-Let’s See Adamek, Haye and Povetkin In with the Klitschkos, Now-
As Tomasz Adamek battled his way through twelve rounds against the sizable veteran Michael Grant, the fate of the much maligned heavyweight division seemed to rest with the Pole. The newest ‘savior’ of the big boys passed the Grant test, but not with flying colors. Grant, who few expected to last the distance, was picked as an opponent due to his Klitschko-like physique to prepare Ademek for a future fight. The Pole dominated, winning by a large points margin, but every so often was caught out and did not have things all his own way.
This was, however, only Adamek’s fourth fight at heavyweight having come up from light-heavy and cruiser. He has undoubted talent and at times against Grant utilized movement which could trouble anyone. He also proved he can be effective with his left. Should Ademek now challenge one of the Klitschkos, while the result may not go his way, the division would certainly get excited – something unlikely to happen when the three major title holders make their defenses in the coming months.
Loved in Germany and Eastern Europe, begrudgingly respected everywhere else, the Klitschko brothers, while technically brilliant, struggle with mainstream exposure due to their boring boxing styles and refusal to fight each other. Both are now in preparation for upcoming defenses but against dubious challengers.
Big brother and WBC champion, Vitali, fights the 38 year old fiery New Yorker, Shannon Briggs, in October. In the ring Vitali is strong and composed while Briggs can be erratic. Yet after recently facing embarrassingly unaggressive challengers such as Albert Sosnowski and Kevin Johnson one thing is for sure, Briggs will come out fighting. The hard hitting New Yorker does have a puncher’s chance, but not much more, and few expect this to be close.
The younger Klitschko, Wladimir, was all set to defend his IBF, WBO and IBO baubles against Teddy Atlas’s newest protégé, Alexander Povetkin, next month. The unbeaten Russian is gaining many plaudits but an experienced Atlas pulled his man out believing him not quite ready. This has lead to the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’, Sam Peter, stepping in. Peter and Wladimir have form. The pair met in 2005 in an IBF and WBO world title eliminator in Atlantic City. In a dramatic fight Peter put Wlad on the canvass three times, yet that’s about all he did. Wladimir found the Nigerian far too easy to hit and controlled the majority of the bout, winning by unanimous decision.
Since then, Peter has disappointed while Wlad has dominated. Peter did win six in a row but back to back losses against Vitali Klitschko and Eddie Chambers derailed the Nigerian. Recent victories have been impressive but the names of his opposition have not. Meanwhile Wladimir, still unbeaten since 2004, looks in great shape. This should also be a one sided affair.
David Haye was supposed to have sorted all this out by now. Bursting into the heavyweights towards the end of 2008, determined to clean up the division, he was refreshing to say the least. Since then, a boring twelve round decision against Nickolai Valuev, which won him the WBA strap, mixed with a decent stoppage over veteran John Ruiz has been OK, but hardly fantastic. Failing to secure fights with the Klitschko’s has raised doubts over Haye’s desire to take them on and will ultimately affect his legacy. Also the longer it takes for a Klitschko fight to be secured, the more time there is for Adamek to get there first and potentially steel Haye’s thunder. Haye, after all, did have fights lined up with each Klitschko brother before pulling out of both encounters, not exactly walking the talk that he spews out to the media.
The latest news is that Haye will defend his title against fellow Brit Audley Harrison in November. As a British fight fan seeing these two heavies conjure up memories of Lennox Lewis’s 1993 WBC title fight against Frank Bruno would be fantastic. But back in the real world, Harrison, although revitalized this past year, is pushing 40 and has been a huge let down in the past.
An easy victory for Haye ought to be in the cards. However, those who aren’t familiar with Harrison should know he has skills. A huge southpaw with a thundering left hook, he won gold at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Since then, with frequent disappointing and embarrassing performances, Audley was destined for the unwanted tag of Britain’s biggest waste of boxing talent. Yet returning to the ring in 2009 he had a fantastic year and was crowned European champion last April. Harrison’s critics say he lacks heart and toughness and his hulking frame affects his stamina. Yet Harrison’s fans would direct you to his last fight against hardened Brit, Michael Sprott. Audley had torn a tendon in his shoulder early on and could barely swing his arms. Sprott, who already held a KO victory over Harrison back in 2007, dominated and was ahead on all the judges’ scorecards going into the final round. Somehow in the twelfth Harrison threw the left hook from hell, bang, on Sprott’s chin. Sprott was knocked out and Audley was European champion – and back. The romance of Harrison pulling off the unlikeliest of victories over Haye will keep many a fight fan enthused but realistically it should be another mismatch.
The heavyweight division still holds marvels and mystiques. Icons such as Dempsey, Louis, and Ali will never be forgotten. Newer names such as Tyson, Lewis and Holyfield carried on the superstar tradition. But can the new crop ever hope to break the sport’s divide? And how can the division ever regain its past glory if it constantly produces one sided mismatches? The likes of Adamek, Haye even Povetkin could certainly test the Klitschkos and for the sake of the division it would be nice to see them giving it a go.
