By Yannis Mihanos: What happened to this once exciting division that now no one gives a penny to watch? The times of reign of Iron Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Evander Hollyfield, Muhammed Ali, George Foreman and Joe Frazier are long gone but the time of Wladimir Klitshko has not yet to end.
Since the departure of his older brother Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir seems to be the last man standing in the heavyweight division.
Wladimir is the only man accountable in the heavyweight division after him chaos prevails. He now holds 4 titles: WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO.
I can’t say that this feat impresses me a lot as the competition he has faced is not at an acceptable level.
They are all little above or below average and some are completely garbage but I don’t blame Wladimir for picking them because there is no one else better to pick.
Now it’s him against all the rest.
Even new blood like Deontay Wilder and Bermane Stiverne are yet to be tested and I doubt they can do anything against this Ukrainian brick wall.
Many have said that both brothers Klitsschko are far from being called the greatest and I agree.
Some have accused them for being boring and not exciting and I also agree. In Wladimir’s fight against David Haye in 2011, I went straight to bed after the 5th round due to the boring nature of the fight. But that’s how the heavyweight category today is: one endless bore.
The Klitschko brothers have also been accused of cherry picking but how to cherry pick when there are no cherries to pick?
History proves who is a paper champ or not.
I don’t believe that Wladimir is a paper champ. Him and his brother were just in the right place at the right time.
Now the new heavyweight fighters are far less exciting, far less strong, far less intimidating, far less interesting.
The Klitschko brothers were indeed lucky to have excelled in an era where no one else is that strong.
They came at the right place at the right time. There was not one genuine contender to challenge Vitali’s dominance since Lennox Lewis retirement and now it happens the same with Wladimir’s dominance .
This dominance was mostly based in their physical advantage. There is nobody else who has the height, the bulk and the presence to carry through the ring and challenge them.
Even Nicolai Valuev (now retired) who was even taller, 7′ 0″ (2.13m) than both of the brothers, didn’t have the same physical elements. He was big and scary but that was all.
In this category except from Wladimir I see no one else at the moment standing apart, no one to make a difference. That’s really sad and that’s why people nowadays are more interested in lighter categories.
I guess we will have to wait a couple or more years until the second brother also retires. Then the competition might increase and the interest of fans may come back.
For now one thing is certain: the monopoly of the Klitschko saga has yet to finish.
For the record, Wladimir’s new title defense is against unbeaten Kubrat Pulev is on September 6th in Hamburg, Germany.
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