Wladimir Klitschko has been dominant in his reign as a heavyweight champion. However, his legacy has been hurt because of a lack of top competition. But, there are several good young heavyweights that have a lot of talent and potential. And no one stays on top forever. Therefore, who are 5 heavyweights that could challenge Wladimir Klitschko?
5. Deontay Wilder
Deontay Wilder has a lot of raw talent and potential. And he won a Bronze Medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics in the heavyweight division with limited amateur experience. Yet, he has fought weak opponents so he is an untested fighter. Likewise, Wilder's chin has never been tested.
Wilder has height and reach advantages over Klitschko. And he could be a dangerous opponent for Klitschko because of his elite athleticism, excellent hand speed and tremendous punching power. Wilder also has won all 25 of his bouts by knockout.
4. Seth Mitchell
There have been several former football players such as Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Mark Gastineau and Alonzo Highsmith that became professional boxers. And Seth Mitchell wants to become the most successful ex-football player turned boxer by becoming the heavyweight champion of the world.
"If I continue to progress and I don't have any setbacks I should be ready for the Klitschkos by the early part of 2013. My team is doing a great job getting me the right fights to get me ready for the Klitschkos," said Mitchell.
Mitchell has flaws that he needs to work on. He needs to improve his defense. For instance, he was badly hurt in his last fight against Chazz Witherspoon in the first round. However, Mitchell is a pressure fighter with good punching power so he will make Klitschko fight.
3. Robert Helenius
Robert Helenius is similar to Wladimir Klitschko in several ways. He fights with te typical Eastern European boxing style like Klitschko. He is a very methodical and patient boxer so he can be boring to watch. And Helenius at 6 foot 6 inches tall and 242 pounds is about the same size as Klitschko too.
Helenius biggest asset is his frightening punching power. He can end any bout with one punch. Helenius has knocked out former champions Siarhei Liakhovich, Samuel Peter and Lamon Brewster. But, he will need to fight at a faster pace and throw more punches than he normally does against Klitschko. Helenius has no chance at upsetting Klitschko if he does not take risks and fights too cautiously.
2. Tyson Fury
Tyson Fury has a cool name. His name sounds like a fighter on Mortal Kombat. And he has improved vastly as a fighter. He was a raw talent that punched himself in the face in his 4th professional fight. He is also competing with David Haye for title of best trash talking British heavyweight. He has been calling out and insulting Haye and David Price.
Fury is a giant heavyweight that is 3 inches taller than Klitschko at 6 feet 9 inches tall. And he has a freakishly long reach at 85 inches. He also has very nimble feet and a good work rate. So Fury is also an aggressive fighter that will not let Klitschko sit back and jab him to death.
1. David Price
David Price is a quiet and low key guy. He is not into trash talking and he laughed at Fury's ridiculous rant about him. He had an impressive amateur career that included winning a Bronze Medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics in the super heavyweight division. He also defeated Fury as an amateur.
There are questions about Price's chin and heart because neither has been tested. Yet, he has height and reach advantages over Klitschko. And he is a towering heavyweight at 6 feet 8 inches tall. Price also has devastating punching power and he has knocked out 12 of his 14 opponents. And if Price keeps improving and he reaches his true potential then he will become the next heavyweight champion of the world
Loren Robinson has watched and studied boxing for the past 12 years. He has written for boxing websites such as boxingnews24.com, eastsideboxing.com and pinoygreats.com. You can find more of his writing at the site www.lorenrobinson.com or you can follow him on Twitter, @PowerofWords22
Sources
29 Oct. 2012 http://www.boxingscene.com/
29 Oct. 2012 http://www.boxrec.com/
