02-19-2016, 01:37 PM
Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and the Heavyweight Divisional Mayhem
date February 18th, 2016 | Post FB Comment - 29 Comments
By Nedu Obi: With Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder at the helm—the heavyweight division is in utter disarray; pure mayhem—you gotta Love it though. Not since the times of Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis et al., has the class of concussive-hitters been the talk of the town.
For years now, save for the cruiserweight and light heavyweight divisions, every other division below has held sway over the art termed the Sweet Science, whilst the once eminent heavyweight division more or less, languished in obscurity; riding shotgun . Then out of the blue, I mean, this is really some out of the blue business we’re talking about here, they’re back with a vengeance—ready to set their mark and enforce it.
The story of the 200-plus-pounders so far:
Against all odds, Fury, the self-proclaimed “Gypsy King” upset the apple-cart of perennial titlist Wladimir Klitschko, no less in his adopted own backyard of Germany. With that titanic victory, the 27-year-old captured the Lineal, WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring magazine titles. However, soon after, he was stripped of the IBF belt for refusing to take on mandatory challenger *Vyacheslav Glazkov; and instead agreed to fight Klitschko, who by the way, exercised his rematch clause.
Nonetheless, that eagerly awaited rematch is somewhat in the air, as theoretically speaking, no pen has been put to paper, and there’s been no mention of either a date or venue.
Still, there’s a bright side—a very bright side if you’re up to speed with the furore of the heavyweight division. Well if not, here goes: Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) recently took to twitter suggesting there might be someone else on his radar if the Klitschko fight falls through:
“Some massive news coming soon, had to come to London for an urgent meeting about a massive fight,TBA very soon, u will not believe who!!!!!!”
Who? We’re not yet privy too, but I have an inkling. That inkling will manifest itself before this articles end. That being said, hopefully an announcement will be forthcoming soon.
Reigning WBC heavyweight titleholder, Deontay Leshun Wilder (36-0, 35 KOs) has been a busy bee since relieving Haitian Canadian, Bermane Stiverne of said belt; with three successful defenses already in the bag, a match-up with former WBA heavyweight (Regular) titlist *Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22KOs) is in the pipeline, and seems the best route for the Alabamian to take. If that fight comes to fruition, and he manages to pull it off in dominating fashion, it will go some way towards silencing the bevy of boxing critics (fans and media alike) who have thus far doubted his fistic credentials. And who knows, maybe a not-too-distant scrap with Fury might be in the offing for “The Bronze Bomber.”
With Fury being stripped of the IBF belt an opening emerged; step forward Charles “Prince” Martin (23-0-1, 21 KOs) and 31-year-old Ukrainian, Glazkov (21-1-1, 13 KOs). An expected competitive tussle for the vacant strap turned out to be anything but, as “The Czar” suffered a knee blew-out, thus gifting Martin the belt.
Still, one month removed from claiming a portion of heavyweight gold, the 29-year-old southpaw from St. Louis, Missouri, is scheduled to make his first defense on April 9th against former Olympic gold medallist and British rising prospect, Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua.
Undefeated Joshua (15-0, 15 KOs) has been making waves in the now resurgent division, so much so, that everyone wants a piece of the Joshua pie, obviously with the sole intention of derailing his surge to the top. For now, Martin has dibs on that, however, we’ll soon find out whether AJ, 26, is on the cusp of heavyweight standout or hyped flame out.
Another southpaw on this list, and still in the mix, is 37-year-old former WBA heavyweight champ, and current WBA (Regular) titlist Ruslan Chagaev (34-2-1, 21 KOs). On March 5th, he makes the second defense of his title, and the Uzbekistani fighter will be hell-bent on making an emphatic statement when he throws leather with former mixed martial artist and heavy-handed Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne. Nevertheless, Browne (23-0, 20 KOs) is on course to make history as Australia’s first world heavyweight champion if he can swipe the belt from Chagaev’s grasp—so there’s everything to play for.
Luis Ortiz (24-0-2 NCs, 21 KOs) has been trumpeted as the division’ most dangerous pugilist, and with good reason—the Cuban possesses devastating power, hence the moniker “The Real King Kong.” And as such, by that agency, he’s been sidestepped at every given opportunity. But come March 5, he’ll put his WBA interim heavyweight title on the line against a willing and wily old fox in the guise of *Tony Thompson (40-6, 27 KOs). If Ortiz does a number on Thompson, the likelihood is, the southpaw could once again find himself on the outside looking in, only this time, from further afield. But hey, we don’t want that; what we do want, is Ortiz in that inner circle, you know, that coterie of heralded prizefighters who pride themselves on being the best. We’ll wait and see; I guess with bated breath.
At 24, and the youngest on this list, not to mention, the one I’ve personally given my seal of approval for heavyweight glory, is none other than New Zealander Joseph Parker; heir apparent to one-time heavyweight title contender David Tua. Needless to say, I have copious amounts of faith in Parker (18-0, 16 KOs), and where his predecessor failed, he’ll excel; expect a title, and/or titles to be wrapped around his waist sometime in 2017.
Yeah, that inkling from earlier on, well here it is: David “The Hayemaker” Haye. As if you didn’t know. Just when the so-called crème de la crème of heavyweights thought they had the division on lock-down, out pops Haye to throw a spanner in the works—with a couple of wrenches and screwdrivers for good measure. The 35-year-old Londoner wants another shot at heavyweight gold, and why not? It’s open seasoning; world titles have been fragmented, current champs don’t instill confidence, and too boot, Haye (27-2, 25 KOs) could go toe-to-toe with any of the current crop of top-ten heavies and come out triumphant. If Fury’s massive news is in fact Haye; the traveler could be in for a bumpy ride, as well as a rude awakening.
*Those that could still make some noise i.e., have potential, author an upset, and/or become unlikely champions:
Kubrat Pulev (22-1, 12 KOs)
Alexander Ustinov (33-1, 24 KOs)
Bermane Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs)
Dominic Breazeale (17-0, 15 KOs)
Bryant Jennings (19-2, 10 KOs)
Erkan Teper (15-0, 10 KOs)
Jarrell Miller (16-0-1, 14 KOs)
Hughie Fury (18-0, 10 KOs)
Carlos Takam (33-2-1, 23 KOs)??
Those on their way out i.e., domestic level, cannon-fodder, and gatekeeper status:
Odlanier Solis (20-3, 13 KOs)
Christian Hammer (18-4, 10 KOs)
Tomasz Adamek (50-4, 30 KOs)
Malik Scott (38-2-1, 13 KOs)
Mike Perez (21-2-1, 13 KOs)
Éric Molina (24-3, 18 KOs)
Dereck Chisora (25-5, 17 KOs)
David Price (19-3, 16 KOs)
date February 18th, 2016 | Post FB Comment - 29 Comments
By Nedu Obi: With Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder at the helm—the heavyweight division is in utter disarray; pure mayhem—you gotta Love it though. Not since the times of Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis et al., has the class of concussive-hitters been the talk of the town.
For years now, save for the cruiserweight and light heavyweight divisions, every other division below has held sway over the art termed the Sweet Science, whilst the once eminent heavyweight division more or less, languished in obscurity; riding shotgun . Then out of the blue, I mean, this is really some out of the blue business we’re talking about here, they’re back with a vengeance—ready to set their mark and enforce it.
The story of the 200-plus-pounders so far:
Against all odds, Fury, the self-proclaimed “Gypsy King” upset the apple-cart of perennial titlist Wladimir Klitschko, no less in his adopted own backyard of Germany. With that titanic victory, the 27-year-old captured the Lineal, WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring magazine titles. However, soon after, he was stripped of the IBF belt for refusing to take on mandatory challenger *Vyacheslav Glazkov; and instead agreed to fight Klitschko, who by the way, exercised his rematch clause.
Nonetheless, that eagerly awaited rematch is somewhat in the air, as theoretically speaking, no pen has been put to paper, and there’s been no mention of either a date or venue.
Still, there’s a bright side—a very bright side if you’re up to speed with the furore of the heavyweight division. Well if not, here goes: Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) recently took to twitter suggesting there might be someone else on his radar if the Klitschko fight falls through:
“Some massive news coming soon, had to come to London for an urgent meeting about a massive fight,TBA very soon, u will not believe who!!!!!!”
Who? We’re not yet privy too, but I have an inkling. That inkling will manifest itself before this articles end. That being said, hopefully an announcement will be forthcoming soon.
Reigning WBC heavyweight titleholder, Deontay Leshun Wilder (36-0, 35 KOs) has been a busy bee since relieving Haitian Canadian, Bermane Stiverne of said belt; with three successful defenses already in the bag, a match-up with former WBA heavyweight (Regular) titlist *Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22KOs) is in the pipeline, and seems the best route for the Alabamian to take. If that fight comes to fruition, and he manages to pull it off in dominating fashion, it will go some way towards silencing the bevy of boxing critics (fans and media alike) who have thus far doubted his fistic credentials. And who knows, maybe a not-too-distant scrap with Fury might be in the offing for “The Bronze Bomber.”
With Fury being stripped of the IBF belt an opening emerged; step forward Charles “Prince” Martin (23-0-1, 21 KOs) and 31-year-old Ukrainian, Glazkov (21-1-1, 13 KOs). An expected competitive tussle for the vacant strap turned out to be anything but, as “The Czar” suffered a knee blew-out, thus gifting Martin the belt.
Still, one month removed from claiming a portion of heavyweight gold, the 29-year-old southpaw from St. Louis, Missouri, is scheduled to make his first defense on April 9th against former Olympic gold medallist and British rising prospect, Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua.
Undefeated Joshua (15-0, 15 KOs) has been making waves in the now resurgent division, so much so, that everyone wants a piece of the Joshua pie, obviously with the sole intention of derailing his surge to the top. For now, Martin has dibs on that, however, we’ll soon find out whether AJ, 26, is on the cusp of heavyweight standout or hyped flame out.
Another southpaw on this list, and still in the mix, is 37-year-old former WBA heavyweight champ, and current WBA (Regular) titlist Ruslan Chagaev (34-2-1, 21 KOs). On March 5th, he makes the second defense of his title, and the Uzbekistani fighter will be hell-bent on making an emphatic statement when he throws leather with former mixed martial artist and heavy-handed Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne. Nevertheless, Browne (23-0, 20 KOs) is on course to make history as Australia’s first world heavyweight champion if he can swipe the belt from Chagaev’s grasp—so there’s everything to play for.
Luis Ortiz (24-0-2 NCs, 21 KOs) has been trumpeted as the division’ most dangerous pugilist, and with good reason—the Cuban possesses devastating power, hence the moniker “The Real King Kong.” And as such, by that agency, he’s been sidestepped at every given opportunity. But come March 5, he’ll put his WBA interim heavyweight title on the line against a willing and wily old fox in the guise of *Tony Thompson (40-6, 27 KOs). If Ortiz does a number on Thompson, the likelihood is, the southpaw could once again find himself on the outside looking in, only this time, from further afield. But hey, we don’t want that; what we do want, is Ortiz in that inner circle, you know, that coterie of heralded prizefighters who pride themselves on being the best. We’ll wait and see; I guess with bated breath.
At 24, and the youngest on this list, not to mention, the one I’ve personally given my seal of approval for heavyweight glory, is none other than New Zealander Joseph Parker; heir apparent to one-time heavyweight title contender David Tua. Needless to say, I have copious amounts of faith in Parker (18-0, 16 KOs), and where his predecessor failed, he’ll excel; expect a title, and/or titles to be wrapped around his waist sometime in 2017.
Yeah, that inkling from earlier on, well here it is: David “The Hayemaker” Haye. As if you didn’t know. Just when the so-called crème de la crème of heavyweights thought they had the division on lock-down, out pops Haye to throw a spanner in the works—with a couple of wrenches and screwdrivers for good measure. The 35-year-old Londoner wants another shot at heavyweight gold, and why not? It’s open seasoning; world titles have been fragmented, current champs don’t instill confidence, and too boot, Haye (27-2, 25 KOs) could go toe-to-toe with any of the current crop of top-ten heavies and come out triumphant. If Fury’s massive news is in fact Haye; the traveler could be in for a bumpy ride, as well as a rude awakening.
*Those that could still make some noise i.e., have potential, author an upset, and/or become unlikely champions:
Kubrat Pulev (22-1, 12 KOs)
Alexander Ustinov (33-1, 24 KOs)
Bermane Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs)
Dominic Breazeale (17-0, 15 KOs)
Bryant Jennings (19-2, 10 KOs)
Erkan Teper (15-0, 10 KOs)
Jarrell Miller (16-0-1, 14 KOs)
Hughie Fury (18-0, 10 KOs)
Carlos Takam (33-2-1, 23 KOs)??
Those on their way out i.e., domestic level, cannon-fodder, and gatekeeper status:
Odlanier Solis (20-3, 13 KOs)
Christian Hammer (18-4, 10 KOs)
Tomasz Adamek (50-4, 30 KOs)
Malik Scott (38-2-1, 13 KOs)
Mike Perez (21-2-1, 13 KOs)
Éric Molina (24-3, 18 KOs)
Dereck Chisora (25-5, 17 KOs)
David Price (19-3, 16 KOs)