By John Stevens: Never before can I remember a time when things have looked so exciting in the heavyweight division. All manner of hungry lions are coming through the pack and, providing the managers and promoters get their acts together, we will be seeing some spectacular contests in the immediate future. Let’s have a look at the division now and see just what we have.
WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO
The shadow of this great champion looms large over everybody here and it’s very doubtful that anyone is going to be able to defeat the man before he retires. When he does retire, which surely must be within the next couple of years, then he will have left behind a quite incredible boxing legacy and will be remembered as one of the all time great heavyweights.
DEONTAY WILDER
The new WBC champ with a very impressive victory over Bermane Stiverne, Wilder is the new face of the moment and rightly so. He has proved he is equally as fine a boxer as he is a puncher and is going to be extremely difficult to beat. Very, very interesting to see where his next fight takes him.
TOP 20 CONTENDERS
All of these guys are on the up and to pit any one against the other is going to make for some mouth-watering contests. In no particular order we have.
JOSEPH PARKER – a very exciting prospect indeed, Parker has looked exceptionally accomplished in all areas of the game thus far. He can box, bang hard, punch in combinations, counter-punch and attack in equal measures. He reminds me very much of Joe Louis in his fighting style, but a much bigger and stronger version. Very methodical and accurate in his punching and cool under pressure. The only time he’s been taken the distance was against the seemingly indestructible Sherman Williams, but everyone else has been taken out so far in some style. Only 23 years old I expect him to be in the mix by the end of this year.
TYSON FURY – I was a disbeliever in fury up until fairly recently but his latest performances have changed my opinion of him, especially the last one against Chisora whom he handled with total ease, even disdain. At 6’9 this is a big man we’re talking about here, and he knows how to use his size very well (as Steve Cunningham found out) He has looked very ungainly in the past but lately he seems to have settled down and is now looking very composed and is boxing nicely. His body shape also seems to have changed for the better and he looks a very imposing unit to me. Much has been said about the fact that he has been down a few times – but those were big, clean punches he took in those particular fights, and remember, he got up to win. Much has been said also about his own punching power or lack of it, but I see no indication of that. In fact I think he looks pretty solid in the punching department. I also think he is a much better boxer and in-fighter than people give him credit for and to me he seems to be getting better with each fight he has.
LUIS ORTIZ – This huge Cuban nicknamed ‘King Kong’ looks like the real deal to me. He failed a drug test in his last fight where he obliterated another prospect, Lateef Kayoed. Before that he easily swept aside the aging Monte Barrett. No big names on his record Barrett excepted but he looks like a very solid puncher with an extremely solid chin. Built like a barn door, he gives the impression of being unstoppable but we will not know that for sure until he steps up. I think that Ortiz will be one of those fighters that will be on the other managers ‘we don’t need him’ list. Interesting to see what is lined up for him next.
ANTHONY JOSHUA
Early days yet but this guy has looked impressive so far. With the competition he has faced thus far its kind of hard to judge exactly how good he is (though knocking out Sprott in one round is not bad going!) – My feeling is that he is indeed a serious prospect. A real test is needed soon though to enable us to really see just how much he has got.
BRYANT JENNINGS
This guy has got a pretty solid resume, beating fellow contenders Mike Perez, Andrey Fedosov and Artur Szpilka recently, as well as stopping the rugged Bowie Tupou. Jennings can bang pretty hard and is very slippery. He is skilful, unorthodox, and pretty explosive, throwing punches from crazy angles at times. He is shortly fighting Klitschko and I believe Wlad has got his hands full in this fight. Win or lose though, Jennings is going to be in the mix right at the top in the next few years to come no doubt about it.
BERMANE STIVERNE
After his recent defeat I see Bermane taking some time away but I believe he will then be back and can once again be a major player in the division. More capable than I think he showed us in the Wilder fight, I like his chances to get right back to the top if he commits himself.
ALEXANDER POVETKIN
Probably the most under-rated fighter in the division, Povetkin is a class act. His destruction of prospect Carlos Takam recently showed just why he is a top contender. Easily handled by Wladimir, he looked frustrated in that fight but showed incredible resilience and strength to go the distance with the champion laying on his neck all night! Povetkin is a very skilful boxer, who hits harder than I think people realize. Go watch his fights against Takam and Cedric Boswell for evidence of this.
CARLOS TAKAM
Beaten by Povetkin but not disgraced, I think Takam can learn from that fight and come back stronger. A serious opponent for anyone out there.
MIKE PEREZ
After the Abdusalamov battle, Perez seemed to go backward in his fight against Takam and that could have been down to his mind being affected by that tragic fight. However he looked pretty good last time against Bryant Jennings. Time will tell what he’s got left and what he wants to do, but if he can get back on track you’ve got to put him right up there with the best. An iron jaw combined with no small amount of skill makes him a real handful.
AARTUR SZPILKA
A loss to Jennings recently but was looking pretty good up until he got caught. Came back in style to finish the career of Tomasz Adamek last time out and looked very impressive. Szpilka is a very sharp boxer with a nice array of skills and punching power to boot.
AMIR MANSOUR
A brutal KO of Fred Kassi last time out showed us that Mansour is back on track after his point’s loss to Steve Cunningham. Mansour is a rugged, very aggressive fighter with a concrete chin and an explosive style.
LUCAS BROWNE
This huge Aussie can sometimes look a bit lumbering, but there’s no doubt he holds a lot of power and is going to be very hard to topple. We will learn more about Lucas as time goes by but I think he looks very solid and a test for anyone in the division.
ANDREY FEDOSOV
This big Russian looked mighty impressive last time out in scoring a massive KO against the very durable Maurice Harris. A very accomplished boxer with a lot of skill, Fedosov can bang very hard, is very well schooled and throws great combinations.
MARIUS WACH
Only 2 fights since his defeat by Wladimir, Wach looked sharp and powerful last time out in getting rid of warhorse Travis Walker. This giant of a man has surely the hardest chin in the division and he too must be a threat to anyone out there providing he has the desire to progress.
ALEXANDER USTINOV
Ustinov seems to have improved greatly since the Pulev fight and handled David Tua with ease. A huge man, again, he’s got to figure in the mix and will be very hard to beat.
KUBRAT PULEV
Humbled by Wladimir, Pulev can regroup and come back strong. Remains to be seen how that defeat has affected him mentally. We shall see when he makes a return.
CHRIS ARREOLA
Don’t count big Chris out of the picture just yet! Rugged, with a massive heart and a clubbing punching power, Chris has disposed of some decent fighters along the way and put in a gutsy performance against Vitali. Expect him to be back and in contention soon.
ANDY RUIZ
A very hard hitting guy who has been pretty impressive in his fights so far, except for last time out when he was held by Sergei Liakovich, a faded ex-champ who seemed to turn back the clock that night. Andy will have learnt plenty from that battle though and whoever he meets next – you know it’s going to be explosive!
DAVID HAYE
Haye shouldn’t really be here as he has not been active for a while. However he has been making noises like he intends to come back and if he does then you’ve got to put him in the mix.
STEVE CUNNINGHAM
A fine fighter who was basically overwhelmed by Tyson Fury’s size and weight but came back in style with a life or death battle against Amir Mansour. Cunningham has a great fight coming up against Glazkov in March and that will really show us what he has. I believe he will win that fight and continue being a very live proposition for anyone out there.
Interchange any of those names around and theres some real tasty fights on offer. Fury vs Wach anyone? How about Povetkin vs Stiverne? Pulev vs Perez? Ruiz vs Arreola? Parker vs Joshua? Haye vs Mansour? You getting the picture…??? Lets hope we start seeing some of it…………..!
OTHERS IN THE MIX
Other very interesting fighters who haven’t made the list but who are still in with a shout providing they iron out some problems and continue improving include FRANKLIN LAWRENCE/GERALD WASHINGTON/ERKAN TEPER/VYACHESLAV GLAZKOV/ MARCIN REKOWSKI/DOMINIC BREAZEALE/
ANDRIY RUDENKO/CHARLES MARTIN/ DAVID PRICE/ANDRZEJ WAWRZYK/JOE HANKS…….
GATEKEEPERS
I mean no disrespect with this term as all of these guys are dangerous fighters who will be a real test for any of the above. They include ex up and comers and veterans, even old champions; thus.
ODLANIER SOLIS/SHERMAN WILLIAMS/ANTONIO TARVER/JONATHAN BANKS/OLIVER MACALL/SHANNON BRIGGS/DEREK CHISORA/MANUEL CHARR/TONY THOMPSON/EDDIE CHAMBERS/ALEX LEAPAI/SERGEI LIAKOVICH/FRES OQUENDO/RUSLAN CHAGAEV/MALIK SCOTT/ALEX LEAPAI/DERRIC ROSSY/TRAVIS WALKER/ SETH MITCHELL/FRIDAY AHUNANYA…..
There’s obviously plenty of other guys out there coming through whom im not aware of but right now that’s enough to be getting on with! Some great fights coming up for sure these next few years and I for one am going to be a very interested spectator watching how it all pans out. Exciting times!
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