Ruslan Chagaev vs. Lucas Browne still scheduled for March 5

By Boxing News - 02/08/2016 - Comments

MDR-160612-Browne-v-Rasani-19By Scott Gilfoid: Despite the rumors that have been floating around the internet about the title fight between WBA “regular” heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev (34-2-1, 21 KOs) and #2 WBA Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne (23-0, 20 KOs) being off, Hatton Promotions is reporting that the fight is still on for March 5 at the Colosseum Sport Hall, in Grozny, Russia.

It seems that false rumors sprung up on social media over the weekend, making some boxing fans believe the fight is off.

Well, that’s a load off my mind. I mean, I’m not all that interested in the Chagaev-Browne title fight because I don’t see Chagaev as the true heavyweight champion in the division. Heck, I don’t even see Chagaev as the third best heavyweight.

I rate Chagaev behind the following heavyweight champions: 1. Deontay Wilder 2. Luis Ortiz 3. Charles Martin 4. Tyson Fury 5. Ruslan Chagaev.

Here’s what Hatton Promotions had to say about the rumors:

“Hatton Promotions’ representatives contacted Chagaev’s management and were informed that the social media claims are untrue. Browne remains in training camp for the fight in Grozny on March 5. On Sunday February 7, Browne’s management team were alerted to a number of social media posts claiming that Chagaev had pulled out of the contest.”

To be honest, I don’t think Browne has done much to rate a world title shot unless you count beating 2nd tier fodder as having done something. Let’s look at Browne’s last 10 victories and you tell me if he’s done enough to rate a world title fight.

Julius Long
Chauncy Welliver
Andriy Rudenko
Eric Martel Bahoeli
Clarence Tillman
Richard Towers
Travis Walker
James Toney
Kotatsu Takehara
Jason Gavern

I don’t think those guys are nearly good enough to rate a world title shot for “Big Daddy” Browne. I think they’re good enough fighters for Browne to be ranked at the bottom of the World Boxing Association’s rankings as a bottom feeder, but certainly not good enough opponents for him to be ranked #2 by the WBA. It’s just really sad how some of the sanctioning bodies like the WBA rank unproven fighters so highly. I just agree with their upside rankings.

Even though I see Chagaev as the worst of the champions in the heavyweight division, I expect him to easily defeat Browne on March 5. Browne looked terrible in his last fight against 7-foot Julius Long last August. Long, who isn’t a big puncher, had Browne hurt on a couple of occasions in that fight.

Chagaev is coming off of a 1st round knockout in his last fight against fringe contender Francesco Pianeta last July. It was Chagaev’s first defense of his WBA title that he had won a year previous over Fres Oquendo in July 2014. As you can see, Chagaev isn’t exactly fighting 24/7, is he? Once defense in one year. Now he’s making his second defense of his WBA title eight months after his last fight. I don’t understand it. I think it’s a waste. Chagaev should be defending his WBA title three times per year in order to take advantage of him being a champion.



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