Wladimir aims to become undisputed heavyweight king
As fight fans have almost certainly read by now, Vitali Klitschko has vacated the WBC heavyweight title due to his political ambitions and has been declared The Champion Emeritus by the governing body. This news excited fans who crave a competitive heavyweight title fight, as they can now look forward to seeing two young studs battling for the vacated green belt.
There has already been talk of how Bermane Stiverne, the WBC number-one contender, could face either unbeaten banger Deontay Wilder for the vacant belt, or maybe Stiverne could face the experienced Chris Arreola for Vitali’s old crown. However, those fans who feel the WBC belt will be the property of one of these guys for long had better think again – because Wladimir, Vitali’s baby brother, has announced it is his intention to add his sibling’s old belt to his Ring Magazine, IBF, WBO, IBO and WBA crowns.
It is my provocative to produce a debate on the current status for each division within boxing. In some divisions it is quite clear who is number one but who takes the best punch and who gives it? 
If the road to the top in any sport is beset with challenges and hard physical graft, then boxing must rank amongst the toughest. But despite the obstacles to greatness, boxing continues to make people rich and famous, just as surely as it leaves most fighters with questionable futures. In general terms, boxing is the oldest and most maligned sport in the world today, but that doesn’t stop the support, and it certainly doesn’t stop the money. Most eyes used to be on the Heavyweights – the blue ribbon event – but a continued dominance since the Klitschko brothers gained the titles in…erm… 1694, has brought attention to the other weights, culminating in the Mayweather deal; which still beggars belief in most third world countries and gives promoters across the USA cold sweats on dark nights. Floyd is a boxing freak though, a supreme talent, and a fighter like him only comes along once every 25 years. We owe it to ourselves to make the best of the time he’s giving us in the ring. But, like the saying goes “Make hay while the sun shines” and that sun is dipping low on Floyd no matter how hard we want to tell ourselves it’s not true. 
All of you know that in the past I have always praised both Wladimir Klitschko, and Bernard Hopkins for their work ethic, fighting skills, and accomplishments. In the past they were somewhat deserving of said praise even if it was interspersed with shades of holding, rabbit punching, pushing on the head, and just generally speaking dirty fighting. Hopkins had always employed this as part of his style, while Klitschko only began doing so post-Sanders knockout while working with Emanuel Steward.
Wladimir Klitschko (61-3, 51 KOs) has been widely criticized in these latter stages of his career for cherry picking his opponents. Going into his fight with Alexander Povetkin many people thought it would be a good match up, but as I feared, even though Povetkin was tougher than most, he completely failed to give Klitschko a good fight. A fighter’s challenge to a title is validated by who they have fought. This is what makes a man deserve a shot to take down Klitschko. 
Before facing Alexander Povetkin, it was quite a while since Wladimir Klitschko was placed against a formidable opponent with the promise of an exciting match. Most of Wladimir’s opponents were written off by the boxing community before the first bell ever rang, similar to how Mike Tyson used to tune the boxing public to believe that the fight was never going to be competitive.
The heavyweight boxing division is drowning. There is a clear lack of formidable competition for either of the Klitschko brothers, and as time goes on, the remaining tiny pool of fighters is becoming dangerously dry.
Jesus Q. (Brooklyn, NYC): Last Saturday night was a great night of action for Puerto Rico in the world of Boxing. How did you rate the performances of Miguel Cotto and Felix Verdejo?