Povetkin Ready For Klitschko?

Apparently after going a full 10 rounds with the light fisted Jason Estrada, #1 IBF heavyweight challenger Alexander Povetkin feels he's ready current IBF/WBO/IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

Povetkin Quotes

“I finally want to accomplish my dream and fight [Klitschko]. It will be a completely different fight from today because Klitschko is much bigger and not as fast as Estrada. I still have to improve a few areas of my game but I am ready for him. I cannot wait for the fight to happen.”

Wilfried Sauerland Quotes

*Povetkin's manager talks about the last fight..
“Had this fight lasted only a little longer, Povetkin would have stopped Estrada. After his injury it took him a little time to find his rhythm, but we are pleased with his comeback. He has not fought for a long time, so this was a good test.”

Estrada Quotes

“He is a strong boxer. I think it was a close and a very good fight. I had expected him to be a little more aggressive, so I had to change my game plan. I tried to jab more but he took it away from me.”

---

Sorry Alexander, but you will never be ready. Unless you are talking strictly a payday, Wladimir has too much in his favor going into this bout.

In my opinion, any advantages than Povetkin has will be easily nullified by Wladimir while his weaknesses will easily be exploited.

For example I believe Povetkin's strong points are his confidence, good inside combinations, and work rate. Povetkin is not nearly fast enough on his feet to get inside of Wladimir to work his combinations he needs , and the constant pressure will only work if he hopes Wladimir will get tired. But, coming into his several last fights Wladimir has shown excellent conditioning. By round 5 if there is one, Povetkin's confidence will be out the window. Now on to his weaknesses.

Coming into this fight Povetkin has many weaknesses. The most obvious is that he is going to be at a severe height, reach, and size disadvantage. He is also very susceptible to being hit, especially by right hands which Wladimir throws harder than anyone in the business. Povetkin also does not have very good power in his punches. He does have a fairly good KO percentage but all of his good opponents have been mainly smaller heavies with light punching ability(Byrd, Chambers, Estrada) who lost due to Povetkin's constant pressure and work rate catching up with them.

So what you have here is a very confident guy who does not like to lose and who is going to be alot smaller and not quick enough on his feet to get in on Wladimir(even if he does get in does not have enough power to bother Wladimir) who is going to eat the heaviest hands he's ever been hit with as he tries to get in on him. So either the fight will be stopped, a KO will happen, or if Povetin is extremely stubborn and pushes on way further than he should, a serious career ending injury may occur. Povetkin in my opinion is the perfect type of fighter for Wladimir to face. If they do fight I think this will be one of Wladimir's easiest fights he's had for awhile.

Source

Technorati Tags: My Thoughts, Potential Fights, Wladimir Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko Opponents, Klitschko Blog

Teddy Atlas Previews Klitschko Gomez

Ahead of the March 21st fight between current WBC champion Vitali Klitschko and WBC #1 challenger Juan Carlos Gomez, ESPN's Teddy Atlas gives his take on the fight, the heavyweight landscape, and more!





Think Atlas was a bit harsh on the heavyweight scene. I think it has more to do with boxing politics than there being limited talent at heavyweight. I also think that the Eastern bloc fighters don't get a fair exposure in the west as they would if the same talent were to have came from the west thus giving it the illusion that there is less talent than there really is.

Technorati Tags: Videos, My Thoughts, Other Boxing News, Other Heavyweight Boxing News, upcoming fights, Vitali Klitschko, Vitali Klitschko Opponents, Klitschko Blog

Team Maskaev Responds To Klitschko

Recently, WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko said he was going to file a complaint in regards to having to fight 2 mandatory fights in a row as ordered by the WBC (March 21st vs. Juan Carlos Gomez and then within 90 days after that fight against Oleg Maskaev). Team Maskaev has given a response to Vitali's criticism on the order to fight Maskaev right after the Gomez fights. This is what Maskaev's promoter Dennis Rappaport had to say:

“Klitschko is fighting about the very same thing he received. What does this guy have a double standard? One for the rest of the world and one for the Klitschko’s?

He’s in the mirror position of Maskaev. Why didn’t he cry when it benefited him? It’s really like a joke. Now he wants to attack the very same thing he benefited from!”


Ok sorry, but this is not the same situation. When Vitali lost his belt it was because he retired do to injury not because someone TKO'd him in the ring. Maskaev lost via TKO to Peter whom Vitali soundly defeated just this past December 2008.

So in one instance you have a dominant champion(ok he didn't have a lot of title defenses but the fights he fought he he won easily against recognizable names and he gave Lennox Lewis all he could handle. So clearly anyone would say he was the man to beat. Not the case with Maskaev) who the WBC gave a special circumstance to if he should ever return, and then in Maskaev's situation you got a guy who fought 1 title defense in Moscow against a no name and lost on his next outing to Sam Peter.

If nothing else it's ridiculous to consider it the same situation because of the marketability of the fight. Everyone loves the idea of a popular more recognized champion coming back and fighting, but not everyone likes the idea of a former champion who wasn't dominant getting another title shot after losing 2 fights ago to the same guy Vitali Klitschko destroyed in his last fight.

The only thing that's similar is the WBC making rules, and that's what anyone would expect a governing body such as the WBC to do.

Technorati Tags: My Thoughts, Vitali Klitschko, Vitali Klitschko Opponents, Quotes, Other Boxing News, Other Heavyweight Boxing News

Defending Wladimir Klitschko's Choice Of Rahman Over Povetkin

It seems like all over the internet a lot of people are complaining that former 2 time heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman is getting a shot at the heavyweight title again. Rahman is scheduled to face current WBO/IBF/IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir "Steelhammer" Klitschko this December 13th as a replacement for the injured Alexander Povetkin.

Alexander Povetkin was guaranteed the IBF mandatory by winning a mini-tournament put together by the IBF organization where Povetkin defeated former heavyweight champion Chris Byrd and "Fast" Eddie Chambers to warrant his mandatory status.

So why are the vast majority of people complaining about Rahman getting a shot? Well mainly because they feel that Wladimir isn't trying to unify, or is purposely choosing a weak opponent when there are other greater fighters he could be fighting.

In Wladimir's defense, this will be his 3rd fight in less than a year. He plans on fighting in early 2009, so potentially 4 fights in a years time. That's very active for any heavyweight, and extremely active for a champion. What does this guy have to do? The sole reason he is taking this fight is because it satisfies his mandatory challenge through the IBF organization. Let's take a look at the current IBF heavyweight rankings:

CHAMPION Wladimir Klitschko Ukraine

1 Alexander Povetkin Russian Federation --------------------> out with injury
2 NOT RATED -----------------------------------------------------------> self explanatory here
3 Alexander Dimitrenko Ukraine -----------------------------------> Has fight with Luan Krasniqi on Nov 15th
4 Chris Arreola United States --------------------------------------> Has fight with Travis Walker on Nov 29th
5 Hasim Rahman United States -----------------------------------> Available opponent
6 Oleg Maskaev Kazakhstan
7 Sultan Ibragimov United States
8 Eddie Chambers United States
9 Andrew Golota United States
10 James Toney United States
11 Kali Meehan Australia
12 Sinan Samil Sam Turkey
13 Travis Walker United States
14 Cedric Boswell United States
15 Shane Cameron New Zealand

So, Wladimir is covered by the IBF by fighting the the 1st highest available opponent, which is Rahman. Wladimir spent a long time to earn these belts he just doesn't want to lose them especially since he is A) The most active champion out there as it is, B) Will make a lot of money off the Rahman fight, C) Will have a great name on his record, and D) revenge the negative talk Rahman gave his brother Vitali.

If your just talking fights I'd rather see. I'd rather see Wladimir fight Nicolai Valuev, but this fight with Rahman is to protect his IBF belt. He just fought his WBO mandatory not too long ago so by fighting Rahman he's covered from any mandatory obligations for a long while which means this opens him up to fight other guys as a voluntary defense including Valuev.

Tags: My Thoughts, upcoming fights, Wladimir Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko Opponents

Who Should Wladimir Klitschko Fight December 13th?

Since IBF mandatory heavyweight Alexander Povetkin has withdrawn from his showdown on December 13th with current WBO/IBF/IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, Wlad now has an opportunity and desire to face someone else on this date. The question is who would make a good opponent for Wladimir?

Potential Fighters

There are older fighters like James Toney, Hasim Rahman, who are available and have no prior obligations, but other than namesake I don't see these fights presenting much of a challenge for Wladimir. The money aspect might be good though for either in Germany and would get a name many have heard on his record. But, from a fans perspective I would much rather see something else.

Nicolai Valuev?

Nicolai Valuev, who is the new WBA heavyweight champion, is looking for an opponent to stay busy before his mandatory obligation to face Chagaev in the middle of next year. So, this could be a great match. It would be different stylistically for Wladimir since the Russian Nicolai stands over 7 feet tall and Wladimir for once would be the much shorter fighter. It would also be a unification bout and would still retain the interest as the Povetkin match-up had with a Russian fighter against of Ukrainian fighter. A couple things stand in the way from this fight happening.

1st their's the time element with negotiations maybe not happening because it would be too late.

Secondly Wladimir's brother Vitali, who just got back his WBC heavyweight title, has expressed interest in the 2nd belt for himself.

Finally, Wladimir may not want to have to adjust his training which he's involved in already to face someone who has physical characteristics/style so much different than Povetkin. This would require a whole new mindset for training, and training partners, etc, and would have meant a lot of the training he has done would have been wasted. So, although this in my opinion would be the best match out there for Wladimir, I don't think its realistically going to happen.

Who Else?

So who's left? Well he could face the guy who barely lost to Povetkin: Eddie Chambers. Again fan interest would probably not favor this one.

Of course David Haye has been calling out Wladimir and might be able to drop his upcoming fight to face Wladimir, but the agreement was for him to face an opponent or 2 to prove himself which he hasn't done yet, so I doubt that one will fall through.

What's the best way to determine the new fighter?

Maybe the best route to take is for Wladimir to pre-select 5 or 10 potential fighters that have no prior obligations, and let the fans vote on who they want to see him face. This way at least nobody can say that he didn't choose a fighter that the majority didn't want to see him face.

Who Do I think the best opponent would be?

I personally think he should face someone in similar stature to Povetkin with a decent ranking and record. My personal choice would be Oleg Maskaev. He is around the same stature as Povetkin, has a name in boxing, was a former champion who beat Hasim Rahman twice, and is a Russian fighter like Povetkin so the Russian-Ukranian match-up would remain in tact as well as the popularity of the fight. Also the fight negotiations would most likely go smoothly since Oleg is not in a position to wait much longer at his age and would welcome 1 last title shot and big money bout. What do you think? What fighters do you think would be ideal for Wladimir?

Analyzing Klitschko Vs. Thompson

On Saturday July 12th, 2008 there was a heavyweight title match between WBO/IBF/IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir "Steelhammer" Klitschko and WBO #1 mandatory challenger Tony "The Tiger" Thompson. Even though Wladimir won the fight via 11th round KO, there seems to be mixed reviews on his performance during this fight, and his value as a boxer. So, I decided to voice my own opinion of what I thought of the match, and Wladimir Klitschko's recent performances.

1st of all I want to point out that it's always tricky to face a southpaw. You may have experience if you fight a few, which Wladimir has, but the number of southpaws one faces never comes close to the number of orthodox fighters one faces so there's going to be that element of awkwardness. This is the 2nd fight in a row where Wladimir has faced a southpaw, because back in February 23rd of this year Wlad faced Sultan Ibragimov and defeated him via a 12 round decision to pick up the IBF strap. So the results of his last 2 efforts might be deceiving to the public eye because he's faced 2 men in a row that would give any fighter that element of awkwardness. In fact, there have been great fighters in the past who purposely kept away from southpaws for that reason.

The second thing I want to state is that Thompson himself is not only a southpaw boxer but also has other characteristics that Klitschko isn't used to. Those characteristics include a man who is very close in height and weight(actually weighed more than Wlad), and who had a greater reach than Wladimir. So the physical characteristics combined with his awkward southpaw stance is something that takes any fighter a little while to adapt to.

I believe in both the Ibragimov and Thompson fights, although more in the Ibragimov fight, Wladimir faced opponents who at times seemed to be defensive minded. Whenever someone sits back and their sole thinking process is what they can do to prevent you from hurting them, it's alot harder to hurt them than if they are leaving themselves open at times because they themselves are looking to land. Thompson did start the fight out fairly aggressive though, but cooled down after a few. In the 11th round, Thompson was leaving himself open more, although this was also due to his fatigue as well as increasing his aggression, which lead Wladimir to his right hand knockout victory.

I think Wladimir showed in this fight a lot more of his punch arsonol and strategy than he has in his past. He showed some good body shots, which he does quite well(work on this Wlad people are expecting you to be a head hunter and you land good punches to the body), the ability to adapt whenever his jab isn't working as well as he likes, and uppercuts. I only mention these improvements because some people think Wladimir is regressing by not knocking out Thompson/Ibragimov early.

In conclusion, I think Wladimir is improving as a boxer under Emanuel Steward. The only thing that I could see that Wladimir could work on is the ability to pick up his aggression early on fighters whom he knows has a very slim chance of knocking him out, and also working on his body punching. If his opponents in the future have to worry about whether he's going to start out fast or not, and whether they're going to get hit to the body or head at anytime, this would make his ability to make a more impressive victory in the future easier.


As an added note, I believe that whenever Wladimir signs a deal to fight the orthodox, shorter, and highly regarded Povetkin, people are going to be surprised how easy Wladimir lands punches at will and takes this guy out early. It's going to be like wearing ankle weights for two races and then taking them off for the 3rd (In reference to going from 2 southpaws to an orthodox fighter). My prediction is Wladimir will KO Povetkin within 4 rounds. He should have nothing to fear from this guy. Povetkin wins fights by his aggression not by his impressive 1 punch knockout power-- he couldn't knock out Chris Byrd(fight was stopped by his corner)**ok bad example Klitschko didn't ko him either the 1st fight** nor Chambers, and is a sucker for the right hand. **In other words, I believe Povetkin's power is cumulative whereas Wlad's can be in just one punch. especially in fighting at a higher level...**

Good luck to Wladimir and Vitali on chasing their dream to become the 1st heavyweight brothers to hold championships at the same time!

** these are later additions to the post

Shannon Briggs Wants To Fight Klitschko, Peter, and Others

Shannon Briggs, who hasn't fought in 9 months since his loss to Sultan Ibragimov, is now calling out the heavyweight division. He's interested in fights with Wladimir Klitschko, Chagaev (he called him 'the guy who beat Valuev', Valuev, and even Sam Peter. BoxingScene's website had an interview with him recently:

BoxingScene.com: What have you been up to since your last fight?

Shannon Briggs: "I've just been working, I own a few businesses. I've just been sitting back watching a lot of boxing and watching the heavyweight picture unfold into what it is. I feel quite disrespected watching Klitschko fight Ibragimov and Peter versus Maskaev."

Feels Disrespected after watching Klitschko/Ibragimov and Peter/Maskaev?

Ok, That might have not been Wlad's best fight, but it was still a lot more exciting that Shannon's attempt against Sultan 9 months prior. What could be disrespecting to him about Sam Peter winning the WBC title? Maybe he felt that it was a fight he could have won too, and he was mad Sam Peter got a shot and not him. After all, losing a title fight and fighting nobody since should entitle you to another title fight.

BoxingScene: The last I'd heard of you was that you were interested in fighting Wladimir Klitschko. Why hasn't that fight materialized?

Briggs: "I had the title and went to the Klitschko-Brock fight and he didn't want to fight me. I was supposed to be in the Brock fight. Shelly Finkel wound up getting sued by Cedric Kushner because that fight didn't materialize. Meanwhile, Finkel was telling everybody that he had us signed to fight Klitschko. Kushner wound up winning the lawsuit for that. I went and challenged him, he didn't want to fight me.

"They keep him away from punchers. Ray Austin? C'mon, he was my sparring partner. Aside from Chris Byrd, who was past his prime and fought him in Germany, where a lot of shady sh*t goes down, who has he fought? Lamon Brewster, who hadn't fought in two years. The last fight he was in he got the breaks beat off him by Sergei Lyakhovich. In his last fight he looked like a little girl slapping at Sultan. In the fight I heard Max Kellerman say he has a great jab like Lennox Lewis. What great jab, you mean jab and pull back because you're scared? How about when he was flopping on the floor against Sam Peter? I'm just stating the facts."

Chris Byrd was past his prime and fought him in Germany

Geez, does this guy watch boxing at all. He fought Byrd TWICE. The second time might be questionable whether he was past his prime or not, but he still was champion and defeated top rated fighters in the division. But, the 1st time they fought was in 2000. Byrd was champion and 30 years of age. Thats what most people would agree would be a athletes prime not past his prime! What a manipulation of facts.Ya, it was really shady how Klitschko won the fight in Germany with Byrd. He won by TKO! No judges were involved with that fight whatsoever. Does he realize that Sultan made him look silly when they fought, and the 'scared' Wladimir beat the guy who beat him?

BoxingScene: You've claimed that you weren't 100% when you fought Sultan Ibragimov. What was wrong and why did you compete in a compromised state?

Briggs: "I fought Ibragimov with pneumonia. They threatened to sue me if they didn't get their fight. Their doctors said I had pneumonia and there was no way I could fight. I got the medical records to prove it. The WBO was talking about stripping me. They wanted to strip me, sue me. I didn't have any support. Nobody said they'd give me, what the hell did they give Vitali 'Quitschko', The Super Venus champion or some sh*t, some sh*t I never heard of. They made up a new name for him to come back to fight for the title after pulling out of 4-5 different fights. I can't even say the sh*t. It's some Greek sh*t. There's a lot of bullsh*t and 'poli-tricks.' All I'm saying is give me a fair shake. It's like how George Bush did with the election a few years ago, rigging the votes.

"They knew I wasn't training. They were training with Jeff Mayweather, who was training me the fight before. He jumped ship, he's a traitor. I went to their doctors because they thought I was faking the illness. My doctor said it would 2-4 months before I could start training. Their doctor said it could be anywhere from 6 months to a year before I start training again. They come back 20 days later and said if I didn't fight I would be stripped, sued, and maybe banned from boxing for pulling out. It was either fight or feed my family. If I didn't fight the guy, I would've been stripped and not make a buck. How am I going to feed my two kids? I cracked his ass in the first round and he ran for the next 12 rounds. I wasn't in the shape to chase him."

More like he strategically made you look really bad for 12 rounds. I wonder if pneumonia caused him to come in as a out of season bodybuilder for the fight as well? Vitali 'Quitschko'? Any doubts after he had to pull out with a injury in the Byrd fight were erased after he fought Lennox Lewis to the point where you could see one of the worst cuts in a title match on Vitali Klitschko's face.

BoxingScene: Have you been at least staying in the gym and training while waiting for a fight?

Briggs: "Yes, but you know it doesn't matter because I can't get a fight. John Ruiz has won and lost the title for years. He just fought a fight against McCline, which will get him a title shot for sure. Andrew Golata just fought Mike Mollo and there's talks of him getting another title shot. I lost to Ibragimov in a 12 round decision and I can't get a title shot. It's politics. I want to fight Sam Peter, or Sam Cheater. These guys don't want to fight Shannon Briggs."

Excuse me, did he just say he thinks he should be more entitled to a title shot that someone who's at least won a fight in the last year? Give me a break.

BoxingScene: In your words, why would the fans be interested in seeing you in another big fight?

Briggs: "Because if it's about the fans, I'm exciting. I'm the last American Heavyweight champion. I'm the only guy who can get the job done right now. Can John Ruiz beat Klitschko? No, because he's too small and doesn't hit hard enough. We had Chambers go up against Povetkin, we saw how that went down. I won 13 in a row before my loss, that doesn't entitle me to a title shot?"

Briggs: "Because if it's about the fans, I'm exciting.

Based off his last fight. John Ruiz would seem more exciting. Can John Ruiz beat Klitschko? No. Can Shannon Briggs beat Klitschko? Even bigger NO.

BoxingScene: Aside from the fighters you've already mentioned, who else are you interested in fighting?

Briggs: "The guy who beat Valuev, what's his name? I'm willing to fight Valuev! I'm willing to fight anybody. I've been in this game since 1992. All of the guys I was in the game with, Jeremy Williams, David Tua, they came and went. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. I'm not crying, I'm not bitching. I make a great living doing what I'm doing. I have a beautiful family, a beautiful home. All I'm saying is that when I look at Sam Peter-Maskaev fight, it looked like a 55 year old and a 60 year old fighting, it makes me disgusted. I know I can beat both of these guys at the same time and they're still making money. How is it that Maskaev won a title, he fought one bum, then fought 15 months later. They never stripped him, they gave Peter another belt. This sh*t is like a f**king jigsaw puzzle. The American public is sitting back and letting that sh*t happen."

Briggs: "The guy who beat Valuev, what's his name?

He's been sitting back and watching boxing for the last few months but doesn't know the name of a title holder? Ya, it sounds like he's been watching really closely.

BoxingScene: Why have you not been active since the Ibragimov fight?

Briggs: "I've been inactive because the fights aren't there, really. I'm willing to go to Germany to fight any of these guys. I want to go to Nigeria to fight Sam Pedialite. The fights haven't been offered because they don't want to fight me."

In my opinion, Shannon should work to get back in the mix. He can't just lose a title match and expect another belt holder to fight him willingly. Why would they? He's not ranked, so it wouldn't fill their mandatory fights with their sanctioning bodies, and he's no longer a champion. Plus it's been 9 months since he fought and lost his title to Sultan Ibragimov who in turn lost his title to Wladimir Klitschko. How much marketablity does he think he has? Did he watch his last fight? How many people does he think would want to watch that again? If Sam Peter and Maskaev seemed like 50 year olds fighting then Shannon looked like he was 80 when he fought Sultan 9 months ago.

I don't believe the pneumonia excuse. He said he was 100% healthy at the time, so I guess he's good at lying. He also looked extremely muscled up, like a bodybuilding and not a boxer. Pneumonia doesn't cause that or you'd see a lot of professional bodybuilders coughing.

Boxing VS MMA

There has been a lot of talk about MMA fighters and boxers. Some boxers recently have talked about converting over to MMA, like Floyd Mayweather jr. for example, and some MMA fighters like Anderson Silva have talked about coming over to boxing (he is reported to be wanting a fight with Roy Jones Jr.).

What are my thoughts on MMA vs Boxing

In my opinion, MMA and boxing are 2 completely different sports. When you're talking about the pinnacle of each sport, I don't believe a top MMA fighter is going to compete with a top boxer, and I don't think a top boxer would compete with a top MMA fighter.

Why do I think this?

I think a good way to explain this would be to use an analogy.

A MMA fighter is like a decathlete and a boxer is like a sprinter or long distance runner. To be a good at MMA or a decathlon requires you to be good at many things including boxing skill for the MMA artist or sprinting/running for the decathlete.

Just because a decathlete has exceptional running ability, like sprinting for example, does not mean that he is going to be able to compete against a professional Olympic sprinter any day of the week. Same thing for a MMA fighter who may be a better striker or has better punching ability than other MMA fighters having a chance at beating a professional boxer.

The same thing goes for a boxer trying to convert to MMA. If a Olympic sprinter were to try to compete in a decathlon, he is not going to win against a professional decathlete.

But, that's just my opinion. What do you think?