Samuel Peter and Oleg Maskaev

 

After Samuel Peter knocked out Oleg Maskaev in the 6th round last night, he emphatically shouted into Max Kellerman’s microphone: "Who’s next?"…"Who’s Next?"… The question is a very important one… not just for Peter, but for the future of heavyweight boxing. Unless you are a serious fan, they say that boxing’s popularity in America follows the heavyweight division. At a time that boasts a plethora of skilled lightweights, welterweights, and middleweights, the highest division continues to be in shambles.

First Things First:  Despite his technically sound performances, Wladimir Klitschko cannot be knocked out soon enough. Men who are a chiseled 6′6′ and 250 that will not engage their far smaller opponents beyond measured, cautious, and methodical jabs must be eliminated by any means necessary.  Considering his fighting style and Lennox Lewis before him, one can make the argument — and I’m making it right now! — that trainer Emanuel Steward has done as much to kill interest in boxing as any individual. Steward has now found a great niche at teaching giants how to protect their glass chins at any cost — even the sport. Both Lewis’ (see 1st Holyfield fight; Tyson) and Klitschko’s (see every fight) reluctance to rush their opponent no matter how much trouble they are in represents everything that the division has become and everything his former star pupil Tommy Hearns was not.

"The Nigerian Nightmare": If xenophobic American fans need a dominant Amercan heavyweight champion to garner interest, then you should stop reading right now. It’s just not happening anytime soon. However, if you care more about sport than country, then you will be rooting really hard for a guy like Samuel Peter to avenge his only loss by whipping Klitschko in a rematch. Peter previously knocked Wladimir down three times, but lost every other round. A rematch will be reduced to hoping one of those punches keeps him down for good. Basically that is the rule for ANY Klitschko fight. The man and his nearly flawless jab simply cannot be beaten on points, so the future of boxing could rely on one random Peter punch. His considerable knockout power provides the potential for great excitement as a unified heavyweight champion. However, anyone who gets knocked down three times by Jameel McCline also provides question marks. Peter also shows signs of sloppy technique and the ability to fatigue easily (see 3rd round in Maskaev fight where he punched himself out rather quickly).

Russian Roulette:  Besides Klitschko and Peter, the rest of the heavyweight division includes the usual American journeyman suspects (yes, Hasim Rachman is still in the top 10) or a variety of Eastern European heavyweights whose names tend to end in "ev". I’ll spare you the list and cut to the only two that might have any real future potential. Ruslan Chagaev owns an undefeated record in 25 fights. Chagaev did boxing the great honor of outpointing John Ruiz a couple of years ago. (Unfortunately, like a recurring nightmare Ruiz beat McCline on the undercard of yesterday’s Peter fight and is back in the heavyweight picture — but I digress.) Chagaev’s potential is unclear, but in the heavyweight division that’s as good as it gets. The third guy who may bring meaning back to heavyweight boxing is undefeated Alexander Povetkin whose decisive wins over Larry Donald and Chris Byrd show that he belongs. With more seasoning, he is probably boxing’s best hope besides Peter — however his chin has yet to be tested.

And there you have it: Samuel Peter, Alexander Povetkin, or Ruslan Chagaev. They are all still under age 30 and one of these guys must break through to avoid a heavyweight drought through at least 2015. With the growth of mixed martial arts, boxing simply can’t afford to wait that long. 

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Also: Congratulations to Nate Campbell who put on a wonderful performance in besting previously undefeated Juan Diaz in a great fight on the Maskaev-Peter undercard.