticks around long enough to give Wilder his shot at becoming the new heavyweight champion of the world.
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