The first quarter of 2009 featured a few fights among BPL’s top rated heavyweights. Vitali Klitschko, in his second fight since his comeback, took on previously #4 ranked Juan Carlos Gomez; #3 Ruslan Chagaev made a successful comeback after his Achilles tendon surgery and rehab; and previously #12 ranked Eddie Chambers took on previously #8 ranked Sam Peter. Vitali took care of business against the awkward Gomez, despite struggling a bit in the first couple rounds, Chagaev won a technical decision (when the fight was stopped as a result of a head butt induced cut) and Chambers put enough rounds in the bank early to get a ten round decision over Peter.
Vitali’s return certainly creates room for argument as to which of the brothers is the #1 heavyweight in boxing. As I have explained before, I would pick Vitali to beat Wlad. For now, though, even with Vitali’s recent win over Gomez, I think Wlad has done more over the last couple years (a string of title defenses and unification of the IBF and WBO titles) to earn the #1 spot. Everyone knows Wlad’s story. Great amateur pedigree (Gold medalist at ‘96 Olympics). He’s had a bit of a bumpy ride — seemingly unbeatable one minute and then getting KO’d by huge underdogs the next — but since getting KO’d by Lamon Brewster in 2004, he has gone on a 9 fight win streak (with 6 TKO’s), stopping long-time IBF champ Chris Byrd and winning a UD over #8 heavyweight Sam Peter. In the Spring of 2008, his dominant, if coma inducing for the audience, win over top heavyweight contender and WBO title holder Sultan Ibragimov solidified his hold on the top spot. Another solid win came in the Summer of 2008 when he scored a late knockout over top ten contender Tony Thompson. He was scheduled to face the young, exciting prospect, Alexander Povetkin (ranked #1 by the IBF and #7 here at the BPL), in December, but Povetkin was injured in training and so Wlad fought and dominated Hasim Rahman instead. Wlad has tentatively agreed to fight David Haye, who appears to be the toughest opponent Wlad will have fought in his entire career.
2. Vitali Klitschko
As I said, I think you can make a case for Vitali as the #1 heavyweight in the world, especially on a head to head basis. On October 11, 2008, he finally made his much anticipated comeback and thoroughly dominated the WBC Interim title holder, Sam Peter. Then in March 2009, he followed up that performance with another one-sided win over his mandatory challenger, Juan Carlos Gomez. Vitali struggled a bit early, fighting on relatively even terms with Gomez for the first few rounds, but he quickly solved the puzzle and began dominating in the middle and late rounds. Vitali presents any fighter with significant challenges, because of his physical dimensions. At 6′7″ and 250 lbs he is the biggest elite heavyweight in history. And not only is he huge, but he has learned to use that to his advantage. He fights in an awkward defensive style off of his back foot that has befuddled everyone he has faced. Even Lennox Lewis had a hard time landing on Klitschko in the initial rounds of their slugfest. But of course defense is not what comes to most people’s mind when they think of Vitali Klitschko. He has a very high workrate and is extremely accurate with his punches. While he isn’t known for stunning one punch KO power, he has heavy hands and seems to bludgeon people into submission, winning by stoppage in 35 of his 36 wins. His heart was questioned by many when he quit during his fight against Chris Byrd, sustaining a loss by technical knockout as a result, but with his valiant but losing effort against Lennox Lewis he seems to have answered those questions. Vitali was rumored to have agreed to fight heavyweight newcomer David Haye in the middle of next year. It would have been the most anticipated fight in heavyweight boxing, since Lewis v. Tyson in 2002, but now his brother Wlad Klitschko appears to be the opponent for Haye. Vitali has indicated that he would like to pursue the WBA title, currently split among Nicolay Valuev and Ruslan Chagaev.
3. Ruslan Chagaev
Current WBA champion. Aggressive, boxer/puncher (with emphasis on puncher), southpaw. Great amateur pedigree (Two-time World Amateur Champ, including a win over Felix Savon in the finals in 2001). He is undefeated and has wins over former WBA title holder Valuev, former WBA title holder John Ruiz and former #10 Vlad Virchis. Some question marks surrounded Chagaev, as a result of his cancelled (rumored to be the result of a serious illness) unification fight with Sultan Ibragimov. In his first defense of the WBA title in January of 2008, he easily won a unanimous decision over British heavyweight champion, Matt Skelton. He was supposed to fight a rematch against Nicolay Valuev in 2008, but ruptured his Achilles tendon on the final day of sparring for the match. After surgery and a nine month long rehabilitation period, Chagaev returned to action in February against undefeated Costa Rican heavyweight (ranked #9 in the world by the WBA) Carl Drumond. With Chagaev ahead on all three cards after six, the fight was stopped because of a cut Chagaev sustained from an accidental head butt. Chagaev has indicated that he wants to fight Nicolay Valuev (who is holding an interim version of Chagaev’s WBA title), as soon as possible after Drumond.
4. David Haye
David Haye is to many people the man with the most potential to really shake up the heavyweight division. He is the former Ring Magazine, WBC, WBA and WBO unified Cruiserweight champion, having defeated former champions Jean Marc Mormeck and Enzo Maccarinelli by knockout. He had a very solid amateur career, advancing to the finals of the 2001 World Championships in the heavyweight division at age 21, where he lost by stoppage to the great Cuban amateur, Odlanier Solis. In his first fight in the heavyweight division as a professional, he stopped top Polish heavyweight prospect Tomasz Bonin in the first round. He absolutely demolished former title challenger Monte Barrett (then ranked #9 by the WBO) in November, knocking him down five times on his way to a knockout. Barrett has been in against very tough competition over the years, and only one other heavyweight — Wlad Klitschko — was able to do that to him. It appears Haye is more than just hype. Haye has been chasing Wlad Klitschko all over the globe, trying to goad him into a fight, and it looks like he might get his shot. A fight with Wlad Klitschko is tentatively scheduled for June 2009. This fight has been called on and off again half a dozen times already, however, with a Vitali Klitschko v. Haye fight also proposed, and so we at the BPL will believe this one when we see it.
5. Alexander Povetkin
Extremely aggressive, orthodox slugger with a great amateur pedigree (2004 Olympic Gold medalist). In only his 14th professional fight he beat Chris Byrd by TKO! He followed that up with a fairly wide decision over fellow undefeated prospect, Eddie Chambers, to position himself for a shot at Wlad Klitschko’s IBF title. Before Byrd he won practically every round against the experienced former title challenger, Larry Donald. Remember, Donald gave Valuev hell for 12 rounds and beat him in the eyes of many (including me). His last win, a tune-up fight for his title challenge against Wlad Klitschko in December, was a 4th round TKO of journeyman Taurus Sykes. Povetkin sustained an injury in training and so his fight with Wlad Klitschko was cancelled. Maybe that’s a good thing, because I think he could use some seasoning before taking on the #1 heavyweight in the world. I’d like to see him around for a long time. Povetkin’s aggressive, attacking style is fun to watch, and he has brought much needed excitement to the heavyweight division. Povetkin is currently scheduled to fight one of the most decorated amateurs in the history of United States boxing, heavyweight prospect Jason Estrada. Estrada had a very busy and successful 2008, beating previous title contenders Lance Whitaker and Charles Shufford as well as tough journeyman Derek Bryant. This is an important fight for both men. Povetkin can’t afford the setback that a loss to a relatively unheralded prospect would cause, while a win for Estrada would catapult him right into title contention.
6. Nicolay Valuev
Valuev may be slow and one dimensional, but he is fundamentally sound and will always present problems for any opponent because of his massive size (7′0″, 330 lbs). The size advantage, plus a little friendly hometown judging, gave him wins over #11 John Ruiz (for the WBA title) and former contender Larry Donald, but it wasn’t enough to beat Ruslan Chagaev. Valuev has made the case that he is the real deal by coming back to win a lopsided decision over the former WBO champ, Serguei Lyakhovich, in a WBA title eliminator. He defeated John Ruiz once again, by another razor thin decision in Berlin, Germany, to reclaim the interim WBA heavyweight title. Instead of fighting Chagaev upon Chagaev’s return from injuries, Valuev chose to fight Evander Holyfield on December 21. The decision almost proved disastrous, as Valuev barely escaped with a majority decision.
7. Alexander Dimitrenko
Very tall (6′7″), orthodox, Ukrainian boxer/puncher. He turned pro at 18 years of age after winning the world junior amateur championship and seems to have become stronger and more confident with each outing. He has been handled very carefully, but that approach may be paying dividends now. He is now 25 years old, stepping up against slightly better competition and turning in his best performances to date. He really put his punches together well in stopping Malcom Tann in five rounds. In November he stopped in 12 rounds the previously unstoppable Timo Hoffman (who years ago took Vitali Klitschko the distance) and in May 2008 he stopped prospect Derric Rossy in five rounds. In November, he had another very good win, knocking out former title challenger, Luan Krasniqi. Dimitrenko is definitely someone to watch.
8. Eddie Chambers
Quick, elusive (reminds some of a young Chris Byrd) orthodox boxer. Chambers turned pro seven years ago at 18 and has taken his time to develop. He is now 30-1 and has started to step up, with his level of competition increasing dramatically over the last year. He easily outpointed former contender Dominick Guinn, beat Calvin Brock to set up a title eliminator against hard charging prospect Povetkin, but lost that fight on the scorecards. He controlled the fight in spurts against Povetkin with his sharp, accurate punching, but unfortunately spurts were all he seemed to be able to muster, and Povetkin’s consistent, although less effective, offense was favored by the judges. Since his loss to Povetkin, Chambers has notched TKO wins against journeymen opponents Raphael Butler and Livin Castillo and a tedious unanimous decision (which brought boos from the crowd) over Cisse Salif. In March 2009 Chambers solidified his standing as a top 10 heavyweight with a clear (if unspectacular) decision over Sam Peter. Chambers weighed in at a career high 223 lbs against Peter and looked like he had completely gassed by the middle rounds. It was reminiscent of his performance against Povetkin, in that he just couldn’t seem to sustain his early offensive output, but it was enough to get past Peter. He’s going to have to work a lot harder, if he hopes to have any success against the elite of the division.
9. John Ruiz
Ruiz is a fighter who has hovered in and around the heavyweight top 10 for the better part of a decade. He managed to defend the WBA title three times, before losing (in what I thought was a minor robbery) a decision to #4, Nicolay Valuev. In 2008 he set himself up for another title shot by easily outpointing Jameel McCline (who in his last fight had knocked down three times the BPL’s number #8 heavyweight, Sam Peter). However, he came up short once again in a rematch against Valuev, dropping yet another razor thin decision in Germany.
10. Juan Carlos Gomez
Southpaw boxer. Gomez has been one of the most frustrating heavyweights to follow, but his natural talent is undeniable. Before moving up to heavyweight, he cleaned out the Cruiserweight division, winning 12 straight title fights. Since moving up, though, he has seemed to lack focus. His fights at heavyweight were at first few and far between — one in 2001, two in 2002 and one in 2003. He blamed most of the inactivity on problems with his promoter, Universum. He stepped up into the spotlight in 2003, on HBO’s Night of the Young Heavyweights, winning every round against undefeated heavyweight prospect, Sinan Samil Sam. But then of course in 2004, he suffered that bizarre 1st round TKO against fellow Cuban heavyweight prospect, Yanqui Diaz. It was bizarre on two counts: (1) Gomez had never been knocked down, either as an amateur or a pro, and had been in the ring with the likes of Felix Savon and (2) Yanqui Diaz is a complete unknown (and frankly, not very good). 2005 seemed to be a turnaround year for Gomez, as he scored early KO’s over George Arias (who just went 12 with contender Taras Bidenko) and David Defiagbon (who held WBC champ Oleg Maskaev to a split dec.) and easily outpointed come-backing former champ, Oliver McCall. But then the win over McCall was changed to an NC, when it was revealed that Gomez had tested positive for cocaine. A drug problem could certainly explain his lack of focus. He spent all of 2006 on the sidelines, disputing the cocaine test.
In 2007 and 2008 Gomez launched yet another comeback. After an acrimonious split with Universum, he picked up two minor WBA title belts with wins in early 2007 and then became the WBC “International Heavyweight” champion in late 2007, when he repeated his performance over former champ Oliver McCall, winning yet another decision. Gomez didn’t fight again until almost a year later when he finally got his chance at a WBC heavyweight title shot, fighting Vlad Virchis in a title-eliminator, the winner of which was promised a mandatory title fight against Vitali Klitschko. Gomez won the fight and in March 2009 took on Vitali Klitschko. Given the years of inactivity and inconsistency, Gomez came into the fight as a big underdog. While he made the first few rounds interesting, possibly taking one or two of the opening stanzas, he appeared old, overweight and slow. While a Klitschko-Gomez fight had seemed interesting 6 years ago, it was apparent that this version of Gomez was not going to be a serious threat to Vitali or any of the other top heavyweights. Gomez vowed to fight on and pursue the WBA title (held by Chagaev), but given his uninspired effort it seems unlikely that he will have much success.
11. Chris Arreola
Falling one notch to #13 is the undefeated Mexican-American heavyweight, Chris “Nightmare” Arreola. Arreola, 26, is a crowd-pleasing, aggressive fighter who throws a lot of punches and keeps the pressure on his opponents. Arreola made his HBO debut in June 2008, winning on a DQ in three rounds against undefeated prospect Chazz Witherspoon (Witherspoon was disqualified when his trainer climbed onto the ring apron during round 3 to help his fallen fighter). People have questioned Arreola’s focus, however. Although he started boxing at an early age, he gave up boxing multiple times before returning at age 20 to win the National Golden Gloves title as an amateur. He again quit boxing for years, before turning pro at age 23. He also has weight problems. He was criticized for coming into the ring out of shape and at least 10 lbs overweight against Thomas Hayes in 2007, and in September 2008 he looked terrible in his bout against journeyman Israel Garcia, fighting at a career high 259 lbs. In November 2008, he looked equally bad, coming in at a very sloppy looking 254 lbs against undefeated (but completely untested) prospect Travis Walker. In what must have caused concern among Arreola fans, he got dropped hard by Walker before coming back to win.
12. Sultan Ibragimov
Former WBO champion. Ibragimov had a solid, but not stellar, amateur career, winning Silver at the 2000 Olympics (lost to Felix Savon) and placing third at the 2001 World Championships (lost to current hot heavyweight prospect Odlanier Solis). An aggressive southpaw, Ibragimov displayed a ton of potential early in his pro career, going 19-0 and scoring some impressive stoppages, including a 7th round TKO over Lance Whitaker. He displayed good power, discipline and decent handspeed in that fight, scoring with combinations to the body and head that eventually wore down Goofi. Since then, however, his career has stalled somewhat. He struggled and drew with Ray Austin, and although he took the WBO title from Shannon Briggs, he didn’t look all that great doing it. Although he managed to survive to hear the final bell, he never pressed the action and was on the losing side of a completely lopsided decision against Wlad Klitschko. Ibragimov hasn’t fought in over a year, and because of that inactivity I have dropped him down to the bottom of this list. If he doesn’t fight again soon, I’ll have to drop him altogether.
13. Sam Peter
In the previous version of the Baker’s Dozen, I had listed Sam Peter at #8 and I wrote that it might not be long until he drops out altogether. Well, we’re almost to that point. Peter’s horrible effort against Vitali Klitschko combined with his close call against Jameel McCline had me questioning whether he even belonged in this list. I still have him here, but only barely and really only because of the lack of talent in today’s heavyweight division. After attending a couple of Peter’s early fights, I was skeptical about his prospects for a very long time. I thought he was just too clumsy and unskilled to ever make any headway at the top of the division, but he did improve. In his first loss (to Wlad Klitschko, my #1 heavyweight), he gave as spirited an effort as we have ever seen from any of Wlad’s opponents. On the other hand, Peter’s signature wins were back to back decisions over 39 year old former middleweight James Toney (and given that I thought Toney pretty clearly won the first fight AND Toney subsequently struggled to beat journeyman Danny Batchelder, you have to wonder how much Toney had left) and a sixth round TKO of 39 year old Oleg Maskaev. Seeing Peter hit the canvas three times against McCline brought to the surface all of my old doubts about him. In October 2008 he got demolished by Vitali Klitschko and in March 2009, he was easily outboxed by Eddie Chambers. So, he finds himself at the bottom of my list. It may not be long before he drops out altogether.
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