By Matt Stein: In looking at former light heavyweights Tomasz Adamek and Antonio Tarver, they both appear to be taking the back door in trying to get a title shot against the champion Klitschko brothers and WBA heavyweight champion David Haye. Adamek has beaten Andrew Golota, Jason Estrada, Chris Arreola and Michael Grant up until now.

Adamek hasn’t looked good in any of those fights other than the bout against Golota. Taver, 41, has fought his entire career at light heavyweight and is now moving up to the heavyweight division with the goal in mind to challenge one of the Klitschko brothers for the title.

Tarver has lost three out of his last six fights at light heavyweight. Next week, Tarver will be taking on heavyweight Nagy Aguilera at the Buffalo Run Casino, in Miami, Oklahoma. Tarver plans on fighting two or three more times before he hopes to get a shot against the Klitschko brothers.

He’s counting on them wanting to fight him because he has a more recognizable name than the other heavyweights in the top 15. And Adamek, he’s pretty much in the same boat. He’s not faced anyone truly dangerous at heavyweight and it looks like he’s going to be getting rewarded with a title shot against IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2011.

Klitschko also is reportedly interested in Tarver as well. If Klitschko does end up taking on both Adamek and Tarver, it would seem to cheapen the heavyweight title, because these guys should have to fight their way to a title shot instead of having one handed to them based on their more recognizable names.

If Tarver and Adamek were forced to beat heavyweights like Odlanier Solis and Denis Boytsov before they got a shot against one of the Klitschkos, I kind of doubt that they would ever get that shot. I don’t expect Tarver to do well at all at heavyweight.

But Adamek has been staggered a number of times in his fights with Arreola and Grant, and I think Solis and Boytsov would end up stopping Adamek. Ideally, Adamek should have to face those guys before he gets a shot at a title, and the same goes for Tarver. It doesn’t seem right that both of them will likely get a shot at the title in 2011.