EXCITEMENT RETURNS TO THE HEAVYWEIGHT

The pound game looks promising in the heavyweight category for 2008. The hype, the trills, the excitement seems its coming back, I just hope it does. The heavyweight class has suffered some serious setbacks in recent times.

At a time when the lower division continues to provide boxing fans with excitement and pleasure they crave for. The fans have every reason to be skeptical about fixtures because of the manner scheduled bouts are recklessly abandoned. First it was the Maskaev/Peter fight, and then came Vitali Klitschko/Jameel McCline, another one was the collapse of the Ibragimov/Chagaev unification fight. This situation has made fans loose confidence even when fights were made official. But that situation may not continue, giving the desire of the fighters to step out and save the heavyweight from what is now seen as mediocrity.

The series of fight to bring back beauty to this esteemed division are as follows: February 2, 2008. Oleg Maskaev/ Samuel Peter. The venue of this fight is the Mecca of boxing, the Madison Square Garden in New York. This fight has the potential to put the world on the edge of their seats; the result of the fight will significantly determine the direction of the heavyweight. The loser of this fight will be slowed down and would really need to climb the hard ladder.

A win for Maskaev would confirm him as the undisputed heavyweight Champion and the man to beat, but if Peter comes out tops, he would have opened up a new book of history, in addition to been the undisputed Champion. First, the only black skinned heavyweight Champion after the defeat of Hasim Rahman, The first African ever to win the title, then the prospect of any of them (Maskaev/Peter) to face Vitali Klitschko would produce a solid fixtures that is enough to quench the thirst of boxing fans around the globe. Mention must also be made of the fight between John Carlos Gomez and Vladimir Virchis who will face each other to determine the mandatory challenger for the WBC heavyweight championship after Vitali Klitschko gets his shot at the title. This is the time table for the WBC Heavyweight Championship.

February 23, 2008, the venue once again will be the Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden New York City. It will be a unification fight between the WBO Champion Sultan Ibragimov and the man that is seen as the most authentic and true heavyweight Champion, the IBF king Wladimir Klitschko. “Dr. Steel hammer”as he is fondly called had as victims Ray Austin and Lamon Brewster in the passing year.

Against Brewster, the Champion broke his wrist but continued in pain and got the victory he desired. Fighting with pain is the true character of a Champion, Champions don’t complain, they get the job done. On the other hand Sultan Ibragimov is happy about of the unification fight.

In his words, “Before I became champion, my goal was to win the title and unify it, but when I won the belt, I found no champion willing to fight me. I thank klitschko for being a true champion and for fighting me. I know we will put up on a great show for the fans in New York and around the world. So, the joy and dream of Ibragimov has come alive but when the fight gets underway the odds will favour klitschko yet we must also apply caution and prepare for a possible upset because the southpaw man (Ibragimov) is tricky and has got good balance.

He dethroned Shannon Briggs and ensured that Holyfield considers retirement from the sport that brought him fame. The other fight will feature the two freshest faces in the elite section, Eddie Chambers (30-0, 16 KO’s) will face Alex Povetkin (14-0, 11 KO’s). The fight is to determine the number one contender for the IBF title, the bout is schedule for 26th of January, 2008 and the venue will be in Berlin, Germany and fighting in Germany favours Povetkin who is based there. Not many boxers get results in Germany but Chambers Manager, Dan Goossen has declared that his fighter wont be affected Psychologically,because he is a kind of fighter that believes he can fight any where but I doubt if he can get a result in Germany. However, with Klitschko favourite over Ibragimov, either of them (Eddie Chamber/Alex Povetkin) faces a tough challenge.

Meanwhile, the defeat of the men like Byrd, Brock, Jameel McCline, Holyfield by young fighter like Povetkin, Chambers, Ibragimov has paved way for young and better fighters with more marketable potentials. The prospect of excitement also includes other young, up and coming fighters with great skills and power they include, the undefeated knockout artist Chris Arreola, Alexander Dimitrenko, American’s Kelvin Johnson Israeli Roman Greenberg and many others.

By the time this fight comes up and the young stars get a chance at the title the glory days of excitements, passion and solid performance would be resurrected. Am looking forward to a years where champions will not pull out of fights, a period where injuries will not rock fighters schedule. Am also looking at the first unification fight since Lennox Lewis fought against Evander Holyfield. I am impressed with the courage of Sultan Ibragimov and Wladimir Klitschko at least it’s the step to having one man be the undisputed heavyweight Champion can get underway, maybe we might put together this association scattered every where. Ruslan Chagaev should be getting an opponent, when Nikolai Valuev squares it up against Sergei Liakhovich to determine who the mandatory challenger to the WBO title becomes.

The division might just escape mediocrity and bounce back to its enviable height that it occupied in the past. Am also dreaming, that boxers above 35years old, would be beaten so that freshness will return to the heavyweight.
But make no mistakes about it, Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko, Oleg Maskaev, Sultan Ibragimov are solid fighters with top class experience. I watched with awe over the weekend the match between Maskaev and Rahman 1&2, and it was a pure champion performance, that man maybe 37years old but he is rock solid and almost fearless, delivering punches with no mercy and even he is been hit, he keeps coming forward, that attitude will surely frighten opponent, like it happened to Rahman. Samuel “The police man” Peters had better prepare well. On the other hand, Vitali Klitschko is absolutely amazing, if not for the experience of Lennox Lewis, that fight would produce an upset. The Russians have some strength that can only be matched by a man with a resolved will to succeed, the right mental attitude and the right strength. The Russians are not easy meat, sweeping them off their feet may not be that cheep. But above all am happy that excitement is returning to the heavyweight class and to the sport.