So, after all the bad blood and bad-mouthing bombast, Saturday?s long-awaited showdown between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye turned out to be a flop ? literally, as Haye drooped to the canvas every time the much-bigger Klitschko leaned on him. Haye managed to last the 12-round distance, but lost by a wide margin. The run-and-gun strategy that enabled Haye to decision the giant Nicolay Valuev in 2009 failed miserably against Klitschko ? mainly because Klitschko is ten times faster and more athletic than the lumbering Valuev could ever be. After the fight, Haye said he was hampered by a toe injury he had suffered in training camp.
Regardless, Haye couldn?t cash the check his mouth wrote, and Klitschko added David?s WBA belt to his collection, which includes the IBF and WBO straps. The other major heavyweight title, of course, is that of the WBC. And that belt belongs to Wladimir?s older brother, Vitali.
Vitali Klitschko will defend his title against Tomasz Adamek this September. The elder Klitschko?s two losses came as a result of injuries incurred during the bouts. And realistically, that?s the only way Adamek can hope to win.
Assuming that Vitali meets expectations and disposes of Adamek, what?s left for the big Ukrainians to accomplish? Not much. They have made good on their ambition to hold all four major heavyweight belts between them. They are so dominant that the only competitive fight left in the division is a Klitschko vs. Klitschko confrontation. They have repeatedly stated that they will never fight each other, and they should be taken at their word.
So, what?s next for the Bruise Brothers?
This is going to sound heretical, but I think they should retire. Not because they?re over the hill, even though Wladimir is 35 and Vitali will turn 40 later this month. And not because of their less than crowd-pleasing styles. The reason they should hang up their gloves is because, like Alexander the Great, they have ?no worlds left to conquer.? Pending the outcome of Vitali?s contest with Adamek, the Klitschkos have basically cleaned out the division, and there are no credible challengers in sight.
Just take a look at the latest ratings in The Ring and Boxing Monthly magazines. Part of their Top 10 lists consists of fighters one or the other Klitschko has already beaten decisively, such as Eddie Chambers, Ruslan Chagaev, Chris Arreola, Tony Thompson and now Haye. The rest are unproven prospects like Alexander Povetkin, Dennis Boytsov and Robert Helenius. The Klitschkos could make money fighting that not-ready-for-prime-time trio in Europe. But would victories over them add any luster to their legacies? No.
Truth is, now that Haye has been disposed of, there are no compelling contenders waiting in the wings. The buzz among the heavyweights these days is like that of a hive with only one bee in it.
Financial woes forced Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali to fight well beyond their primes, with disastrous results. The Klitschkos are in no such predicament. Neither brother seems to be a spendthrift, so a few more millions in their bank accounts won?t make much difference.
The Klitschkos could both continue for a few more years, knocking off several more overmatched opponents and leaving the heavyweight division even more barren than it already is. But if they retired early next year, having dominated their era and defeated all comers (including, presumably, Adamek), the division would suddenly be wide open. The WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO belts would all be up for grabs, and a whole slew of competitive fights could be made among a roster of suddenly-eager claimants.
Sure, the division might look like a mess for a while, as it did in the early 1980s before Mike Tyson came along. But at least today?s contenders are not a bunch of out-of-shape, talent-wasting dope fiends, as was the case back then. So it would be an exciting mess, a creative mess, and a mess from which the next great heavyweight could well emerge.
Of course, the new king would always face the question: ?But could you have beaten the Klitschkos?? That?s always the way, though, going back to the time of John L. Sullivan.
Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko have held the heavyweight banner high since the retirement of Lennox Lewis. They should be commended, not disrespected, for their ascendancy over the division. Now that they?ve proven everything they?ve wanted to prove, they?d be doing the heavyweights ? and boxing as a whole ? a favor by moving on to other pursuits while they?re at the peak of their long run of success.
After all, who could they be accused of ducking?
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. His latest novel, Damballa, which centers around a fictional heavyweight title bout, is available at www.gopulp.info
