Klitschko vs. Thompson: Wladimir Hoping For July 12th Bout With Tony

klitschko3524.jpgBy Dan Ambrose: IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 Kos) is counting on the IBF giving him an exception so that he can bypass his IBF mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin, who recently defeated both Chris Byrd and Eddie Chambers in the IBF’s elimination tournament to come out as Klitschko’s mandatory challenger. However, instead of giving Povetkin a shot at his title, Wladimir has recently decided upon defending his WBO title against the #1 challenger Tony Thompson (31-1, 19 Kos), a tall 6’5” heavyweight known mostly for being an awkward volume puncher with little power.

Apparently, Thompson had been waiting for an extended period of time, with little luck, for the previous WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov to give him a shot at the title. Ibragimov instead decided on taking on high profile bouts with Evander Holyfield and then a unification bout with Wladimir, a fight in which Ibragimov lost his WBO title.

read more

Wladimir Klitschko vs. Tony Thompson: What About Povetkin?

wladimir575744.jpgBy Nate Anderson: With yesterday’s news of IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs) to fight his #1 mandatory for his WBO crown, Tony Thompson (31-1, 19 KOs) next, where does that leave Klitschko’s number one mandatory for his IBF title, Alexander Povetkin? It seems to me that Povetkin just finished winning the right to fight Klitschko next, after Alexander won the IBF tournament to decide who the mandatory challenger would be for Klitschko’s title. Povetkin went through hell to defeat both Chris Byrd and Eddie Chambers, with the assumption that he’d be Wladimir’s next opponent.

However, instead of facing Povetkin, Klitschko is making him cool his heals a little longer while Klitschko goes out and fights the 36 year-old Thompson – his mandatory for his newly won WBO title. I don’t know about you people, but that strikes me as being unfair to Povetkin, for he worked hard winning those fights thinking that he’d get a shot at Klitschko’s title, only to find out he has to take a back seat while Klitschko defends against the mandatory for a new title.

read more

Wladimir Klitschko vs. Tony Thompson?

By Nick Adams: Now that IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs) has taken the WBO title from Sultan Ibragimov after last Saturday’s unanimous decision victory, Klitschko is looking at the prospect of having to defend the WBO title, almost immediately, against the number #1 challenger Tony Thompson (31-1, 19 KOs). For his part, the 6’5″ Thompson has been waiting for some time at a title shot, previously counting on former champion Ibragimov giving him a shot. However, when Ibragimov chose instead to fight Klitschko, Thompson lost out on his title chance.

read more