However, in its place we had some movement and consolidation as Fast Eddie Chambers followed up his huge win over Sam Peter with yet another big victory over a top 10 opponent (Alexander Dimitrenko) and Wlad took care of business against former BPL #3 heavyweight Ruslan Chagaev.

1. Wlad Klitschko

As I wrote last time, “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.” Wlad’s win over then #3 heavyweight Ruslan Chagaev cemented his status as the #1 heavyweight in the world. 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 an 11 fight win streak (with 8 TKO’s), stopping long-time IBF champ Chris Byrd, winning a UD over #8 heavyweight Sam Peter and stopping #3 heavyweight Ruslan Chagaev in 9 rounds. 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 agreed to fight David Haye in June of 2009, but (citing a back injury and amid speculation that the promoter responsible for paying Haye to fight couldn’t meet its obligations) Haye postponed the fight. Now one has to wonder whether the fight will ever happen. However, in Haye’s place stepped former #3 BPL heavyweight, Ruslan Chagaev. Wlad dominated the fight, winning all but one or two rounds, and Chagaev failed to answer the bell for the 10th round.

2. Vitali Klitschko

On October 11, 2008, Vitali Klitschko 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 has indicated that he would like to pursue a fight with the giant Nicolay Valuev, and has also discussed taking on David Haye.

3. 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). Unfortunately, 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. In April, Povetkin fought 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. However, Povetkin was too much for him and easily won a decision, moving Povetkin up in the BPL rankings.

4. Eddie Chambers

With back to back wins against top ranked heavyweights Dimitrenko and Peter, Chambers moves all the way up to #4, taking the stop vacated by Chagaev. 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. However, in July 2009, Chambers traveled to Germany to take on former #7 BPL heavyweight Alexander Dimitrenko, and really worked hard to get himself in top shape. He came in at 208, the second lightest weight of his career and the lightest he has been in six years. The hard work paid off, as Chambers never took his foot off the gas and beat the Ukranian Dimitrenko to the punch time and time again. Knocking down Dimitrenko late, it appeared that Chambers might even score the improbable KO. Dimitrenko survived to hear the final bell, though, and Chambers would have to be satisfied with a well-deserved, hard earned decision.

5. Ruslan Chagaev

Current WBA champion (his title wasn’t on the line against Wlad, for stupid sanctioning body political reasons). 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. In June 2009, Chagaev stepped in against Wlad Klitschko in place of the injured David Haye and failed to come out of the corner after the 9th round.

6. 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 was tentatively scheduled for June 2009, but cancelled a few weeks before the fight was to happen, with Haye citing a back injury. At this point the fight has not been rescheduled and so the future for Haye is uncertain. Haye drops two spots in the BPL Baker’s dozen as a result of his inactivity.

7. 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 #9 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. Valuev was supposed to have a rematch against Chagaev in June 2009, but the fight was cancelled by Finnish medical authorities (concerned about Hepatitis antibodies detected in Chagaev’s blood) the day before the scheduled bout. Valuev has not fought since his bout with Holyfield in 2008.

8. Chris Arreola

With all the losses by fighters ahead of him, and with probably the biggest win of his career in April over Jameel McCline, Chris Arreola moves up to #7, replacing Alexander Dimitrenko. Arreola is an undefeated Mexican-American heavyweight with 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. In April he had the best win of his career, blowing out Jameel McCline in 4 one-sided rounds.

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 then #4, Nicolay Valuev. In 2008 he set himself up for another title shot by easily outpointing Jameel McCline. However, he came up short once again in a rematch against Valuev, dropping yet another razor thin decision in Germany. He hasn’t fought since then (August 2008), however, and it’s not clear what plans if any he has to continue fighting.

10. Denis Boytsov

Making his debut in the BPL Heavyweight Baker’s Dozen is hot Russian prospect, Denis Boytsov. Boytsov isn’t a particularly big heavyweight, but he isn’t tiny either. He’s built much like Ruslan Chagaev and Alexander Povetkin and has a similar style. He’s a quick, aggressive puncher who throws crisp hooks and right hands to the body and head. He was the Junior Amateur World Champion in the Super-Heavyweight division, before turning pro at age 18 in 2004. Since then he has compiled a record of 25-0 with 20 KOs. His last win was his most impressive, when he stopped tough, experienced fringe contender (and WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title holder) Taras Bidenko in 6 rounds.

11. 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 appeared to be paying dividends. In the last couple years, he began to step up against slightly better competition and turned in some of the best performances of his career. 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. His win streak came to an end, however, when he faced an ultra-motivated, in shape Eddie Chambers. Chambers, giving up almost 7 inches in height, simply appeared too quick and skilled for Dimitrenko, beating him to the punch throughout their fight. I don’t think it was a career ending loss for Dimitrenko, but there is no question it was a major setback.

12. 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. He has been inactive for much of the last few years, which made people question his commitment to the sport. In 2003 things seemed to be looking up when he dominated undefeated heavyweight prospect, Sinan Samil Sam, but then in his very next fight he suffered a 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 another turnaround year for Gomez, culminating in a win over come-backing former champ, Oliver McCall, but the win over McCall was changed to an NC , when it was revealed that Gomez had tested positive for cocaine. After spending years disputing the test, Gomez launched another comeback in 2007, winning yet another fight against Oliver McCall. In 2008 he finally got a WBC title shot by beating Vlad Virchis in a title eliminator and in March 2009 he 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, but given his uninspired effort it seems unlikely that he will have much success.

13. Kevin Johnson

Making his debut in the BPL Heavyweight Baker’s Dozen at #13 is Kevin Johnson. Reminding me and some others a bit of Larry Donald, Johnson is a tall, rangy orthodox boxer, who moves well and has a good, fast, long, hard jab. He has been moved very slowly and carefully during the course of his six year career, probably because of his almost complete lack of an amateur background. Undefeated at 22-0, with 9 KOs, he hasn’t shown any urgency to step up the level of his competition until last year. Johnson turned pro in 2003 after a very short (16 fights) amateur career in which he won a regional Golden Gloves title in New Jersey. In 2008, he began to add some recognizable names to his resume, when he stopped former WBA heavyweight title holder Bruce Seldon in 5 rounds and outpointed journeyman and fringe contender Terry Smith. In May 2009 he had his biggest win when he stopped in six rounds undefeated American prospect (and member of the 2004 US Olympic team) Devin Vargas. He faces the biggest test of his career in August 2009 when he faces three time amateur world champion and Olympic gold medalist, Odlanier Solis.

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