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07-04-2007, 08:12 PM
Having secured his mandatory position in the WBC, McCall should get a shot, but this will probably not be for a long time, given that Maskaev has to fight Peter next, and then the winner must fight Vitali Klitschko. He is thus the mandatory third-in-line. I think especially at his age, activity is key (and his record shows 2 fights already this year, 4 in 2006, 5 in 2005). Although I think it will be Vitali, he can't even be sure who he will face when he does get his shot, so there's not even much point in having a massive training period to perfect his assault on the champion. So, given all this, I think McCall definitely needs to have a couple of fights while he waits to challenge for the WBC belt.
So who do people think he should fight?
Personally, I think it would be very good for him to fight Rahman; he will always be a bit of a name thanks to his stroke of luck with Lewis, and I've even seen people saying round here that Vitali ducked him! I expect he's still pretty highly rated with the WBC, being only a few fights past being its champion, which makes him an appropriate opponent for the WBC mandatory contender. It would also be nice to see how McCall matches up against a somewhat past his prime past champ, in that respect like himself, to see whether McCall really is a step ahead of where we'd expect such a fighter to be. Personally I think he is, but it would be a good confirmation, that he really he is not just better still than guys who were never quite championship class, like SSS, but also that he is better than the class of has-been champions.
I also like how the fight would play out for McCall; I've never highly rated Rahman; I though the Lewis win was due to shockingly poor conditioning on Lennox's part, for the high altitude at which it was fought. The properly prepared Lewis destroyed him in the rematch. As such I picked Maskaev against him, as someone who had punctured through the facade before, and could do it again. He still always has that puncher's chance that came through against Lewis, but McCall's legendary chin should neutralise that. As such I think McCall beats him handily and confirms his current status as a top and deserving contender.
It's a good couple of names, a fighter I like ought to win, and it'd be relatively meaningful, more so than the wins Holyfield has been trying to parlay into another title shot.
What do people think?
So who do people think he should fight?
Personally, I think it would be very good for him to fight Rahman; he will always be a bit of a name thanks to his stroke of luck with Lewis, and I've even seen people saying round here that Vitali ducked him! I expect he's still pretty highly rated with the WBC, being only a few fights past being its champion, which makes him an appropriate opponent for the WBC mandatory contender. It would also be nice to see how McCall matches up against a somewhat past his prime past champ, in that respect like himself, to see whether McCall really is a step ahead of where we'd expect such a fighter to be. Personally I think he is, but it would be a good confirmation, that he really he is not just better still than guys who were never quite championship class, like SSS, but also that he is better than the class of has-been champions.
I also like how the fight would play out for McCall; I've never highly rated Rahman; I though the Lewis win was due to shockingly poor conditioning on Lennox's part, for the high altitude at which it was fought. The properly prepared Lewis destroyed him in the rematch. As such I picked Maskaev against him, as someone who had punctured through the facade before, and could do it again. He still always has that puncher's chance that came through against Lewis, but McCall's legendary chin should neutralise that. As such I think McCall beats him handily and confirms his current status as a top and deserving contender.
It's a good couple of names, a fighter I like ought to win, and it'd be relatively meaningful, more so than the wins Holyfield has been trying to parlay into another title shot.
What do people think?