By Sean McDaniel: This has got to be one of the worst heavyweight title defenses I’ve seen since I saw WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko defend his title against American Kevin Johnson. Challenger Eddie Chambers (35-1, 17 KO’s) has basically no chance of beating IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (53-3, 47 KO’s) at the ESPRIT arena, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Chambers, 27, might have a chance if Wladimir was five inches shorter and had no power to speak of. It isn’t just that the 6’1” 209 pound Chambers is too small for Klitschko in this fight.

It’s that Klitschko hits so hard that he’s likely to take Chambers out once he connects with a big shot. I half expect that Chambers will be able to weather the storm for awhile against Klitschko in the early rounds of the fight, but once Wladimir starts connecting with regularity, the fight will soon be over.

Chambers can’t afford to have a big puncher like Klitschko hitting him with any kind of regularity or else bad things will happen for the American fighter. Chambers has worked his tail off getting into this position to challenge for the title, beating Samuel Peter and Alexander Dimitrenko to earn his shot. But the problem is that Chambers hasn’t faced anyone near as good as Klitschko and will be in way over his head on March 20th when he steps in the ring against Wladimir.

Chambers might as well have been facing 2nd tier opposition because he’s stepping up against a heavyweight that is way superior to anyway that he’s faced before. If this was a fight against WBA heavyweight champion David Haye, Chambers would have a good to excellent chance of beating the British heavyweight.

The sad thing is that Chambers is probably the best that American has to offer as far as heavyweights go. By beating Peter, Chambers proved that he’s the best that the U.S. has got to test for the heavyweight title, and it’s highly unlikely that Chambers will last very long against the Ukrainian Klitschko giant. Chambers could last if Wladimir is looking to grind out a one-sided decision.

However, if Klitschko is interested in looking good in front of what will likely be over 60,000 German fans, then it could be a very short night for Chambers. Wladimir can win without even getting touched because of his long half foot reach. Chambers will have to do something special to try and get past Wladimir’s jab to land anything significant.

It’s not impossible to get past Wladimir’s jab, as South African heavyweight Corrie Sanders proved in his 2nd round knockout win over Klitschko in 2003. However, it takes quick movements to get in close before Klitschko has time to reach and put up his guard. Sanders moved in quickly to drop Klitschko in his win over him. But then again, Sanders wasn’t exactly a small heavyweight at 6’4”, and had exceptionally fast hands, big power and fought from the southpaw stance. Chambers has none of those things going for him in this fight.