Calling A Spade A Spade 03.20.10: THE Most Important Heavyweight Fight

Posted by Ryan Bates on 03.20.2010

Your last hope at saving heavyweight boxing takes on Big Daddy Wlad-y Saturday. Why is this fight so important?

Hey, guess what? There's a heavyweight fight this weekend! I know, sometimes we miss out on little things... taking DVDs back to RedBox on time, forgetting hair appointments, unified heavyweight championship fights.

But no, there is a unified heavyweight fight this weekend, happening of all places in Germany. How unusual! A heavyweight fight happening in Germany, home of Frankenstein and his monster. Coincidence?

If it's happening in Germany, it must involve one of the Klitschko brothers. In fact, it does, this time featuring Wladimir (at least I think it's Wladimir. Maybe HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg can refresh my memory). The triple belt holder (53-3, 47 KO) will put all of his titles on the line against American heavyweight "Fast" Eddie Chambers (35-1, 18 KO) on Saturday in Germany.



Now, a few months back, 411mania Boxing's own Joe Roche brought you an article about why he thought that the WBA heavyweight fight between David Haye and Nikolai Valuev was "THE heavyweight title fight." With all due respect, I have to disagree. If you're looking for a heavyweight title fight with importance, my friends, here it is. In fact, it's so important, that I have prepared a cheer (because hey, if someone knows cheerleaders, it's the Klitschkos, right?). So let's call a spade a spade... Ready? OK!

EDDIE CHAMBERS, HE'S OUR MAN... IF HE CAN'T DO IT, NO ONE CAN!

Oh, that's no joke, friends. If Chambers can't pull off the upset against the Mighty Wlad, we're going to be stuck with both brothers until they decide to retire... and that would keep heavyweight boxing as we know it in a permanent stranglehold.

Let's look at The Ring heavyweight rankings:

Champ: Big Daddy Wlad-y.

1. Vitali Klitschko – A fight between the two brothers is about as likely as Glenn Beck realizing what a complete nut-job he is. That is, impossible.

2. Alexander Povetkin – Nice kid, but he doesn't have the head movement to get around the Klitschko jab. Just because he recently put down Javier Mora in 5 doesn't mean he can do the same to either Klitschko. Mora's training routine makes Chris Arreola look like an image from the Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding.

3. Eddie Chambers – Fighting this Saturday.

4. Ruslan Chagaev – While Chagaev held a belt, no one considered him a major champion. He's already lost to Wladimir once; does anyone anticipate anything different in a rematch?



5. David Haye – First, his pot-shotting won't work on the Klitschkos like they did Valuev, because both Klitschkos have (say it with me now) a good jab. Secondly, Haye had bowed out of fights with both Klitschko brothers before he even spent much time in the division, so he'll have to develop some testicular fortitude before we start contemplating this rematch "for realsies."

6. Chris Arreola – "Done, done, on to the next one." – Foo Fighters. I like the guy, but until he drops the weight, he can't get around the Klitschko jab. He's tried on one brother; the other brother will do the same.



7. Denis Boytsov – This guy has only fought in Austria and Germany. He has a WBO European Title, which is a fairly weak title once it gets into the weak classes, as we've seen in other weights (anyone remember Michel Trabant?).

8. Nikolai Valuev – Frankenboxer? I don't think so. His handlers don't think so either or else he would have fought one of them while he had a strap. Now he's just a giant guy with gloves.

9. Alexander Dimitrenko – Dimitrenko lost to Eddie Chambers who almost received a German screwjob thanks to a 113-113 bull-stinky scorecard. I hate to use "If A then B, and B then C" logic, but if this A lost to that C, he's not going to beat either K.

10. Tony Thompson – "On to the next one..." – Jay-Z.

So, really, that's it. No one else in the Ring magazine Top 10 heavyweights can beat either Klitshcko.

No one, except maybe Eddie Chambers.



The thing about the Klitschkos is, even if you know basic boxing, you know how to beat the Klitschkos – get around that thunderous jab, work the body, smother him until he starts to get back into a dangerous fighting range, and when he does get the hell away from him. David Haye did this in part with Valuev, but never smothered him, instead being content to point Frankenboxer to death. Chris Arreola did this in part, and largely unsuccessfully, to Vitali Klitschko. On the few occasions he got around the jab, he worked the body well, ripping off some powerful body shots that I'm sure even Vitali felt in the morning. But he just didn't get around that jab often enough.



We all know the gameplan; the execution, however, proves troublesome.

That's why this truly is the most important heavyweight fight, because Eddie Chambers has the tools to work the job. There is not a heavyweight out there that has a solid combination of speed and power like Chambers right now. Some may be more powerful, but they're slow. Some are speedy (Haye, for example), but by heavyweight standards are light punchers. Chambers has it both.

Most people think of Chambers and go back to his televised fight with Sam Peter. Don't. That's not all Eddie Chambers is. Go back to his fights with Calvin Brock, where he had to work up the heart to pull off the win. Go back to Dominick Guinn where he asserted dominance. Go back to Dimitrenko, where he managed to win a decision card as an American on German soil. That shouldn't be a mark of honor, but let's face facts, it truly is.

Do I think Chambers can pull off the upset? I really do. I'm one of the few. I think the time is right for an upset, that everything will line up, that maybe the Cheerleader from "Heroes" drained the energy out of Klitschko (or was that the other Klitschko, Ross Greenburg? I forget), and maybe we'll see a fantastic example of what "Fast" Eddie Chambers is all about.

Not only do I think he can really do it, I pray he can, for heavyweight boxing's sake.