Wladimir Klitschko out until next year.

[WiDDoW_MaKeR]

Apparently, a lack of available opponents and HBO having already blown their budget is keeping Wladimir out until early next year. That sucks, Wladimir is in his prime right now, and HBO needs to be getting on the ball. I understand that there are a lot of great fights out there this year, but Wlad putting his stamp on the heavyweight division is just as important.

[Jazzo]

It is probably the fault of somebody else window.

Yes, someone else.

[Thread Stealer]

Well, there's a price to pay with HBO putting on these other big fights in the fall.

Still, Mosley-Cotto, Mayweather-Hatton, Calzaghe-Kessler (if that's HBO) and Taylor-Pavlik interest me more than any fight Wlad could be in.

[fatcity]

Well,at least they are sticking it to us on another PPV show.I can hold my breathWlad enters the ring against some tomato can.:-(

[achillesthegreat]

There is no such thing as lack of opponents. Couldn't he fight Sanders or Purrity. He is the champ and a pay day, I'm sure fighters would step up. How about former champs like Valuev, that would be a spectacle.

Wlad doesn't need HBO, he'll get paid and sell out in Germany all by himself.

I hear Wlads out because of his hand and they want to see who the winner is out of Holy and Ibrag. Now that Chagaev is out, they can pounce on the winner and pick up another belt.

[BigEars]

Why can't Wlad just get released from HBO for one fight where it is either off air in the United States or on ppv . Stage the fight in Germany with German tv backing , it'll be a low key defense anyway(no one good is really available) so it shouldn't cost that much money .

[Amsterdam]

Shame, I was looking forward to seeing him spark Rahman in the first round.:yep

[jopez707]

I beleive Wlad injured his hand anyway against Brewster, so let him enjoy the rest of the year off. Hopefully another Heavyweight will emerge to challenge him in the early part of the year, as he guns for number 50 (wins).

[don owens]

doubt he will ever get the chance to spank Rahman. interest wont be there. although it would be nice to see the whole ten seconds of it. of course, since some fools think Vitaly was running from the one punch wonder maybe we will get to see him spank Rahman.

[Loufatski]

Apparently, a lack of available opponents and HBO having already blown their budget is keeping Wladimir out until early next year. That sucks, Wladimir is in his prime right now, and HBO needs to be getting on the ball. I understand that there are a lot of great fights out there this year, but Wlad putting his stamp on the heavyweight division is just as important.

Bottom line, it's all about the dollars $$$.

[WiDDoW_MaKeR]

There is no such thing as lack of opponents. Couldn't he fight Sanders or Purrity. He is the champ and a pay day, I'm sure fighters would step up. How about former champs like Valuev, that would be a spectacle.

Wlad doesn't need HBO, he'll get paid and sell out in Germany all by himself.

I hear Wlads out because of his hand and they want to see who the winner is out of Holy and Ibrag. Now that Chagaev is out, they can pounce on the winner and pick up another belt.
Wlad is under contract by HBO. Also, Wlad has said since a couple days after the fight that his hand injury isn't a very big deal. Just swollen and sore, and nothing that he hasn't dealt with after other fights.

[kaygb]

I'm sure a lot of people don't care as the heavyweight division is so pathetic today. Wlad's a good fighter but it ends there. How good is Wlad? It's impossible to tell because the comp is so damn weak. Wlad lost to Purrity, Sanders and Brewster, guys who would be at the bottom of the top 10 if at all in earlier times. Are there many, if any out there that are much better than those three? Don't think so. Paying for PPV in the heavyweight division today is asking a lot. The one fight that would sell and create some excitement would be Peter and Wlad but other than that fight there is not much out there today.

[Fighting Weight]

It is probably the fault of somebody else window.

Yes, someone else.

:yep :yep :yep

BUM

[Loufatski]

Just because there are less American champs today doesn't mean the division is pathetic. Tyson was dominated by Holyfield and Lewis, Holyfield was dominated by Bowe and Lewis, Bowe was dominated by Golota, and Lewis had his hands full with Vitaly. So why is the HW division pathetic? Personally I think it's better than it's been in years. Guys like Byrd, Rahman, Toney, and Ruiz are finally out of the picture! Since the fall of communism, all the power and skill has been emerging from Eastern Europe, the same countries that dominate the the "Strongmen" competitions. Although, props to Peter!

And who started it all? ... A N D R E W G O L O T A

[Heavyrighthand]

Wlad is under contract by HBO. Also, Wlad has said since a couple days after the fight that his hand injury isn't a very big deal. Just swollen and sore, and nothing that he hasn't dealt with after other fights.

The site that is confidentail about boxing seems to imply that the hand is the reason why he's out til next year.

[brooklyn1550]

Too bad...I would have liked to see Wlad fight 3-4 times a year

[BigEars]

There is a such thing of lack of opponents. Anyone who fights Wladimir is going to want a hell of payday, and If HBO isnt back the fight with coverage, the purse is automatically going to be smaller. Don King is not going to put any of his fighters in the ring with Wladimir without them earning a huge purse. And Wladimir and Manny cant just go and hold a fight themselves with no way to pay the opponent. HBO frankly screwed Wladimir over by running out of money.

German tv money would be sufficient to get fellow countrymen Virchis , Platov or Aussie Shane Cameron(who are all ranked by the IBF and aren't part of the elimination tournament) in the ring .
Wlad's camp probably see such fights as pointless excercises that aren't worth the effort .

[Heavyrighthand]

I think he's wanting to wait for a unification fight with Holy or Ibrag...........or maybe even Chagaev..................as unification is his priority....

In addition to that, I think another reason he's sitting idle for now is that they don't want to waste a second fight in a row on yet another lackluster fighter like Austin who don't deserve to be there.

Better to wait a few months on someone with a title to become avialable; a fight that will mean something.

I usually get frustrated at the slow pace these heavies fight at, but in this case, I can understand sitting and waiting a while, seeing as how noone important is available, right now.

[BoxingGuru]

Yeah, let's watch Bitchko vs. sometomatocan instead of taylor/pavlik or maywheather-hatton. Face it, Holdimir is taking advantage of a shit division with shit competition. He'll never get in the ring with valuev/rahman/sanders types.

Yeah you're definitely super smart. Why would Klitschko want to get in the ring with the worst heavyweight champ in about 10 years, Hasim Rahman who just weighed his career high and almost got beat by a nobody.

Before you type things you might wanna think about how stupid you're making yourself look.

[AJAX]

yes, a retard indeed

[H .]

:-(