Photo credit: Sumio Yamada – By Chris Williams: Saturday night’s destruction of challenger Alberto Sosnowski (45-3-1, 27 KO’s) further highlighted how superior WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KO’s) and his brother IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko are with the rest of the heavyweight division. Sadly, there are just no other heavyweights that can compete with them at this juncture. Even with Vitali now 38 and slowing down a tad, he’s still much superior to any other heavyweight in the division, aside from his brother Wladimir.
Vitali showed how much better he was in taking apart Sosnowski, beating him like he was a mediocre sparring partner. Sosnowski is basically about as good as the other heavyweight contenders in the division, including WBA heavyweight champion David Haye. There’s not a whole lot of separation between the top contenders in the top 15. However, there are a several levels that separate these guys with the talented Klitschko brothers.
Both brothers are so good that they often beat their opponents seemingly without breaking a sweat and without getting hit more than a handful of times. Last Saturday night was no exception, as Klitschko dominated Sosnowski with his jab and left hook alone. It was so one-sided that the fight, like a lot of the Klitschko bouts, was totally boring. That’s not because the Klitschko brothers aren’t talented; it’s because there’s really no other talent in the heavyweight division besides them.
Below I’ve listed the current top fighters in the heavyweight division and given my thoughts on them.
1. Odlanier Solis – best combination of hand speed and power in the division. Unfortunately, at 6’1” 270 pounds, he’s too short and too fat to compete with the Klitschko brothers.
2. Alexander Povetkin – excellent combination puncher, good power and more than a handful. Doesn’t have the height at 6’2” to compete with the Klitschkos.
3. Denis Boytsov– very similar to Povetkin but with better power. However, lacking in size and speed. Too small, in other words.
4. Samuel Peter – good power, but doesn’t have the speed or the size. He’s already been beaten by both Klitschko brothers.
5. Ruslan Chagaev – already been totally dominated and stopped by Wladimir in the 9th round in 2009. He was a punching bag for nine rounds and nothing else. Too short, too slow and doesn’t have the power.
6. David Haye – not aggressive enough, doesn’t have the chin, the height, the reach, a jab or the willingness to even fight the Klitschko brothers.
7. Tomasz Adamek – too slow, not enough power, too short and has a shaky chin at the heavyweight level. He’s a knockout waiting to happen once he fights either of the Klitschko brothers.
8. Chris Arreola – already beaten by Vitali in 2009 in a 10th round stoppage. Lacks the speed, height, reach and boxing ability to compete with the Klitschko brothers.
9. Eddie Chambers – already brutally knocked out by Wladimir in 2010. He’s much too short and weak to compete with the Klitschko brothers.
10. Nikolay Valuev – too slow, lacks power and is way out of his depth against either of the Klitschko brothers.
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