The word that best describes Saturday?s WBC heavyweight title bout between Vitali Klitschko and Odlanier Solis is ?disappointing? ? about as disappointing as a fight that lasts less than one round can get.
Solis tipped the scales at 247 lb., which is a lot for a guy who stands slightly under 6-foot-2. But it was the lightest the Cuban had weighed during his entire professional career, indicating that he was taking his challenge of the WBC champion seriously.
And Solis managed to hold his own against the towering Ukrainian for nearly three minutes. Then Klitschko clipped him with a right high on the head, and Solis hit the canvas and clutched his right knee. After he struggled to his feet, Solis could not put weight on his right leg, and the referee had no choice but to award the bout to Klitschko via technical knockout.
That?s a lousy way for a match to end. But no fighter should be expected to continue a bout on one leg, whether the injury occurs in the first round or the twelfth. At least Solis tried to hit Klitschko, which is more than some of the big man?s previous opponents were able to do.
So, Vitali Klitschko and his younger brother Wladimir still control three of the four major alphabet titles (Wladimir has the IBF and WBO belts). The Titanic Twosome have dominated the heavyweight division since Lennox Lewis retired in 2004. Considering that Vitali stands 6?7?? and Wladimir 6?6??, with both weighing in the 240-250 lb. range, talk will continue of establishing a ?Super-Heavyweight? division that would disconnect the titans of the ring from the smaller heavies over whom the Ukrainians hold seemingly insurmountable advantages.
But any efforts to institute such a division are premature. We don?t yet know whether the Klitschkos are aberrations, or the template for world-class heavyweights to come. The point at which a jumbo division should be contemplated will come after the Ukrainians are defeated or retire. If their successors, and the majority of heavyweight contenders, match the size of the Klitschkos, then a separate weight class ? probably 230 lb. and above ? will need to be instituted. A new standard will have been set, similar to the situation in the 1970s, when an abundance of excellent heavyweights weighing 210-220 lb. necessitated the establishment of the cruiserweight class. As of now, though, the Klitschkos are indeed exceptions, not the standard, in the realm of world-class heavyweights.
The heavyweight ratings in the April 2011 issue of The Ring list Wladimir Klitschko as champion and Vitali as the No. 1 contender. Vitali graces the cover of the magazine.
The No. 2 contender is WBA champion David Haye, a former cruiserweight king who stands 6?3? and weighs about 220. No. 3 is the 6?2?, 225 lb. Alexander Povetkin. No. 4 is Tomasz Adamek, who at 6?1? and 215 lb. is another ex-cruiserweight titlist. No. 5 is Ruslan Chagaev, who stands 6?1? and weighs 230 lb. Chagaev has lost to Wladimir Klitschko.
At No. 6, we find Eddie Chambers, 6?1? and 210 lb. Chambers is another Wladimir Klitschko victim. He has also lost to Povetkin. No. 7 is Denis Boytsov, at 6?1? and 220. No: 8 is the gigantic 7?, 300 lb Nicolay Valuev, who should not even be rated because he hasn?t fought since losing to David Haye late in 2009. Valuev has also lost to Chagaev.
No. 9 is Alexander Dimitrenko, who is Klitschko-sized at 6?7? and 250 lb, but has lost to Chambers. Rounding out the list is the 6?4?, 250 lb. Chris Arreola, who has lost to Adamek and Vitali Klitschko.
Without the looming presence of the Klitschkos, the top heavyweights would be mostly about the same size they?ve been since the ?70s. The other plus-size heavies ? Valuev, Dimitrenko and Arreola ? have been beaten by smaller men.
At this point, then, there is no need for a Super-Heavyweight division. Only the Klitschkos have been able to use their size advantage consistently and effectively. Once those two Goliaths are gone, the Davids (not necessarily Haye) will rule again.
As for Solis, he?s going to have to work his way up to the top again. And he?s also going to have to lose more weight, because he?s no Goliath.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace, as well as the Imaro series of fantasy/adventure novels. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers.
