By James Slater: Unbeaten at 30-0(25), Russian heavyweight hope Denis Boytsov faces durable journeyman Domminick Guinn this Friday night (on the under-card of the Felix Sturm-Sebastian Zbik middleweight title clash in Germany), yet the 26-year-old said in an interview with Sportbox.ru that he wants the Klitschkos in the very near future – WBC king Vitali especially.
In the interview, Boytsov, seen by some critics as just too small to be able to contend with the two all-conquering giants from Ukraine, said the brothers “spoil” the heavyweight division.
“I don’t want to say anything bad about the Klitschkos,” Boytsov said, before proceeding to do just that, “They reached the highest level and proved they are the strongest. But they spoil the heavyweight division with their perfection, making it less colourful. At the same time, the brothers pick up only those rivals who are very convenient for their boxing style and career growth.”
It’s unlikely too many fans will be willing to agree with Boytsov. First of all, why would either Wladimir or Vitali choose to make the sport “more colourful” by getting involved in wars and abandoning their “perfect” ways of getting the job done? Okay, we all love a slugfest, but no way will either of the two heavyweight rulers ever get involved in one when they don’t have to. And do the two brothers really pick only “rivals who are convenient for their boxing style?” Who have the two siblings avoided?
Boytsov has the look of a promising contender and it’s easy to understand why he is putting his game face on whilst speaking about the two men he hopes to defeat one day – why should a potential Klitschko challenger have to say only nice things about them after all? But Boytsov has a long way to go before he is ready for the two champs. The next step is the Guinn test, and after that Boytsov says he wants to fight in the U.S.
“My managers promise to organise fights in the U.S in the near future,” he said. “But at the moment I’m not sure whether they will be able to reach an agreement with the Americans. The managers are deliberately pushing me in the rankings, in which I already occupy a high spot. I think that by the end of the year you can see me fighting for the championship.”
So, is Boytsov basically saying he does not need to fight any ranked contenders, U.S or otherwise, to earn his title shot? This year looks way too soon to me. Personally, I’d like to see Boytsov in there with a Franklin Lawrence, a Seth Mitchell, a Michael Grant, a Kevin Johnson or even a Travis Walker. But does Boytsov feel these American fighters will not want to risk their own ranking by fighting him?
Let’s see how Boytsov, who, by the way, has not fought one top-20 ranked opponent yet, does against the never-stopped Guinn. Maybe, with the lack of available heavyweight title challengers, Boytsov could be just one or two wins away from a shot at Vitali or Wladimir? But I think another two years or so of experience would be a good idea first. Rushing a fighter can prove disastrous.