20.08.06 – By Dave Domenico: With the Proposed November bout between IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko still lingering, we are all anxious to see who the next opponent will be. The question still remains: who should Klitschko face next? I came up with a short list of five fighters who should be considered. Here we go:
#1) Oleg Maskaev (U.S.):
Ol’ Oleg created some serious buzz by rallying late to stop WBC heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman last week. Oleg is now the new WBC champion at age 37. The appeal of this bout is the unification factor. The WBC and IBF belts would be on the line and this fight would be a serious step in the crowning of the true Heavyweight champion. Supposedly Maskaev needs time to recover and it was rumored that a November bout is too soon. Oleg may be a bit too old and limited for Wlad anyway. In my opinion, this fight probably will not happen anytime soon unless the money is too good to pass up. I like Oleg and I would hate to see him have Wlad’s right hand thundering off his head like Chris Byrd did.
#2) Sergei Liahkovich (Belarus):
Probably the best match we could have. It would be a good style matchup and a serious step at crowning the linear heavyweight champion. Sergei is the new WBO champion after the battered former Champion Lamon Brewster a few months ago. Sergei generated a lot of buzz when he scored a tremendous upset over Brewster when we all know he was intened to be a warm up fight. The appeal of this fight is that both guys are considered by many to be the two best in the division and its another unification bout as well. The IBF and WBO belts are on the line in this case. Both Wlad and Sergei last fought around the same time so a November bout is very realistic as far as training time is concerned. The problem is politics. Sergei is a Don King fighter and Wlad is not. Unfortunately, That’s probably the main factor for derailing this bout.
#3) Lamon Brewster (U.S.):
Lamon has been on the shelf since the battering he took from Liahkovich. It was reported Lamon needed eye surgery after the bout and has not announced any plans about a next fight. I mention this match because Lamon holds a somewhat controversial win over Wlad. This could be interesting as a rematch because of the revenge factor and the fact that the first fight was very exciting. For Wlad, this fight could be sweet redemption for him if he won. For Lamon, this fight would be a good payday and he would be getting another title shot. If Lamon is ready and the promotional teams work together, This fight could happen. I think people would be interested in it too. We’ll see where it goes from here.
#4) Shannon Briggs (U.S.):
Shannon was originally scheduled to be Wlad’s opponent in November. He is ranked #7th by the IBF because of his fighting activity and win streak. This all sounds good except he hasn’t beaten anyone in the top ten recently. This fight created some interest because Shannon is viewed by many to be a dangerous fight for Wlad, because of his size and punching power. It is possible he could score an upset so many people were interested in this bout. If other fights don’t work out, this fight could very likely happen as originally planned.
#5) Calvin Brock (U.S.):
Calvin Brock is a top contender in the heavyweight division. He has the tools to be champion on paper and is undefeated. Brock also has no scheduled bout as of yet. Brock is ranked very high in all of the sanctioning bodies. Unfortunately Brock looked bad in his last fight he may be too green for Klitschko right now, but if the money’s right I think it’s a strong possibility. We’ll See.
It’s very likely one of these fighters will be Wlad next opponent in November. We’re all waiting to see who. See My Point?!