By Allan Fox: #1 WBO Alex Leapai I30-4-3, 24 KO’s) is reportedly on the verge of saying no to a big “7-figure” offer to fight IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (61-3, 51 KO’s) in order to send the fight into a purse bid. Leapai, 34, wants to get the fight to take place in his native Australia, and if it goes to purse bid then he has a good chance of making that happen.
Russian promoter Vladimir Hryunov reportedly could top whatever offer that Klitshko’s management comes up with. If Klitschko’s management loses the purse bid then the fight will almost surely take place in Australia in front of a huge pro-Leapai crowd of Australian boxing fans.
It probably doesn’t matter where the fight is staged in terms of who wins the fight. Leapai is very slow and not a great heavyweight by any means. He beat previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov by a 10 round unanimous decision last November to lock himself in as the World Boxing Organization mandatory challenger to Wladimir, but Boytsov is a short heavyweight with little experience.
Boytsov didn’t have the size, speed, power and reach to dominate Leapai and he was forced to stand in the trenches and fight him. A better fight to gauge Leapai’s true talent was when he was jabbed into submission by Kevin Johnson in losing a 9th round TKO two years ago in 2012. There was nothing spectacular with what Johnson did in that fight. He simply stayed on the outside and used his long reach to jab Leapai in the face round after round until the fight was halted in the 9th after Johnson knocked Leapai down.
For Wladimir, this is a step down from his fights against Francesco Pianeta, Tony Thompson, Alexander Povetkin and Mariusz Wach. Those guys would all likely beat Leapai if given the chance.
Wladimir is coming off of one of the worst performances of his career in clinching his way to a 12 round unanimous decision win over Povetkin last October in Moscow, Russia. Wladimir was booed for much of the fight because he wouldn’t stop clinching and pulling down on Povetkin’s head. He also threw Povetkin to the canvas on several occasions which finally resulted in Wladimir losing a point in the 11th.
Comments are closed.