By Jim Dower: Unbeaten heavyweight contender Denis Boytsov (29-0, 24 KO’s) takes on 37-year-old journeyman Darnell “Ding-A-Ling Man” Wilson (24-13-3, 20 KO’s) in a scheduled eight round bout on January 28th at the Grand Elysee, Rotherbaum, in Hamburg, Germany. This is a slight step up for the 25-year-old Boytsov, #4 WBC, #4 WBO, #5 WBA, #6 IBF, but not the kind that many boxing fans were hoping he’d take.

Boystov needs to be cutting his teeth against the likes of Tyson Fury and David Price right about now, not fiddling around with the short 5’10” Wilson and wasting his career. Wilson can punch a little, but he’s been beaten eight out of his last ten fights. He’s well liked by boxing fans due to his huge power but he’s easy to outbox, and Boytsov should have no problems pounding out a decision win or a knockout.

Boytsov, 6’1″, can not only punch hard but he can put his punches together and outbox you if he needs to. Boytsov’s problem is that his career has gone slowly due to careful matchmaking by his promoters and a hand injury that required surgery in 2011. He’s fully back now but he needs to start getting pushed up a little faster.

Boytsov, 215lbs, is small for a heavyweight and would be better off moving down to cruiserweight but he seems uninterested in moving down even though he would likely be one of the champions in the division before long. As a heavyweight, Boytsov is similar to Marco Huck in size and has to win by throwing combinations.

At 25, Boytsov has time and will still be young by the time the Klitschko brothers both retire. Whether he’ll be able to move and grab a title is unknown a this time because there are four or five decent large heavyweights in the division that would give him problems with their reach and power.

The January 28th card is a rather disappointing one due to all the mismatches. Here are a list of some of the fights on the card:

Ruslan Chagaev vs. Kertson Manswell
Juergen Brahmer vs. Jose Maria Guerrero
Ina Menzer vs. Milena Koleva
Rakhim Chakhkiev vs. Alexander Kotlobay
Firat Arslan vs. TBA
Marcel Meyerdiercks vs. TBA

There are some good fighters there but none of those fights are what you would call competitive match-ups. Perhaps the promoters only had enough money to pay for weak opposition for their guys or they could be just looking to build inflated records. Never the less, the card is a real stinker from top to bottom in terms of competitive fights.