Heavyweight Happenings
After the Rahman/Toney debacle, I felt pretty disgusted with the heavyweight class.
However, I'll admit that I'm stoked about the fight tonight. "Relentless" Lamon Brewster will be fighting Serguei "The White Wolf" Lyakhovich on Showtime. Brewster, probably the best of the relatively poor heavyweight belt-wearers' club, will likely win, but you can never tell with the big boys. I've seen Brewster fight several times, and he seems to feed on taller, slower, European fighters. The catch will be whether or not Lyakhovich is truly slower. I've only seen clips of his fights, and didn't see enough upon which to base a decision. He seems to have a good jab, but that alone won't serve him well against Brewster, who has a strong chin and hits hard. Like a great many heavyweight fights, this one will come down to either conditioning, or the landing of early power shots, both of which have been strengths of Brewster's. Both fighters have lost to unheralded competition, but only Brewster has beaten big-name fighters (no, Dominick Guinn doesn't count).
As a bit of trivia, Kevin "I whupped an old, out-of-shape Mike Tyson" McBride is fighting on the undercard of the Brewster-Lyakhovich fight. He's fighting a journeyman named Byron Polley, who's most noted for being a 1st-round KO for a "then-up-and-coming" Owen Beck. I don't know if Showtime is showing this fight or not, but, given the 10CST starting time, I imagine that they won't. To bad, sometimes these low-rent heavyweights put on a good show.
Thankfully, there will not be a Rahman-Toney rematch, at least not for awhile. The WBC has decreed that Hasim "The Rock" Rahman will next defend his belt against Oleg "The Big O" Maskaev, who delivered a brutal knockout to Rahman in 1999. For those of you who don't remember, Maskaev, probably trailing on all cards, knocked Rahman out of the ring, across the announcers' table, and onto the floor in an unconscious heap. A rematch could be exciting, as Rahman has improved since their last meeting, and both men have a lot on the line. Maskaev is making his last stab at the big time, while Rahman has a belt but gets virtually no respect. Maskaev has good boxing skills, and skilled fighters seem to give Rahman a tough time, since he is a very poor boxer. In Rahman's favor, Maskaev has been shown to have a susceptible chin, losing by KO to Lance Whittaker, Kirk Johnson, Corey Sanders, David Tua and Oliver McCall. The thing that Rahman does not lack is punching power. If he shows up in the same condition that he did for his fight with Toney, he could last long enough to beat down the glass-jawed Kazakhstani.
The bout between Nikolay Valuev and Owen Beck has been postponed. I don't even know that I care.
The heavyweight bout that I'm most eagerly awaiting is the Chris Byrd-Wladmir Klitschko coming up on April 22 (HBO). I'll blather more about this fight as it gets closer, but I'm predicting that the IBF belt will change hands. Klitschko has too much reach for Byrd, who has too little power to take advantage of Wlad's glass jaw. Both are skilled boxers, but I imagine that this will be a repeat of their last bout, which ended in a Klitschko unanimous decision, with Byrd twice tasting canvas.
The heavyweight division has been boring, but I still hold out hope. Of course, while holding onto that thread of hope, I'm watching and enjoying the lower weight-classes more. The 10 last good fights I've seen have all been Cruiserweight or below. To me, a long-time boxing fan, that is a sad statement.
However, I'll admit that I'm stoked about the fight tonight. "Relentless" Lamon Brewster will be fighting Serguei "The White Wolf" Lyakhovich on Showtime. Brewster, probably the best of the relatively poor heavyweight belt-wearers' club, will likely win, but you can never tell with the big boys. I've seen Brewster fight several times, and he seems to feed on taller, slower, European fighters. The catch will be whether or not Lyakhovich is truly slower. I've only seen clips of his fights, and didn't see enough upon which to base a decision. He seems to have a good jab, but that alone won't serve him well against Brewster, who has a strong chin and hits hard. Like a great many heavyweight fights, this one will come down to either conditioning, or the landing of early power shots, both of which have been strengths of Brewster's. Both fighters have lost to unheralded competition, but only Brewster has beaten big-name fighters (no, Dominick Guinn doesn't count).
As a bit of trivia, Kevin "I whupped an old, out-of-shape Mike Tyson" McBride is fighting on the undercard of the Brewster-Lyakhovich fight. He's fighting a journeyman named Byron Polley, who's most noted for being a 1st-round KO for a "then-up-and-coming" Owen Beck. I don't know if Showtime is showing this fight or not, but, given the 10CST starting time, I imagine that they won't. To bad, sometimes these low-rent heavyweights put on a good show.
Thankfully, there will not be a Rahman-Toney rematch, at least not for awhile. The WBC has decreed that Hasim "The Rock" Rahman will next defend his belt against Oleg "The Big O" Maskaev, who delivered a brutal knockout to Rahman in 1999. For those of you who don't remember, Maskaev, probably trailing on all cards, knocked Rahman out of the ring, across the announcers' table, and onto the floor in an unconscious heap. A rematch could be exciting, as Rahman has improved since their last meeting, and both men have a lot on the line. Maskaev is making his last stab at the big time, while Rahman has a belt but gets virtually no respect. Maskaev has good boxing skills, and skilled fighters seem to give Rahman a tough time, since he is a very poor boxer. In Rahman's favor, Maskaev has been shown to have a susceptible chin, losing by KO to Lance Whittaker, Kirk Johnson, Corey Sanders, David Tua and Oliver McCall. The thing that Rahman does not lack is punching power. If he shows up in the same condition that he did for his fight with Toney, he could last long enough to beat down the glass-jawed Kazakhstani.
The bout between Nikolay Valuev and Owen Beck has been postponed. I don't even know that I care.
The heavyweight bout that I'm most eagerly awaiting is the Chris Byrd-Wladmir Klitschko coming up on April 22 (HBO). I'll blather more about this fight as it gets closer, but I'm predicting that the IBF belt will change hands. Klitschko has too much reach for Byrd, who has too little power to take advantage of Wlad's glass jaw. Both are skilled boxers, but I imagine that this will be a repeat of their last bout, which ended in a Klitschko unanimous decision, with Byrd twice tasting canvas.
The heavyweight division has been boring, but I still hold out hope. Of course, while holding onto that thread of hope, I'm watching and enjoying the lower weight-classes more. The 10 last good fights I've seen have all been Cruiserweight or below. To me, a long-time boxing fan, that is a sad statement.
posted by Paul at 3:12 PM
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