By Eric Thomas: in the latest boxing news, IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (51-3, 45 KOs) is reportedly close to signing for his title defense against undefeated IBF mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin (16-0, 12 KOs), a bout that possibly will be taking place on December 3rd. If this turns out to be the case, then it’s good news for Klitschko, who is badly in need of an interesting fight after having fought six rather dull, safety-first, fights consecutively against the likes of Calvin Brock, Lamon Brewster, Chris Byrd, Ray Austin, Sultan Ibragimov and most recently against Tony Thompson.
To the best of my knowledge, the last time that Klitschko looked close to being good was against his fight against Samuel Peter in 2005. That’s a long three years ago, and he’s looked mostly mediocre since then, fighting only hard enough to get a victory, nothing more. Of course, a big part of the problem has been his poor opposition, most of which have either been too small or too weak to give him much problems. you can’t exactly apply the label of being too small in the case of the 6’5″ Austin and Thompson, but neither of them had the power or the speed to give Wladimir any problems.
By Eric Thomas: British cruiserweight David Haye (21-1, 20 KOs) continued his dogged pursuit of a title match with IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (51-3, 45 KOs) in a recent press release, bragging about weighing 232 lbs, a comment made to let Klitschko know that the former cruiserweight Haye was plenty big enough to compete with him in a heavyweight clash. When Haye confronted Wladimir not too long ago at one of his charity events, Haye was told to “gain some weight” and “get in line” behind the other heavyweights that are waiting for a title shot against Wladimir. 
By Jason Kim: IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (51-3, 45 KOs) is looking into the possibility of fighting the winner of the August 30th bout between Nikolay Valuev (48-1) and John Ruiz (43-7-1, 29 KOs), who are fighting for the WBA interim title. According to reports, Klitschko’s bout against his IBF number #1 mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin (16-0, 12 KOs) has reached a stalemate in negotiations over the purse split and European broadcast rights between Klitschko and Povetkin’s promoter. Unless something is worked out, Wladimir say seek out another alternative and try and face the winner of the Valuev-Ruiz fight instead. 
By Erik Schmidt: After watching unbeaten heavyweight Alexander Povetkin (16-0, 12 KOs) dispatch a rather reluctant, timid-looking Taurus Sykes (25-5-1, 7 KOs) in the 4th round last Saturday night at the Olimpyskiy Sports Palace, in Chekhov, Russia, I have grave concerns about whether Povetkin, 28, is ready for a fight against IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in the near future. Given the fact that Povetkin not too long ago won the IBF tournament to become Klitschko’s number # 1 mandatory challenger, by defeating Americans Chris Byrd and Eddie Chambers, it put Povetkin in line for a shot against Klitschko. 
By Thomas Hanson: For most of Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko’s boxing career, the two brothers have steadfastly refused to fight each other, pointing out some old obscure promise that they both gave to momma Klitschko years ago in which they promised her that they would never fight each other. However, with Vitali Klitschko (35-2, 24 KOs) about to take on Samuel Peter for the WBC heavyweight title on October 11th in Germany, I think the two brothers need to revisit that promise and perhaps get momma Klitschko change her mind. I mean there’s nothing wrong with two brothers fighting each other, is there? 
By Thomas Hanson: After last night’s bout between James Toney (71-6, 44 KOs) and Hasim Rahman (45-7-2, 36 KOs), which ended up with Toney winning on a controversial 3rd round TKO after Rahman was cut over his left eye, Toney called IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko a “bum and your sister Vitali.” It seems as if Toney would like nothing better than to take on Wladimir in a title fight. In a recent interview, Toney said that he’d like to fight Wladimir for the title. If Wladimir were to be interested in such a bout, this would set up an intriguing David vs. Goliath type of a match up with the 6’7″ Wladimir facing the smallish 5’9″ Toney, who would be giving up 10 inches in height and 9 inches in reach to Wladimir. 
By Chet Mills: After his 11th round TKO of Tony Thompson last Saturday night, there’s still question in the minds of more than a few boxing fans about whether IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (51-3, 45 KOs) is truly the best heavyweight in the division or not. As for me, I’m still as undecided as many of the fans and writers are about who really is the best. Certainly, it was a good win for Wladimir to defeat his number #1 challenger Thompson, but then again, he wasn’t a particularly dangerous challenger given his lack of power, aggression, youth or background. 
By Matt McGrain: I’ve always felt it ironic that the most powerful man in the world, the President of the United States of America, is so thoroughly and helplessly defined by his times. The Nixon administration certainly didn’t create the conditions surrounding the most paranoid period in America’s recent history, but nothing surmises the paranoia and self-hatred surrounding the Vietnam era better than that most mired of Presidents. But even the great Presidents are defined by the time in which they Govern – Kennedy the visionary at a time of great change, Roosevelt, probably the greatest President in United States history, was afforded the chance to become so during the extraordinary circumstances of the 1930’s. Of course, greatness is not a matter of circumstance alone and each of these men did extraordinary work, but it is fair to say that Roosevelt would not have been a four-term President had he been elected to position in the 1970’s.
By Thomas Hanson: Moments after IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko’s (51-3, 45 KOs) 11th round TKO victory over challenger Tony Thompson (31-2, 19 KOs) last Saturday night in Hamburg, Germany, heavyweight hopeful David Haye told Setanta Sports that he wasn’t at all impressed with Wladimir’s victory, saying “All he does is hold and paw with his jab…every time he’s gotten in there with someone fast, someone with heart, he [Wladimir] has been knocked out. I’m that guy.” 
Photo courtesy of www.klitschko.com -By Aaron Klein: Wladimir Klitschko (51-3, 45 KOs) once again defended his IBF/WBO heavyweight titles this time stopping Tony Thompson (31-2, 19 KOs) in the 11th round to record his fifth title defense of his IBF title that he won in 2006 with a win over Chris Byrd. Though Thompson, 36, was thought to be a tough test for Wladimir going into the fight, it was never a contest as Wladimir easily dominated the tall 6’5″ southpaw Thompson with hard right hands and kept him from ever really getting his offense in gear. The end came in the 11th round when Wladimir sent a laser right hand down the pipe and nailed Thompson, sending him collapsing to the canvas in a heap.