Thoughts On Wladimir Klitschko's Next Bout

[a.arthur.h]

I recently began thinking about how the next W.Klitschko bout will be received by the community here. I was thinking, who can he fight that would stop any sort of insults towards him fighting a bum, nobody, etc.

I went to BoxRec and looked at the upcoming bouts for some of the "top" heavyweights. I realise they aren't that reliable but it does give you an idea. I'm using a schedule based on a 4 month period in between fights for training and promotions and contract signings etc. So lets take a look at the current situation for Dr. Wladimir Klitschko shall we?

Samuel Peter: Scheduled to fight in October against Oleg Maskaev. Barring any sort of injury he will be unavailable until February 2008 at the earliest.

Oleg Maskaev: If he wins see the explanation listed for Sam Peter.

Ruslan Chagaev: Unavailable Indefinately for Hep B infection I believe.

Nicolay Valuev: Scheduled to fight Bergeron in September. Will be unavailable until January 2008 at the earliest. Ignoring the fact that he hasn't beaten anyone of note, and Bergeron, while undefeated, doesn't change that fact.

Sultan Ibragimov: Scheduled to fight Evander Holyfield in October. Unavailable until February 2008.

Evander Holyfield: See Sultan Ibragimov.

David Tua: Fighting Saul Montana this month, at his current rate he will be unavailable or unwilling to schedule another fight until possibly well after February 2008.

The following are reported to be involved in Heavyweight Tournaments. Unless I'm mistaken they will be unavailable for a long period of time if this is truely the case.

Taras Bidenko
Tony Thompson
John Ruiz (laughable)
Eddie Chambers
Chris Byrd (already beaten by Wladimir)
Calvin Brock (already beaten by Wladimir recently)
Serguei Lyakhovich
Alexander Povetkin

There are other names out there, but truely, which name below would get Wlad any respect. Chances are he will want to fight again between now and February 2008..so what are his options?

Vladimir Virchis: Not sure whats going on with him.
Matt Skelton: :lol:
Hasim Rahman: Only Klitschko that has a reason to fight him is Vitali. For Wladimir it means nothing, and Rahman isn't worth the time at this point in my opinion.
Oliver McCall: Over 40 years old, and not in the Hopkins level for 40+ year olds.
Alexander Dimitrenko: Never heard of him, have never seen him fight. Maybe somebody could shed some light on this guy?
Chris Arreola: Green as can be. Not even close to ready for this kind of fight.

It seems W.Klitschko is doomed to be riduculed for his choice of fights at least until next year :think.

Your opinions?

P.S.
I didn't intend for this thread to be for bashing W.Klitschko. I intend to have an intelligent discussion as to his options at this point in the year and what would be the best options for him.

[Heavyrighthand]

Of those available, I would say Virchis would be the best choice, hands down. Either that, or maybe try to rematch Sanders.

[Boxfan1]

Wlad should pull and Apollo Creed and invite like the 100th ranked heavyweight to fight him. Who would that be? Let me check on boxrec quickly: Danny Batchelder is his name. There you go. Klitschko vs Batchelder in Tokyo. They can call it "Godzilla vs Bambi".

[a.arthur.h]

Of those available, I would say Virchis would be the best choice, hands down. Either that, or maybe try to rematch Sanders.

I think Virchis is the best available option. I would like to see a rematch with Sanders as well. Unfortunately he isn't anywhere near the title picture so it would most likely not be viewed well by many. After seeing how some people reacted to his fight with Brewster he would get even worse with Sanders. At least Brewster was fighting for HW titles in his last..5 fights I believe. Sanders however has not been near a title fight since early 2004.

[a.arthur.h]

Wlad should pull and Apollo Creed and invite like the 100th ranked heavyweight to fight him. Who would that be? Let me check on boxrec quickly: Danny Batchelder is his name. There you go. Klitschko vs Batchelder in Tokyo. They can call it "Godzilla vs Bambi".

:nono We don't need another Tyson vs Douglas on our hands. ;)

[RonnieHornschuh]

toney, rahman or briggs.

[Danny Ocean]

thompson
valuev

[a.arthur.h]

toney, rahman or briggs.
Well..Briggs just lost and put on an unbelievably horrible performance. He also had a horrible performance in the fight where he won the championship. Preceded by a string of wins over absolute nobodies. I didn't put him on the list because in my mind, after his last "performances" he doesn't deserve to be.

Toney, a split decision over the afformentioned Danny Batchelder (ranked 100 by boxrec) and a one-sided loss to Sam Peter doesn't quite put him in title contention. I would probably watch this, and its definately a better choice than Briggs or Rahman in my opinion. But with Virchis out there, I don't think Toney is the best choice. And I'd rather see him fight Jirov myself.

Rahman hasn't done anything of late, and I think if he is going to fight a Klitschko he needs to fight Vitali first. That is the only Rahman-Klitschko fight that I think has any meaning.

[barneyrub]

It will be Toney, id bet my house on that if I had one.
Nowadays Toney is a definite no threat fight so Wlad will pursue it just as he did Brewster once he was damaged goods.

[a.arthur.h]

thompson
valuev
I'd like to see W.Klitschko vs Valuev myself. Just because of the sheer size involved. And I think with Wladimir's skills and Valuev's less than powerful punches it would make for an entertaining fight. But again, he most likely won't be available until late January 2008, and that is if the fight is made immediately after the fight with Bergeron is over and everything is fast tracked. I can't see him being available until mid February myself.

Thompson is said to be involved with a HW tournament with three others I believe. So assuming he wins it, that would be 2 fights. Assuming they are made in the least amount of time that would be around 8-10 months? Then he wins a shot at another title, so thats another 4 months or so. Assuming he wins everything he won't be fighting Wlad until nearly 2009.

[AJAX]

Virchis wold be a good opponent but he is not well known in the states so it's tough to make HBO jump at something like that.

[Vantage_West]

Of those available, I would say Virchis would be the best choice, hands down. Either that, or maybe try to rematch Sanders.SLOW
SLOW SLOW SLOW SLOW

virchis is SLOW AS HELL!!!

:dead :dead :dead :dead :dead :dead :dead :dead

[KO byBRIGGS]

Well..Briggs just lost and put on an unbelievably horrible performance. He also had a horrible performance in the fight where he won the championship. Preceded by a string of wins over absolute nobodies. I didn't put him on the list because in my mind, after his last "performances" he doesn't deserve to be.
Can you even read what you are writting? the former WBO champion doesnt deserve the fight? Briggs has been calling him out for over a year now. It would look good on Klitchkos resumer to KO Briggs but I doubt he would. Why would Briggs be a bad choice? Klitchko could force the action in the fight. Briggs gets alot of hate for slow fights but its not like the other fighters have been anxious to engage Briggs.

Briggs Vs. Wlad would be a brawl I think it would be enough to get Briggs to get into good shape because he genuinely hates Klitschko.

[a.arthur.h]

It will be Toney, id bet my house on that if I had one.
Nowadays Toney is a definite no threat fight so Wlad will pursue it just as he did Brewster once he was damaged goods.

Well he is available I guess, with the steroid sentence reduced. While he isn't up there with regards to being worthy of a title shot(taking his last two performances into account) he is still a bigger name than, for instance, Virchis. It could happen definately.

[MagnificentMatt]

Can you even read what you are writting? the former WBO champion doesnt deserve the fight? Briggs has been calling him out for over a year now. It would look good on Klitchkos resumer to KO Briggs but I doubt he would. Why would Briggs be a bad choice? Klitchko could force the action in the fight. Briggs gets alot of hate for slow fights but its not like the other fighters have been anxious to engage Briggs.

Briggs Vs. Wlad would be a brawl I think it would be enough to get Briggs to get into good shape because he genuinely hates Klitschko.
Where did he come from?

:rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl

[getup]

I THINK RUIZ is the obvious choice here and why not?he has a name always comes to fight(cant believe i just said that.lost his last 2 fights in close fashion..,if golata can gat back to back to back title shots why bot have the not so quiet man have a go...,

that said ruiz get starcted early..,PLEASE!!!!!

[a.arthur.h]

Can you even read what you are writting? the former WBO champion doesnt deserve the fight? Briggs has been calling him out for over a year now. It would look good on Klitchkos resumer to KO Briggs but I doubt he would. Why would Briggs be a bad choice? Klitchko could force the action in the fight. Briggs gets alot of hate for slow fights but its not like the other fighters have been anxious to engage Briggs.

Briggs Vs. Wlad would be a brawl I think it would be enough to get Briggs to get into good shape because he genuinely hates Klitschko.

Yes I can read what I'm writing. And it would be a brawl. For the first round. Briggs has in my opinion the worst conditioning in the heavyweight division. And with guys like Tua and Toney that says a lot. Obviously you are a fan of Briggs, and nothing I say is going to have any effect on your opinion. But to say he deserves a shot just because he was champion is not right. You have to look at his performances. And they are rediculous and embarassing. Even Toney and Tua have had a higher workrate in their last few fights.

Sorry..but I don't agree with you in the least.

[AJAX]

Can you even read what you are writting? the former WBO champion doesnt deserve the fight? Briggs has been calling him out for over a year now. It would look good on Klitchkos resumer to KO Briggs but I doubt he would. Why would Briggs be a bad choice? Klitchko could force the action in the fight. Briggs gets alot of hate for slow fights but its not like the other fighters have been anxious to engage Briggs.

Briggs Vs. Wlad would be a brawl I think it would be enough to get Briggs to get into good shape because he genuinely hates Klitschko.

I actually think Briggs would be a very tough fight for Wlad, wlad doesn't stick and move like Sultan, but he would use his jab more.If Briggs got into decent enough shape where he could be mobile, his power alone would make it an interesting fight. It's the only chance that most of these guys have to beat Wlad by KO because I don't see anybody beating him by points...especially not Briggs

[kaygb]

Virchis is too damn slow. Hell a year and a half ago he barely beat Sprott, all 3 judges gave a 115-113 score. a year ago he lost to Chagaev. This would be another one-side win over a guy that doesn't belong. If Valuev could punch hard that would be a good choice but he can't. And for God's sake not Briggs after that showing in his last fight. Whoever wlad fights it'll be another gimme.

[d00k]

Can you even read what you are writting? the former WBO champion doesnt deserve the fight? Briggs has been calling him out for over a year now. It would look good on Klitchkos resumer to KO Briggs but I doubt he would. Why would Briggs be a bad choice? Klitchko could force the action in the fight. Briggs gets alot of hate for slow fights but its not like the other fighters have been anxious to engage Briggs.

Briggs Vs. Wlad would be a brawl I think it would be enough to get Briggs to get into good shape because he genuinely hates Klitschko.

Spot on. Both Sergei and Sultan were fighting scared, thus the fights became boring.

[a.arthur.h]

I THINK RUIZ is the obvious choice here and why not?he has a name always comes to fight(cant believe i just said that.lost his last 2 fights in close fashion..,if golata can gat back to back to back title shots why bot have the not so quiet man have a go...,

that said ruiz get starcted early..,PLEASE!!!!!

He does have a name. But his name isn't one that is held in high regard or one that makes people want to see him fight. I think if we go by name recognition Toney has a bit of a better shot, even though performance-wise he isn't showing up lately. I haven't seen Ruiz's last fights so I can't say..but I think he is supposed to be in a tournament so..that might make him unavailable for Wlad.

I'd like to see him get dropped Tua-style again myself though so I agree with you there :thumbsup.

[a.arthur.h]

I actually think Briggs would be a very tough fight for Wlad, wlad doesn't stick and move like Sultan, but he would use his jab more.If Briggs got into decent enough shape where he could be mobile, his power alone would make it an interesting fight. It's the only chance that most of these guys have to beat Wlad by KO because I don't see anybody beating him by points...especially not Briggs
If he gets into shape is a major question..he was unwilling to do so in either of his two championship fights lately. He seemed more intent on making his body look massive and intimidating than preparing for a fight that would go more than 3 rounds.

If being in big money and world championship fights doesn't motivate him to get in condition I don't see how fighting Wlad would. If you only get in condition for a fight against a certain guy because you hate him so much then the boxing world doesn't need you around clogging up the system.

Say he beats Wlad..what keeps him in condition to fight someone else? Based on his last fights, nothing.

And the way he gets gassed and has his hands down throughout the whole fight Wlad would hurt him bad. All Wlad would need to do is smother him and keep his hands up for at the most, 3 rounds. Then its all over for Briggs in my opinion.

He just hasn't shown that he deserves a shot based on his performance the past two years.

[KO byBRIGGS]

He was in much better shape against Liakovich but I do think he should drop 15lbs. or so to become a bit more active I doubt his power would suffer too much. I dont think its ever fair to blame one fighter for a boring fight it is upto both fighters to make the action happen.

[AJAX]

If he gets into shape is a major question..he was unwilling to do so in either of his two championship fights lately. He seemed more intent on making his body look massive and intimidating than preparing for a fight that would go more than 3 rounds.

If being in big money and world championship fights doesn't motivate him to get in condition I don't see how fighting Wlad would. If you only get in condition for a fight against a certain guy because you hate him so much then the boxing world doesn't need you around clogging up the system.

Say he beats Wlad..what keeps him in condition to fight someone else? Based on his last fights, nothing.

I don't think he deserves a shot but I still think he has the best chance to beat wlad....who else is there? When he fought Sergei he landed a couple decent shots early on Sergei was stunned for a second and then fought scared the rest of the fight, So did sultan he didn't mix it up any more than he had too.And in the sultan fight Briggs hardly threw any punches. If Briggs can get back to around 255ish he would be mobile enough to come forward and punch rather than sit there like a statue.I was amazed at his hand speed in the Sergei fight, Sergei exchanged with Brewster all night and survived against Briggs his knees were knocking.I'm sure Wlad would be very tenative in a fight against Briggs
knowing one punch could do him in.

[KO byBRIGGS]

knowing one punch could do him in.That would be the greatest moment ever. I have imagined that punch a million times.

[a.arthur.h]

He was in much better shape against Liakovich but I do think he should drop 15lbs. or so to become a bit more active I doubt his power would suffer too much. I dont think its ever fair to blame one fighter for a boring fight it is upto both fighters to make the action happen.

I agree with you completely there. I don't blame just Briggs for those fights at all. And I agree that if he did drop some weight and did more conditioning training his power wouldn't suffer that much and he would become a bit more relevant. Especially in todays Heavyweight division. But I think he needs to drop a lot more than 15lbs. and I don't think he will. Especially going after Wlad, he will hulk up and try to get as much power as he can for that one big punch.

[KO byBRIGGS]

I would like to see Klitschko and Briggs in a slugfest brawl. I dont think many people could KO Briggs these days just because everyone seems to not want to engage with him. Hopefully if the fight does come to light he doesnt bulk up and actually trains hard for it.

[2smart4u]

I would like to see Klitschko and Briggs in a slugfest brawl. I dont think many people could KO Briggs these days just because everyone seems to not want to engage with him. Hopefully if the fight does come to light he doesnt bulk up and actually trains hard for it.:lol: :lol: The last time BRIGGS fought a big guy he was the one who got tentitive ! And that was against MCCLINE ! :patsch BRIGGS would taste the power early and it would be an early night !:deal

[a.arthur.h]

I would like to see Klitschko and Briggs in a slugfest brawl. I dont think many people could KO Briggs these days just because everyone seems to not want to engage with him. Hopefully if the fight does come to light he doesnt bulk up and actually trains hard for it.

If it actually does come off I hope he trains hard for it as well. It would make for a more entertaining fight. I still don't think he wins, but thats just my opinion. However he has shown that he won't get into good enough condition to competer over 12 rounds. He was in two championship fights with guys who aren't brawlers, if he couldn't get into 12 round condition for those why should I think this time would be any different?

Does he just not care about his boxing career unless the person across from him is Wlad? If so, he should retire.

[AJAX]

If it actually does come off I hope he trains hard for it as well. It would make for a more entertaining fight. I still don't think he wins, but thats just my opinion. However he has shown that he won't get into good enough condition to competer over 12 rounds. He was in two championship fights with guys who aren't brawlers, if he couldn't get into 12 round condition for those why should I think this time would be any different?

Does he just not care about his boxing career unless the person across from him is Wlad? If so, he should retire.

I still find it amazing he bulks up like that knowing dam well he has asthma and won't be able to have a hight punch output and will loose mobility. After loosing the fight and realizing he only threw a handfull
of punches wouldn't that call for a major change:huh but if he fought again it wouldn't surprise me if he came in just as big and bulky

[Bummy Davis]

Vlad is gonna fight Thompson,or if Toney had a tune up , I would like to see Vlad/TONEY OR A TOUGH GUY TO LOOK GOOD AGAINST, RUIZ, Briggs is still a dangerous puncher but would eat too many jabs, right hands and hooks from Vlad...let toney/Sanders fight with the winner to fight Vlad

[a.arthur.h]

I still find it amazing he bulks up like that knowing dam well he has asthma and won't be able to have a hight punch output and will loose mobility. After loosing the fight and realizing he only threw a handfull
of punches wouldn't that call for a major change:huh but if he fought again it wouldn't surprise me if he came in just as big and bulky

Yeah, after the fight with Lyakhovich it should have sent a clear message to him that his current training regiment was not effective. To come into the Ibragimov fight even heavier than he was in the Lyakhovich fight..:-(. I don't understand it. Especially, as you said, since he has asthma problems.

[a.arthur.h]

Vlad is gonna fight Thompson,or if Toney had a tune up , I would like to see Vlad/TONEY OR A TOUGH GUY TO LOOK GOOD AGAINST, RUIZ, Briggs is still a dangerous puncher but would eat too many jabs, right hands and hooks from Vlad...let toney/Sanders fight with the winner to fight Vlad

It would take a bit too long. By the time Toney or Sanders were ready to fight Wlad it would be well into 2008. By that time the winner of Peter-Maskaev and all the other fights would be ready to go.

[Mendoza]

I intend to have an intelligent discussion as to his options at this point in the year and what would be the best options for him.

The better question is, do any of the champions want to fight Wlad? I have a hunch Ibragimov might, and Holyfield is he somehow beats Ibragimov would take the fight as well. Chagaev is out for a while.
The winner of Maskev vs Peter will liekly fight Vitali.

Right now the best option for Wlad might be to avenge the loss to Corrie Sanders to keep busy, then look for the winner of Ibragimov vs Holyfield.

[a.arthur.h]

The better question is, do any of the champions want to fight Wlad? I have a hunch Ibragimov might, and Holyfield is he somehow beats Ibragimov would take the fight as well. Chagaev is out for a while.
The winner of Maskev vs Peter will liekly fight Vitali.

Right now the best option for Wlad might be to avenge the loss to Corrie Sanders to keep busy, then look for the winner of Ibragimov vs Holyfield.
I agree. Most of the Champions are tied up until next year so its more a matter of what he should do in the meantime. Obviously the fights that should be made are going to involve the winners of the other title bouts currently scheduled. It just seems that he is in an awkward position as many of the current top contenders are tied up in other fights. He seems to be left in the cold in regards of what to do until post-February 2008.

[dragosuhail]

i dont think the backlash will be as bad as it's currently predicted. afterall wladimir always does great ko's and a lot of people will ba happy simply for that reason alone.

only fights that matter in this filler for end of 2007 are names and history:


Sanders (history and a bit of name recognition)

Rahman (big name)

Toney (big name even despite recent cheating)


i left off fighters like briggs, lyakhovich etc. simply because fighting another opponent off a loss will be more damaging than fighting someone who at least is back in the win column.

yeah i know toney cheated, but his skills still win fights as he really only roids to make up for size difference and weight lost. because of that i am still interested in seeing him in the ring with wladimir. that and because i wanna see his big mouth shut for good :yep

[a.arthur.h]

i dont think the backlash will be as bad as it's currently predicted. afterall wladimir always does great ko's and a lot of people will ba happy simply for that reason alone.

only fights that matter in this filler for end of 2007 are names and history:


Sanders (history and a bit of name recognition)

Rahman (big name)

Toney (big name even despite recent cheating)


i left off fighters like briggs, lyakhovich etc. simply because fighting another opponent off a loss will be more damaging than fighting someone who at least is back in the win column.

yeah i know toney cheated, but his skills still win fights as he really only roids to make up for size difference and weight lost. because of that i am still interested in seeing him in the ring with wladimir. that and because i wanna see his big mouth shut for good :yep
:thumbsup Good post. I agree, its mostly a filler fight until the title situations are sorted out(again..). I personally would not like to see Wlad vs Rahman however. I think that after all the BS about Vitali being afraid to fight Rahman that it would be better for them to fight. Wlad really has no reason to fight Rahman. And with Toney available that would be a much bigger name to add to his resume.

[dragosuhail]

i think people will also be reasonable about a filler fight at end of 2007 because i really do see unification in 2008. simply because there are zero mandatories to use as excuses for ANY champ.

wladimir is free until early-mid 2009 (tournament is reason.).

chagaev is free until early-mid 2009 (tournament is reason. but sickness might force him to retire).

ibragimov is free until late 2008 (im pretty sure WBO said they would make holyfield his mandatory if the fight takes place).

so as you can see there's a 1.5 to 2 year window for IBF/WBA/WBO champs to setup matches without interferance.

ANY champ who claims a fight is not possible in this timeframe by taking on another contender will be considered ducking. mandatories are NOT a problem in 2008. :deal

[AJAX]

Toney is no longer a player so please drop his name, all the other good fighters. Valuez, Lyakovich,Briggs,Brewster and even Rachman before his last can are all comin off loses, so that it's like he's picking up people's leftover's.
so who's left that's not commited to the recent tourny's?. Thompson has had 3 good victories in a row and Virchis who is a big guy who might be able to stand with Wlad. besides that I don't think anybodies else is available, Sanders hurt himself his last fight and is in limbo as always not to mention his days are basically over.

[andyZOR]

Id pick Valuev, but hes booked. So, I think Wlad should fight and destroy Briggs to get him out of boxing ASAP. Plus, who doesn't wanna see Briggs get KO'd? :D

[C Money]

From Wlad's perspective, I'd fight Corrie Sanders in between now and late winter early spring when the real substantive opponents would have been reduced and available pending outcomes of their upcoming fights.

Now to many Sanders might sound lame, but since he beat Wlad prior?? I'd like to be able to look back one day and say I beat every man I ever faced, just as Lennox Lewis can.

Oliver McCall or Liahkhovich might also make a name opponent as well in between fighting another titlelist,

[a.arthur.h]

From Wlad's perspective, I'd fight Corrie Sanders in between now and late winter early spring when the real substantive opponents would have been reduced and available pending outcomes of their upcoming fights.

Now to many Sanders might sound lame, but since he beat Wlad prior?? I'd like to be able to look back one day and say I beat every man I ever faced, just as Lennox Lewis can.

Oliver McCall or Liahkhovich might also make a name opponent as well in between fighting another titlelist,
Wouldn't he have to fight Ross Purity again though? People don't usually talk about that one much. It would be nice to clean up his record..and I certainly wouldn't hold it against him to face Sanders, even if he is on the way out he still hasn't lost in 3 straight fights(granted, against subpar opposition). Certain fighters have gotten title shots with much less..or a much larger string of subpar opposition(Briggs), and the rematch aspect would make it a bit better.

McCall would be ok. I don't think he has the tools to defeat Wlad in any way however..I see it being stopped by the ref. Lyakhovich hasn't fought for a whole year..not sure whats going on with him. Would much rather see Wlad clear up some unfinished buisness with Sanders in the time between now and the finally of all the upcoming title bouts.

[mykolakozak]

Only Virchis or Vitali have a chance against Wlad

[PATSYS]

I wouldn't mind watching Wlad-Ruiz.