By John Hively

“We are told that the heavyweight crop which now stands out is as expert and as promising as the peach crop in Alaska. All along the line there is a moaning and a groaning, all because the critics have got it into their heads that the passing of Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis means the practical death of heavyweight boxing. To one who has seen them come and go this is really a dandy joke.” Legendary promoter Tex Rickard wrote those words in the November 1928 issue of Ring magazine, only the names he mentioned were Dempsey and Tunny. But the same thing he wrote then can be said of the current heavyweight class.

The experts have it all wrong. Instead of the weakest crop of heavyweights in the history of the sport, the big boys of today are talented and they make up one of the deepest and most talented pool of heavyweights the sport of boxing has seen since the middle of the nineteen-seventies. 

Gone are the days when a heavyweight could expect to move into the top ten without ever having beaten a legitimate top-ten contender. That means you won’t see guys like Monte Barrett, Andrew Golota and Mac Foster enter the ranks of the current top ten. Those guys and several others entered the rankings in years and decades past, but politics aside, they wouldn’t make it in today’s division based on their lack of achievements in the squared circle, as in days gone by. 

The top current top six or seven are an especially talented group of fighters, but the depth of the division really means that anyone in the top fifteen, and perhaps the top twenty, can be deserving of a top ten ranking; and we haven’t that type of depth since Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Joe Frazier were at or near their primes. As of yet, nobody is suggesting the current crop has an all-time great among them. Nowadays, they still aren’t as deep as that division of thirty-four years past, but the depth of talent compares favorably, if not downright better, than any period of time since then. 

The most talented big man today is Waldimir Klitschko. In his last bout, he gracefully glided to his left, away from Ray Austin, and then blasted a hard jab to Austin’s face. Ray involuntarily blinked and sweat flew off his face with the stun of the blow’s impact. Austin tried to retaliate with his jab, but Waldimir gracefully glided to his right, out of harm’s way, and then shot another stunningly powerful jab to Austin’s frustrated mug, knocking his head back, and causing him to retreat against the ropes.

Using his shoulder, Klitschko feinted with a straight right hand. Hoping to avoid the dreaded weapon, Austin turned his upper body to his right. In a single motion, Klitshko’s left, poised to be thrown as a jab, dropped ever so slightly, changed its arc, and became a pulverizing hook. The blow froze Austin in place along the ropes when it exploded flush on the right side of his distorted face. The referee was forced to stop the carnage after Waldimir threw four more left hooks, each short and quick, all with devastating impact, and all but the final landing on the right side of Austin’s mug. 

The experts are incorrect about Waldimir Klitshko; some see him as being nearly as good as he once was, before Corrie Sanders wiped him out in 2003. No, Wald is much better than he ever was, and by a fairly hefty margin, and the lad is still improving. The old Klitschko was a cautious plodder; now he’s a ballet dancer in the ring, not on the same level as Muhammad Ali, but certainly far more graceful than Larry Holmes ever was. Waldimir possesses a right hand made of steel, a sleep inducing left, and he has all the speed and tools with which to deliver both. He takes a better shot than some people think, although it’s hardly the greatest set of whiskers in history. Two of his three losses were due to stamina deficiencies, but that problem appears to have evaporated.

Klitschko is the best heavyweight since Lennox Lewis, and no matter what you might think of the latter, he was one of the all-time greats. Wald’s won almost every round in his recent victories over Samuel Peter (W12), Chris Byrd (KO7), Calvin Brock (KO7) and Ray Austin (KO2). All were solid, legitimate contenders with the exception of Austin, more of trial horse heavyweight.      

Ruslan Chagaev is number my number two heavyweight contender. He is undefeated, a hard puncher, a shrewd strategist, and he holds a legitimate victory over Nicolay Valuev, the giant contender. He also decisively defeated then contender John Ruiz. Moreover, he might have enough skills and punch to derail the Klitschko freight train.

My number three heavyweight is Samuel Peter. A powerful puncher, Peter takes a great shot, and he showed improved skills in his win over a real contender, James Toney. Peter lost every round to Klitschko in their battle many months ago, except for the two heats when he floored his opponent a total of three times.

At number four contender is Oleg Maskaev. He is the winner of twelve straight, and a two time knockout winner of former champion Hasim Rahman. He knocked out Rahman before his victim won the legitimate heavyweight title from Lennox Lewis, and he put out Rahman’s lights last year. Oleg is a veteran, a crafty campaigner and a hard puncher, but he doesn’t take the best shot to the whiskers. He’s getting on in years, and so his days as a contender may be nearing an end.

Sultan Ibragimov sits comfortably in my number five spot. He is undefeated and a recent victor over legitimate contender Shannon Briggs. A good puncher, he may be the fastest fighter of both hands and feet in the division. He is also the division’s best counter puncher. However, he tends to throw wild shots when his opponents do not lead.

My number six contender is the giant from the steppes of Russian, Nicolay Valuev. He’s the biggest legitimate heavyweight contender ever, possesses a good jab, some good power, but he lacks a fair degree of mobility. Nonetheless, he has defeated John Ruiz, Jameel McCline and good, but lesser pugilists, such as Monte Barrett and Owen Beck.

Shannon Briggs rests comfortably in my number seven slot. He has been around for a while, and really didn’t make his mark until recently. This past November, Briggs blasted out contender Serguei Lyakhovich late in round twelve in a come from behind victory. Shannon has some skills, is big, and he is loaded with power. Unfortunately, stamina seems to be a big weakness; and he’s getting up there in years, but he still may be able to notch a few more triumphs over the other contenders before he fades off into fistic oblivion.

Calvin Brock has all the skills to move up from the number eight position. He gave Klitshko a decent tussle before succumbing to the superior skills of his talented adversary in the seventh round several months ago. In 2005, Brock hustled past then contender Jameel McCline. He possesses good skills in all departments, but he falls short of being spectacular in any departments. But that means he has finely balanced skills.

Sergei “The White Wolf” Liakhovich must stare up at the other top contenders and wonder what the hell happened to himself. In April of last year, Liakhovich defeated the hottest heavyweight in the sport when he whipped Lamon Brewster over twelve rounds. It was one of the most exciting bouts of the year. In his next undertaking, Shannon Briggs stunningly stopped the White Wolf in twelve heats in one of the most boring bouts of 2006. Liakhovich has the skills to whip some of the top guys in the division, but the question is when will he climb into the ring next? Right now he inhabits my number nine spot.

Chris Byrd sits precariously at number ten. He’s getting on in years, but he’s only lost once in the last six years while defeating numerous other contenders. Klitschko soundly whipped Byrd fifteen months ago. He rebounded recently by winning his first comeback fight. Chris was one of the best defensive fighters to come down the pike in quite a many years. Like Briggs and Maskaev, he’s getting on in years, but he may still have some fight left in him.

There are other boxers that make this one of the best heavyweight divisions since the mid-nineteen-seventies. Veterans Hasim Rahman, Jameel McCline, John Ruiz and Lamon Brewster still have enough youth and skill to once again crack the top ten. Vitali Klitschko has healed some injuries, and now is on the comeback. He may prove just as good as before.

And the old Soviet Union has some of the hottest prospects around, led by 2004 Olympic gold medalist and currently undefeated Alexander Povetkin. He might be one fight away from being a legitimate top ten candidate. Europe has also produced several other prospects ready to battle their way in contender status. These guys include Valdimir Virchis, Alexander Dimitrenko and Oleg Platov. The United States is countering the Russian-speaking invasion of the class with hot prospects Tony Thompson, Eddie Chambers and Chris Arreola.

Brewster is fighting Klitschko on July 7th. He is the last man to defeat the big Ukrainian. This is his first bout since losing to Sergui Liakhovick in April 2006. Can he, and more importantly, should he come back against someone as talented as Waldimir? We’ll know on the seventh. My guess is that this is too big of a step for Lamon. It’s too soon. But win or lose the ever relentless, power punching Brewster is going to add depth and excitement to the heaviest weight class in the sport.

The depth is there, now, today. It hasn’t been this good in thirty-four or thirty-five years. And there may yet be an all-time great or two ready to step forward. We may not know it for a decade or two after they retire. Heck, some people still question whether or not Lennox Lewis was an all-time great heavyweight. He was and is and we don’t need to delay thirty years to realize it. Nowadays, as the heavyweight pot boils with a high number of talented individuals, we’ll have to wait and see if an all-time great emerges, but we’re going to have fun watching and waiting while these guys duke it out.