The heavyweight division in 2016

By Gavin Duthie - 01/05/2016 - Comments

klitschko#4By Gav Duthie: As fights go, Wladimir Klitschko v Tyson Fury was largely uneventful but the result has blown the heavyweight division wide open. Heavyweights will always be the mecca of boxing but interest has dropped considerably seeing as the division has been dominated by only 3 men in the last 15 years, Lennox Lewis and the Klitschko brothers.

New champions will mean more competitive fights and every fighter in the top 30 will now feel they have a realistic chance of bagging a world title. Here we discuss the current scene, the players within and their chances of bagging another world title.

Current Top 10

1. Wladimir Klitschko
2. Tyson Fury
3. Deontay Wilder
4. Alexander Povetkin
5. Luis Ortiz
6. Bermain Stiverne
7. Anthony Joshua
8. Andy Ruiz
9. Vyacheslav Glazkov
10. Lucas Browne

Current Champions

WBC – Deontay Wilder
WBA Super – Tyson Fury
WBA Regular – Ruslan Chagaev
IBF – Vacant (Vyacheslav Glazkov v Charles Martin)
WBO – Tyson Fury

With the exception of Ruslan Chagaev there is a freshness to the list of current champions. Wilder, Fury and IBF challengers Glazkov and Martin are all undefeated yet at the same time they all appear beatable. I expect Glazkov to win the title due to the greater experience but I am always ready to be surprised. It was a similar feeling when Chris Arreola fought Bermane Stiverne, the experience was with Arreola but he was outclassed by the Haitian and knocked out in the rematch.

Ex-champ

Klitschko 8/10
Povetkin 9/10
Stiverne 5/10

Wladimir at 39 will still be looking to prove he isn’t finished in his rematch with Fury and even if he loses again I think he would still like to face Deontay Wilder. The point is whether or not Klitschko beats Fury his dominance is over and he is on the slide and other boxers will be glad to see this. Stiverne’s injury has derailed his comeback and he looked rusty against token comeback journeyman Derrick Rossy and was even knocked down. Povetkin proved how good he is after the Klitschko loss in beating and stopping Manuel Charr, Carlos Takam and Mike Perez. If he targets his old WBA title he could easy regain it from Chagaev (Who he has beaten already), he is also Deontay Wilders mandatory.

Prospects

Andy Ruiz Jnr 3/10
Lucas Browne 6/10
Anthony Joshua 7/10
Joseph Parker 8/10
Robert Helenius 6/10
Luis Ortiz 8/10
Charles Martin 8/10
Vyacyeslav Glazkov 8/10

Of the above names Luis Ortiz seems the most likely prospect to get his hands on a title first. He is already 36 years old, having started late to pro boxing as many Cuban’s do but he is the slick skills of a Cuban amateur with the ferocity of brutal heavyweight. Joshua Parker and Anthony Joshua continue to tear through opponents as they go through the levels but 2016 will demand significant fights for both boxers to justify their high rankings. As aforementioned either Glazkov or Martin will be a champion soon and I expect Andy Ruiz Jnr and Lucas Browne to receive title shots soon but I don’t think they are good enough.

Recent contenders

Bryant Jennings 6/10
Kubrat Pulev 8/10

Bryant Jennings will be gutted that he was knocked out by Luis Ortiz as it seemed likely he could get a shot against Deontay Wilder in the near future. Kubrat Pulev has been apprehensive fighting 2 journeyman in his comeback after his knockout defeat to Klitschko but his 11th round knockout wins over namesakes Alexander Dimitrenko and Ustinov as well as a decision against Tony ‘The Tiger’ Thompson can’t be ignored.

YouTube video

Returning fighters

David Haye 8/10
Ike Ibeabuchi 5/10

If you think David Haye’s 3 and a half year hiatus is long Ike Ibeabuchi hasn’t boxed since the last century. The Nigerian nicknamed ‘The President’ last fought in 1999 destroying Chis Byrd in 5 rounds. He has became something of a cult hero in the last 17 years for this ko and winning one the greatest heavyweight bouts of all time against David Tua. Ibeabuchi was a tank but he risks that reputation by boxing at age 43. He looks set to fight prospect Andy Ruiz Jnr in April. David Haye has been set back with various injuries and his comeback fight is strategic in facing little known but #9WBA ranked Mark De Mori. A win would put David in a decent position to regain his WBA regular strap against Ruslan Chagaev.

Golden Oldies

Shannon Briggs 3/10
Antonio Tarver 5/10
Tony Thompson 5/10

Then we have the golden oldies. Shannon Briggs wants to talk his way to a title shot, Antonio Tarver is fighting decent guys but has been quite inactive and Tony Thompson is starting to lose as much as he wins. It is unlikely that any of these guys will grab a title but as always they could have a punchers chance.

Another chance

Carlos Takam 6/10
Dereck Chisora 5/10
Erkan Teper 5/10
Malik Scott 5/10
Chris Arreola 4/10

All of these guys have lost at a level below world class with the exception of Erkan Teper who is currently suspended with a drugs ban. Chris Arreola seems to get chance after chance to win a world title. Malik Scott looked a mess after his toothless displays against Chisora and Wilder but subsequent victories over Alex Leapai and Tony Thompson have put him back in the mix. Carlos Takam the hard working African from Cameroon looks the most likely to obtain a world title but it wouldn’t surprise me if none of these guys do even if Klitschko retires.

Summary

I don’t feel the next ten years will go by like the last 20 with extremely dominant champions. Fights like Vyacheslav Glazkov and Charles Martin may seem poor for world title fights but this division requires competition and 50/50 fights no matter how good they are. I imagine we will see at least a half dozen new champions in heavyweight boxing in the next 10 years and coming from all across the world.

Ten fights I’d like to see

David Haye v Luis Ortiz (Two bangers, possibly WBA eliminator)
Tyson Fury v Malik Scott (Apparently Scott dominated him in sparring)
Ruslan Chagaev v Kubrat Pulev (Top Eastern European boxers, similar size)
Deontay Wilder v Wladimir Klitschko (Battle of the jabs)
Anthony Joshua v Joshua Parker (Two best young prospects in boxing)
Deontay Wilder v Alexander Povetkin (Should have happened, Povetkin is mandatory)
Tyson Fury v Anthony Joshua (Two big punching Brits, biggest since Lewis v Bruno)
David Haye v Shannon Briggs (Briggs needs a big name win to say he is serious, so does Haye)
Lucas Browne v Andy Ruiz Jnr (Will stand in the pocket and fight)
Tyson Fury v Luis Ortiz (Unified champion v Best prospect challenger)



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