Vitali Klitschko is all but retired – where does “Dr. Iron Fist” rank amongst the all-time heavyweight greats?

vitali4 (2) As fans know, Vitali Klitschko recently vacated his WBC heavyweight title and declared how he “cannot imagine” a ring return “as things stand now.” So, it seems there is a good chance that at age 42, the elder Klitschko brother has fought his last fight in the ring and can now retire from boxing, his contributions to the sport in the history books.

And Vitali achieved a lot in his 17-year pro career (that included a near four-year inactive period from 2004 to 2008), including winning both the WBO and the WBC crowns. As tough as nails and in possession of one of heavyweight boxing’s most reliable chins, Vitali punched his way to a fine 45-2(41) ledger. The two losses came about due to injury, and what’s more, Vitali was winning both bouts on the scorecards before a shoulder injury forced his retirement against Chris Byrd and before a savagely cut eye forced his retirement against Lennox Lewis.

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Adrien Broner – What to Expect Next?

broner5533344 It’s no secret, many fans had their Christmas Wish come early when Adrien “Problem” Broner got his clock cleaned by Marcus Maidana in San Antonio, TX. Maidana fans licked their chops. They saw the cocky little clone of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. getting his comeuppance by finally facing a big puncher.

Pre-fight Broner laughed about Maidana being a threat. He wasn’t worried. In fact, he was extremely confident, or overly confident, some thought. He joked about not spouting as much trash talk as usual. He explained, the other guy doesn’t understand English, so what’s the point?

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Richardson thinks Khan doesn’t have to beat Mayweather to come out ahead

khan5 khan5 Trainer Naazim Richardson isn’t giving Amir Khan much of any chance of beating Floyd Mayweather Jr. if he’s the one that ends up fighting Mayweather in his next fight on May 3rd in Las Vegas. To Richardson, he feels that Khan will come out ahead just by giving Mayweather problems in the fight.

“His [Khan] reputation is so bad,” Richardson said to Hustleboss. “He doesn’t have to win. He just has to do well so people will say he’s back on track. I don’t think he can beat Floyd. He has to reassert himself as a player in the game.”

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Golovkin vs. Kirkland possible for April on HBO

kirkland644 An interesting match-up between WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (28-0, 25 KO’s) and the junior middleweight slugger James Kirkland (32-1, 28 KO’s) is being talked about for next April on HBO, says HBO President of Sports Ken Hershman via ESPN. Golovkin has a stay busy fight against fringe contender Osumanu Adama (22-3, 16 KO’s) on February 1st in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

After that mismatch out of the way, Golovkin plans on getting back in the ring quickly within just 2 months to fight on HBO in April.

Kirkland, 29, kind of revived his career with his 6th round TKO win over previously unbeaten Top Rank fighter Glen Tapia earlier this month in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

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Marquez says no to Pacquiao fight

marquez56 Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is going to need to look in another direction for his fighter Manny Pacquiao for his April 12th fight in Las Vegas, because Juan Manuel Marquez has his mind made up about not wanting to fight Pacquiao again.

There was some that believed that Marquez would eventually change his mind about fighting Pacquiao a fifth time if Arum waived enough money under Marquez’s nose, but it doesn’t look like Marquez wants the fight judging by his comments.

Everyone has price though, and I’m sure that Arum could persuade Marquez to take the fight if he gave him a 50-50 deal. Would Arum do that to get Marquez to agree to another fight with Pacquiao?

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Tyson Fury asks Wladimir Klitschko for a fight

fury14 fury14 British heavyweight Tyson Fury (21-0, 15 KO’s) hasn’t had much luck in getting a heavyweight title shot against the Klitschko brothers. Fury is asking Wladimir to give him a heavyweight title shot straightaway without him having to fight for the shot in an eliminator.

Fury just flat out wants the title shot without having to fight his way into position. Will Wladimir does this for Fury? I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were Fury waiting for that to happen.

“If Wladimir Klitschko offered me a fight I’d go there and I’d smash his jaw all over the ring for him and he knows that,” Fury said to On the Ropes Boxing Radio. “Emanuel Steward told him that he would get knocked out by me. He knows he’s gonna get knocked out by me, his brothers retired because he didn’t want to fight me and now he’s trying to avoid me. I’ve been chasing him for two years and he wont fight me.”

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Gutsy Stuey Hall joins Froch, Quigg and Burns as British world champions with thrilling year-end classic Vs. Malinga

You could argue Great Britain saved the best for last in terms of terrific action fights staged in 2013. Last night in Leeds, 33-year-old Darlington man Stuey Hall battled his way to the IBF bantamweight title in an incredibly exciting and at times brutal encounter with South African southpaw Vusi Malinga.

Hall, an unlikely world title challenger, fought through the pain and hindrance of a badly busted up left eye to out-point 34-year-old Malinga in a fight that could be argued as the best to have taken place in the UK this year. After decking his man in the 3rd, Hall had to dig deep to see it through to the end. The two warriors went toe-to-toe and inflicted as much hurt as they could on each other. The heart and courage shown by both was truly remarkable.

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Why Floyd Won’t Fight Maidana?

maidana788931 The swarmer has always been the natural nemesis of the pure boxer. The pure boxer is unable to keep him off due to his lack of punching power and the pressure fighter is able to do what he does best: SWARM. I feel this is the reason why Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana would be an epic battle of huge proportions.

Maidana is coming off a huge winning streak and he really showed a lot of mental toughness and skill by handing Floyd’s Lil Brother Adrien Broner his first loss. This has huge potential as being a big fight. The older brother steps in after the big school yard bully beats up the younger brother. Can the bully beat up the older brother? Lets take a look at history to see what might happen in this fight.

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Mayweather Sr: Maidana’s too easy to hit for Floyd Jr.

maidana45111 With the news of Floyd Mayweather Jr. adding WBA welterweight champion Marcos Maidana to the potential list of fighters he’ll be choosing from for his next fight on May 3rd, Floyd Mayweather Sr., the trainer and father of Floyd Jr., thinks Maidana is too slow and hittable for his son. Floyd Sr. saw Maidana’s win over Adrien Broner last Saturday night, and he feels the only reason Maidana won the fight was because Broner did everything wrong that you could think of.

Floyd Sr. was great disappointed in what he saw of Broner, and he thinks the only way he’ll be able to turn around his career is if he personally takes over the training for him. Since that’s probably not going to happen, Mayweather Sr. seems Broner as not being a factor. As far as Maidana being a potential opponent for Floyd Jr., Mayweather Sr. doesn’t see him as being good enough go give his son a good fight.

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Arum: Broner’s not who people thought he was

broner660 Bob Arum of Top Rank thinks Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KO’s) isn’t the guy that many people in the boxing world thought he was before his recent loss to Marcos Maidana. Arum wasn’t surprised in the least by Broner’s loss because he had noted then kinds of opposition that he’d been fighting up until the Maidana fight, and he felt that he hadn’t shown that he was anywhere near being a great fighter. Arum saw a lot of other fighters who he felt were better than Broner.

“I think we wasn’t what they portrayed him to be,” Arum said to Hustleboss. “He has to fight like a guy who is a normal fighter. He’s not a great fighter. He’s a good fighter. There are many fighters who are much better than he is.”

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