By James Slater – 38-year-old Lance “Mount” Whitaker, all 6’8” and approx 250-pounds of him, got himself a win last night in Hollywood, California that made it clear he is not done yet. The now 35-6-1(28) big man got himself a most useful points win over 24-year-old Russian hope Andrey Fedosov, getting up from a knockdown to win the entertaining 12-round split decision.
In doing so – and at least temporarily derailing the Russian who was coming off an eye-catching KO win over Lionel Butler in the process – Whitaker set himself up for a few future paydays..
Back in early 2008, when the well-conditioned giant was making his comeback after being stopped (for only the second time as a pro) by Sultan Ibragimov, Whitaker had mixed success. Losing on points to Jason Estrada in April of 2008, “Mount” then won two in a row – before losing a close decision to the soon-to-return Oliver McCall.
This loss, as close as could be, knocked Whitaker back, but last night’s win proved he is still as good a shot as most any other U.S heavyweight when it comes to giving the Klitschkos a fierce argument.
Let’s face it, Whitaker has the size, the strength and the hunger needed to be able to get in there with either Wladimir or Vitali and make them work hard – perhaps even upset them. Sure, Whitaker would be a big underdog against either champion; but would he do a worse job than either Kevin Johnson or Eddie Chambers did?
There is a lot to like about Whitaker. He will fight anyone, he will always enter the ring in top shape as he does so, and he will fight as hard and as effectively as he can when in the ring. I’m not saying Lance is the answer to America’s question of who their next heavyweight champion will be; but he is, at the very least, a temporary solution – in that he will push, both himself and any of the three current rulers, all the way.
Who knows what last night’s win over Fedosov will do for Whitaker – very possibly not too much at all – but who else is there from America that you would rather see in a big heavyweight title fight instead?
Tony Thompson is injured, Kevin Johnson and Eddie Chambers have both disappeared, and Chris Arreola has yet to fight again after his loss to Tomasz Adamek. In terms of formidable U.S heavyweights, that leaves just McCall and Whitaker (unless you can think of anyone else besides a shot Evander Holyfield). Both guys would almost certainly relish the idea of a title shot; but who would have the better shot at making the most of it?
Let’s keep an eye on what Whitaker does next, shall we?