Charles White – It was recently announced that former cruiserweight champion and current heavyweight campaigner Jean Marc Mormeck (35-4 with 22 ko’s) has declined to fight IBF and WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in December. Perhaps this was a mistake on Mormeck’s part as it would have likely been the biggest opportunity of his boxing career, or maybe Team Mormeck have other plans for Jean Marc to unfold, such as a rematch with current WBA heavyweight champion David Haye. But this still leaves the problem of finding Wladimir Klitschko an opponent for his desired December 11th fight date. A few weeks ago, heavyweight contender David Tua (51-3-2 with 43 ko’s) was basically guaranteed a title shot against Wladimir assuming he fought and beat current WBO top 10 heavyweight Chauncy “The Hillyard Hammer” Welliver (44-5-5 with 14 ko’s). This would have been a tremendous opportunity for David Tua to rebound from his disappointing draw with Monte Barrett, yet Tua declined. Again, no opponent for Wladimir..
In comes Derek Chisora (14-0 with 9 ko’s) who is offered the fight just yesterday. Already, rumors are starting to circulate that Chisora has turned down the fight with Klitschko. Who does that leave? Alexander Povetkin isn’t stepping up to fight due to the fact that his famed trainer Teddy Atlas thinks he is in need of several more fights before he is ready, which is more than likely the case. Chris Arreola is out with hand injuries sustained in his last fight against Manuel Quezada, Nikolai Valuev is also out of the picture for wrist surgery, Alexander Dimitrenko is too inactive as of late to be fully prepared, Jonathan Banks is turning out lackluster performances lately, and Denis Boytsov is also recovering from injury. Then there is Odlanier Solis, who’s career seems to be moving slower than his waistline is growing. With all of these gentleman ousted, whom should Wladimir turn to as a possible opponent? Chauncy Welliver (44-5-5 with 14 ko’s) seems to be the best available option for Klitschko’s December 11th date. From a business standpoint, would it not make more sense for a Welliver-Klitschko match up than a Mormeck, or even Chisora-Klitschko fight? Welliver is ranked higher in the WBO than Mormeck, and Chisora only has 14 professional fights. Besides this, 2 of Wladimir’s last 4 opponents would easily be beaten by Welliver. On the one hand, you have Klitscho’s most recent victory in a rematch with the extremely limited and one dimensional Samuel Peter, who Chauncy would easily dance circles around, and on the other, you have an aging Hasim Rahman, whom Welliver would handily outpoint. The Chambers and Chagaev (who was suffering from hepatitis B at the time of the fight) victories aside, this is the reality of the situation when you get down to brass tacks.
Some may criticize the 27 year old Welliver’s caliber of opponents to date, but the fact of the matter is that Chauncy has put in the hard work to get into the top 10 of the WBO. He has dropped over 40 lbs since his disappointing loss to Odlanier Solis 2 years ago, hasn’t lost a fight since then, and is perhaps the most active fighter in the heavyweight division, having already fought 4 times in 5 months this year. With a new team behind him in Roland Jankelson as manager, who handled Pinklon Thomas and Joe Hipp, and “The Boss” himself, Joe Hipp, as his trainer, Welliver is now in a good place in his career. If given the shot, Chauncy would then become only the 3rd man from Washington State to fight for the heavyweight title, the first two being Pete Rademacher and Chauncy’s current trainer, Joe Hipp. Possessing the heart of a lion and the will to win, there is no end to how far Chauncy can go in today’s heavyweight division. He regularly goes 12 rounds like it is nothing, thus having great stamina, and has never ducked any fighter. Quite the opposite in fact, he has been calling out big names for a long time now, including David Tua, but so far, nobody has stepped up to the plate, most likely due to his cast iron chin and crafty, cagey style that allows him to rack up points victories over his opponents. Welliver would surely give his all in a fight against Wladimir, and would have steadfast determination to bring the heavyweight championship home. Simply put, there is no quit in Chauncy Welliver. No end to his desire. The “Hillyard Hammer” is resolute, motivated, and driven towards a title shot. And he is closer than ever to accomplishing his dream.
For questions and comments, to schedule an interview, or to just chat about boxing, Charles White can be reached at cwhite1078@mysvc.skagit.edu or 360-333-5911.