25.03.06 – By Bryce Wren: That’s right. I’m giving the big boys a rare break for a change, because there is a lot of activity currently going on with the major players in the division, and even if the talent pool is a little shallow, there’s nothing like a round robin to livin’ up any weight class.
Personally, I liked Rahman vs Toney. I thought it was a very close fight, with Rahman probably winning by a point, maybe it was a draw, but I thought it was a good action fight.
Next we have WBO champion Lamon Brewster putting up his strap against Sergei Liakhovich. Brewster by some accounts has the best recent record of all the current belt holders. He’s KO’d Wladimir Klitschko, Andrew Golota, and Luan Krasniqi and out worked Kali Meehan on a rare off night. Brewster has re-invented his career and has a solid relationship with his trainer and father figure Jesse Reid. Brewster has enough dynamite in both hands to knock out any heavyweight at any given time if the punch lands solid on the button. What he needs now is some more consistency. Most likely he will get by Liakhovich -although he may be behind on the score cards at the time he scores a stoppage- but Lamon will make it to the next round.
The next heavyweight title belt defense will be the long overdue return of Chris “Rapid Fire” Byrd. His opponent will be Wladimir Klitschko, in a rematch of the October 14th, 2000 match up between these two talented boxers. In their first meeting, all advantages went to Klitschko, the home court advantage, Chris Byrd complained of several irregularities that effected his performance -including, but not exclusive to ointment causing massive swelling in Chris’s eyes as early as the second round. Incredibly it appears as though Byrd, even though he is the retaining champion, will be surrendering home court advantage to big daddy Wlad again. It makes sense, because it makes ‘cents’, as in $ and cents. After a really dissapointing showing against Davarryl Williamson, Byrd could not dare demand the kind of money he would like to earn on domestic soil. Where as in Germany, Klitschko wins out with home court advantage and Byrd also wins out because he gets a payday his recent showings say he probably doesn’t fully deserve. Either way, this fight should be better than the first one.
Firstly, Byrd is bigger and far more natural a heavyweight now than he was when he first faced Dr Steelhammer. Byrd had a ton of body fat back then and used to notoriously ‘slap’ and backhand his punches. In the past few years however, Byrd has risked his small frame and super middleweight chin by standing and trading with the biggest men in the heavyweight division. Fighting Andrew Golota to a stand still, out gutting and out boxing Jameel McCline. He sits down on his punches more now, and it has paid off, as he has managed to wobble several of his last opponents. I think that because of Byrd’s accuracy and his own personal drive to prove his legitimacy as a titlist, he will turn his game up a notch and don’t be surprised if he knocks Klitschko down. It will probably only be a very brief dumping, but I can see Chris’s short left hand right hook combination getting Wlad in trouble if he gasps for air at any time in the fight.
Still, it’s incredibly hard in light of the last performances of both men -Byrd against Williamson and Wlad against Samuel Peter- to pick Byrd to win this fight. I think it will be a lot closer than their first fight, and like I said, Byrd could make it incredibly close, but I think logic says at some point, Wladimir Klitschko’s high punch out put and power will cause Chris Byrd to succumb, or be knocked unconscious. I suspect somewhere in the late rounds.
Whatever the case is, boxing will win, because Wladimir Klitschko is if not consistent, a very exciting fighter. You are always on the edge of your seat during his fights, because he is usually beating the stuffing out of his opponents while still only one punch away from being knocked down himself. He’s also vulnerable to straight punches, thrown with little to no arc. But in many ways he’s like a heavyweight Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns. Wladimir showed during his fight – or should I say “schooling”- of young Nigerian sensation, Samuel Peter that he could bounce on his toes and throw combinations on the fly like a middleweight. An incredible feat for a man over six feet six inches tall.
Also like Tommy, Wladimir has an incredibly high KO ration to wins at 45 (40 KO’s) much like Hearns as a welterweight. The simularities continue because just like Hearns, Klitschko finds that even when he is cleanly out boxing a foe, he can be knocked bow legged by a single shot. In many ways, Corrie Sanders was to Wlad what Iran Barkley was to Hearns back in 1988. So what if he may not defend his title many times before somebody gets to his shaky chin? Does it matter if he loses if the fight is thrilling and ends in a highlight real KO? Who wouldn’t like to see what Wlad could do against Hasim Rahman if he should beat Chris Byrd? It seems what comes of the heavyweight division has a lot to do with this fallen savior of the +200 pounders.
I think Nikolay Valuev owes John Ruiz a rematch big time. I never thought I would hear myself demanding to see Ruiz in another title fight on a pay per view, but John Ruiz won their fight. I don’t even think it was close. He had to have won by at least three rounds. Ruiz acted bravely and tried his damnedest to knock the big beheemoth out, but the only KO of the fight was scored by the controversial judging of the fight. After the fight, King signed the 7 foot giant Valuev for a short term contract. Jim Rose would have been jealous. Let the show begin. I think we all need to face it, John Ruiz is skilled enough and experienced enough to beat all of the heavyweights currently out there on any given night. He’s also capable of stinking out the joint in a fight with anyone too, which makes him dangerous, but unmarketable and uninteresting. I think he could possibly stop Valuev in a rematch. He wobbled the big man a few times, and I think because of his balance and technique, Ruiz actually landed the more solid blows.
Final thought. I would absolutely love to see Calvin Brock step up to the next level and challenge Samuel Peter in the mean time. It would be a great action fight, with Peter threatening to KO Brock at any time, and Brock relying on his superior technique and moxy to get him through the battle. I think the winner could easily be thrown in to the heavyweight mix. Shannon Briggs could play a part too, if only as a keep busy fight for one of the winners.
Would anybody object to the next round being Hasim Rahman vs Wladimir Klitschko and Lamon Brewster vs Nikolay Valuev? With the winner of the subsequent finals to face off against the winner of Peter vs Brock? I could be quite content with that. Nows the time to bring life back to the heavyweight division. I’d even be quite content with Byrd vs Brewster and Rahman vs Valuev as finals too. Whatever the route, the destination will be well worth it. A unified single man worthy of being honed “Heavyweight Champion”. Not since you Lennox. Not since you.