White boxers continue to excite fans
pictured: heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko
by Joe Kowalski
Two white boxers are included in the latest Ring Magazine ratings of the top 10 pound-for-pound (P4P) fighters in the world. Two Brits — Joe Calzaghe (#8) and Ricky Hatton (a ridiculous #10) — represent us at the elite level of boxing. After impressive showings on HBO in March, Wladimir Klitschko and Mikkel Kessler are surely lurking near the top 10 and will likely make the list very soon.
The good news doesn’t end there. Thanks to recent coverage on HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Versus, many sports fans know that white fighters are dominating at the higher weight divisions. Whites hold belts at all the weight classes from junior middleweight to heavyweight. There are even some white champs in the less popular lower weight divisions such as bantamweight (Wladimir Sidorenko) and flyweight (Vic Darchinyian).
Unfortunately, no white boxer in the modern era has really achieved the star status of a Mike Tyson or Sugar Ray Leonard. To do this, white fighters will have to line up high profile pay-per-view (PPV) fights that get the average sports fan talking (and buying). Here are five matches that could help raise the profile of our greatest warriors while smashing the Caste System in sports at the same time.Wladimir Klitschko – Nicolay Valuev
When was the last time two white fighters met in a major superfight? The Ward-Gatti trilogy comes close, but neither man was a top 10 P4P fighter. As exciting and well received as the fights were, they don’t classify as a superfight (and none were on pay-per-view). Same with the Greg Haugen-Vinny Pazienza wars of the late 1980s. But if Valuev defeats Ruslan Chagaev on April 14, there will be greater momentum for a Klitschko-Valuev heavyweight title unification match.
Successive victories over Sam Peter, Chris Byrd, Calvin Brock and Ray Austin have earned Wladimir unanimous acclaim as the best heavyweight on the planet. But the 7′ 320 lb Valuev has rolled up some impressive victories of his own and is closing in on the 49-0 record of Rocky Marciano (truly “The Greatest”). The younger Klitschko is an offensive machine but can he overcome a 75 pound weight advantage? This intriguing match would determine the next great heavyweight champ and a true successor to Lennox Lewis. It will be an important milestone and a proud moment for the white athlete.
Vitaly Klitschko – Lennox Lewis
The elder Klitschko has not fought since knocking out Danny Williams in 2004 but will be the favorite to take the WBC heavyweight title from the winner of the Oleg Maskaev v. Sam Peter fight this summer. Vitaly will likely fight a tune-up in June to knock some rust off before fighting for the title in late 2007. A win by Klitschko will help spur demand for a rematch with Lennox Lewis.
Lewis and Klitschko met in June 2003 in a fight that still generates much discussion and debate on boxing forums. Vitaly was ahead on all the cards after the 6th round and seemed on the verge of KO’ing an exhausted Lewis. But a deep cut over his eye forced the referee to halt the bout over the strenuous protests of Klitschko. Lewis retired after the bout while Klitschko went on to knockout Kirk Johnson, Corrie Sanders and Williams. This fight would help settle some old scores and will be the talk of the sporting world if and when it happens.
Joe Calzaghe – Bernard Hopkins/Winky Wright winner
Avoided by all the top middleweights (Roy Jones, Hopkins, Sven Ottke) throughout his long career, Calzaghe can take comfort in the fact that he is the longest reigning champion in boxing. He has held his WBO super middleweight title for 10 years now. He has defended it 19 times against the likes of Chris Eubank, Jeff Lacy, Byron Mitchell, Omar Sheika and many others.
This weekend, he should make it 20 successful defenses when he faces tough American Peter Manfredo (the fight will be shown on HBO on 4/7). The expected victory will put him in line to face the winner of the Hopkins-Wright bout slated for this summer. Late recognition (Joe is 35) is better than no recognition and if Calzaghe beats Hopkins or Wright he could be known as the most under-rated fighter ever.
Kelly Pavlik – Jermaine Taylor
Pavlik is perhaps the best white American in boxing. He is scheduled to face the much-hyped Edison Miranda on May 19 on HBO. Miranda is an extremely powerful puncher and will most likely be the favorite. But Pavlik is undefeated and, like most white fighters, is under-rated by the “experts.” Personally, I predict a big night for Kelly who should stop Miranda in the middle rounds.
A win by Pavlik will set the stage for an even bigger fight later this year against middleweight champ Jermaine Taylor. Wins over Taylor and Miranda will make Kelly Pavlik a household name and help ease a severe boxing slump for white America.
Ricky Hatton – Floyd Mayweather
I saved this one for last as the fight is not likely to happen. There was a time, after Hatton beat Kostya Tszyu two years ago, when these two seemed on a collision course at junior welterweight. But even though Hatton has since won a belt at welterweight and came back down to win a belt at junior welterweight, he has not looked overly impressive.
Mayweather is almost unanimously considered the best P4P fighter in boxing. He faces Oscar de la Hoya at junior middleweight in May and a win will make him a champ in 5 separate divisions. Hatton also has a big fight against Jose Luis Castillo in June and a win could help them meet at 147 later this year or early next year. Unless Ricky gets back to his 2005 form he will not be competitive against Mayweather. But if they do meet, a Hatton victory will secure Ricky’s place in boxing history.
But even if a Mayweather fight does not materialize, other big fights remain for Hatton against the likes of Miguel Cotto and Diego Corrales.
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Henry Maske
Germany’s Henry Maske pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in boxing history on March 31. Maske won a gold medal at the 1988 Olympics and was IBF light heavyweight champ from 1993 to 1996. Along the way he beat some solid fighters such as Iran Barkley, Graciano Rocchigiani and Prince Charles Williams. Because of his color and the fact that he fought mostly in Germany, Maske was not featured on American TV in the 90s. He retired in 1996 after losing a controversial split decision to Virgil Hill.
At 43, Maske launched a one-fight comeback against the only man to beat him. Though nobody gave him a chance at beating Hill (who holds the WBA cruiserweight belt) he pounded out a relatively easy unanimous decision. This is an incredible accomplishment for someone who was inactive for over 10 years and truly a proud moment for our people.