KLITSCHKO BROTHERS COLLECT HEAVYWEIGHT BELTS
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 26 Mar 2009
When Manny Pacquiao and Oscar de la Hoya fought the ?Dream Match? last December 6, 2008, there was no title belt at stake and it landed in the top ten pay-per-view all-time list. When Pacquiao faces Ricky Hatton on May 2, 2009, the title belt was for the lowly International Boxing Organization junior welterweight championship. But it is expected to be a box-office hit in PPV, especially in Britain, the whole of Europe and the Americas.
In the heavyweight division, for a long time the most prestigious weight class in professional boxing until it lost its luster, alphabet titles matter most. The Klitschko brothers Wladimir, the IBF and WBO champion and Vitali, the WBC titlist, were vocal about collecting all the heavyweight title belts between them.
The 37-year-old Vitali has a record of 37-2 with 36 KOs, stopped Juan Carlos Gomez Saturday night while scoring three knockdowns in the fight, the last one was delivered at 1:49 of the ninth round when the bout was stopped by the referee.
This marked Vitali's first title defense of the belt he won in October over Samuel Peter. He retired from boxing for four years, but decided to make a come back. Wladimir, who has a fight record of 52-3 with 46 KOs, is scheduled to face Britain's David Haye, the former cruiserweight champion, on June 20, 2009. The WBA title belt is currently held by Nikolai Valuev, who has been the main target of Wladimir. If they achieve this exploit, the Klitschko brothers will become the first brothers in heavyweight boxing history to hold all of the title belts at the same time.
The Klitschko Brothers fought all challengers in sight and they emerged victorious. They have astounding knockout rates and win over their opponents in convincing fashion.
Gone were the Ali, Foreman, and Frazier days of heavyweight boxing. Lost were the high-profile Tyson-Holyfield fights in what was once the proudest weight class in professional boxing. The division has talents sinking to low caliber.
The Klitschkos? titles are their biggest hindrance to revive interest in the heavyweight class. With the champion belts, they are tied to face defenses against opponents mandated by the alphabet sanctioning bodies.
These organizations decide on whom to face as their next opponents, usually of mediocre skills resulting to boring matches. If they were non-titleholders, the Klitschkos would be free to negotiate any fight they want without losing any of their images in the PPV networks.
"We just want to fight," said Vitali. "We want to make the fights that boxing fans want to see.? The fight Vitali is eyeing is with rising American heavyweight sensation Chris Arreola. "Let's do that fight in L.A.," said Vitali. "Arreola is a big heavyweight with a good fan base. A lot of people would be interested in that fight."
For the heavyweight awareness to be revived, the Klitschko brothers can surrender their title belts. "They are still recognized as the best heavyweights in the world. A title doesn't change that," said HBO Vice President Kerry Davis.
"I'm in the prime of my career. I want to stay busy. Fans want to see the best fights. I wish they could," clarified Wladimir.
While the Klitschkos wanted to collect all the title belts, the trend is to match the best fighters to produce the most exciting fights. The credible Ring Magazine heavyweight title is vacant. It is an indication that there is no plausible unified title holder in the heavyweight.
Top photo: Caption: Klitschko Brothers, Vitali (left) and Wladimir.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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