By Doveed Linder – With David Haye pulling out of the fight with Wladamir Klitschko due to a back injury, Ruslan Chagaev makes for an ideal replacement. It’s a perfect fit, since Chagaev’s fight with Nicolay Valuev was cancelled just a couple of weeks ago. Plus, Klitschko/Chagaev seems to be a much more appropriate fight than Klitschko/Haye would have been.
Ruslan Chagaev has been a top heavyweight for a few years and most people in the boxing world have him ranked at either 3 or 4. He beat John Ruiz and he’s the only fighter who has an official win over Nicolay Valuev. He’s a good, undefeated fighter, but just how good remains to be seen. But of all the top heavyweights, he is perhaps the most deserving of a shot at Wladamir Klitschko.
Like Chagaev, David Haye is also a good fighter who has not yet had the opportunity to demonstrate his full potential. He has one loss on his record which came via 5th round TKO against Carl Thompson.. But this was very early in his career and since that time he has remained undefeated and has scored stoppages over Jean Marc Mormeck, Enzo Maccarinelli, and Monte Barrett. He has shown that he can compete at an elite level and it is likely that he is still improving as a fighter. But the TKO over Barrett was his only test at heavyweight and that victory alone doesn’t prove that he is one of the division’s best.
Wladamir Klitschko, the IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion, still has a few questions about him that have yet to be answered. When he was TKO’d by Corrie Sanders in 2003, many believed that he had a weak chin and that he doesn’t have what it takes to be a dominant force in the heavyweight division. And when he was stopped by Lamon Brewster the following year, this belief was reinforced. But since then, Wladamir has built himself back up and earned a lot of respect. In his fight with Samuel Peter in 2005, he tasted the canvas three times, but managed to hang in there and win a decision, demonstrating an ability to stand up to adversity, which he wasn’t able to do before. Wladamir has remained undefeated since the fight with Brewster and has put himself at the top of the heavyweight division, along with his brother Vitali.
While some accept Wladamir as a legitimate heavyweight champion, others aren’t convinced. His doubters still remember his devastating losses to Sanders and Brewster and even to Ross Purity, a fight that he lost via 11th round TKO very early in his career because he ran out of gas. And the fact that he was decked by Samuel Peter raises some doubt, considering Peter’s recent performances suggest that he isn’t all that he was hyped up to be.. Wladamir’s opponents over the last few years haven’t posed a significant threat to him and his unwillingness to step it up against Sultan Ibragimov suggests that he may be a bit gun shy. Those who don’t have faith in Wladamir believe that he has found his success because of his size and athleticism, but if he ever faced a legitimate opponent he would be exposed once again.
Ruslan Chagaev represents Wladamir’s toughest test since Samuel Peter. He’s not a big heavyweight and to call him a “white Mike Tyson” may be a bit of an overstatement. But he is a solid opponent who poses more of threat to Wladamir than Calvin Brock, Ray Austin, Hasim Rahman, and some of the other fighters Klitschko has faced in recent years. Wladamir would have to be considered the favorite to win, but it’s an intriguing match-up. This fight will let the boxing world know just how good Chagaev really is and it should force Wladamir to step his game up.
Outside of Wladamir Klitschko and Ruslan Chagaev, the other top heavyweights include Vitali Klitschko (WBC champion), Nicolay Valuev (WBA champion), Alexander Povetkin, Chris Arreola, Eddie Chambers, and David Haye. A fight between Vitali Klitschko and Nicolay Valuev would be the other most meaningful fight that could be made among the heavyweights. Vitali is at the top just like his brother and Valuev is considered by many to be the 3rd or 4th best in the division.
Chris Arreola and David Haye are the two most exciting and promising contenders right now. They are also inexperienced against the top fighters in the division. Since both of these guys have ambitions of fighting for a title, a fight between them would make a lot of sense. It would give them the experience they need to fight at an elite level and the winner would be in more of a deserving position to challenge the Klitschko brothers.
Alexander Povetkin is currently waiting to face Wladamir Klitschko later this year, assuming he gets past Chagaev. This leaves Eddie Chambers, who is still in the mix and wants to prove that he is one of the division’s best. If Chambers faced and defeated John Ruiz or one of the division’s other gatekeepers, he could make an even stronger case for himself as a legitimate heavyweight.
Wladamir Klitschko and David Haye would have been an exciting match-up. Haye is the first guy to come along who really seemed to want to take the fight to Wladamir and the promotion had a lot of energy. But Haye basically earned this title shot by publicly dogging Wladamir and repeatedly calling him out. He didn’t work his way up the heavyweight ranks. Haye is a hungry fighter with a lot of potential and this back injury he suffered might just be a blessing in disguise. Wladamir Klitschko would have been a huge step up in competition for him and it might be best if he takes his time, gets some experience, and sees if he even belongs in the heavyweight division.
The heavyweight division has suffered a great deal in recent years. Until the Klitschko brothers took control, it had been without a dominant champion since Lennox Lewis. The division has been so desperate for action that it seems whenever an up-and-comer shows some promise such as a David Haye or a Chris Arreola, the popular opinion is to put them in a major fight before they even have a chance to develop or prove themselves. If any kind of order is to be restored among the heavyweights, the division needs meaningful fights where the contenders earn their title shot and get the experience they need to compete at an elite level. This upcoming fight with Klitschko/Chagaev is a good start and hopefully more match-ups like this will follow.