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Manny Steward
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Just about an hour after Wladamir Klitschko defeated Chris Byrd for a second time, this time by a 7th round KO, Emmanuel Steward said this about his young (let’s face it, 30 is young in the heavyweight division) charge: "I don't see anyone on the horizon, even in the amateurs, that's going to beat him. He can hold this title until he retires."
Of course a part of being a trainer is to help promote your fighter and say the right things at the right time. In this case though, maybe the promoting of a fighter has a hint of truth to it. After all, Klitschko easily defeated a man who hadn’t lost a fight since 2000, also against Klitschko. Let’s look a little deeper at Steward’s claims – 1. No-one now, or in the amateurs can beat him; 2. He can hold the title until he retires.
I’ll attack both of these Nostradamus like predictions at the same time. Let’s assume Klitschko will fight for at least another five years. In this day in age this means two or three fights a year which leaves us looking at 10-15 more fights for the current ‘Ring’ #1 rated heavyweight in the world.
Steward says no one in the current heavyweight division can beat him. Well, last time I checked Lamon Brewster is in the current heavyweight division, and he did beat him. Yes, there are many curious things surrounding that fight, plus Brewster lost his last fight to Serguei Liakhovich (although to Brewster’s credit he fought with a detached retina almost the entire fight). I do believe that Klitschko would win a rematch against Brewster, but that is something that needs to be addressed in order for Steward’s claims to hold some truth. As far as some up and comers that could give Klitschko a run for his money by the time he reached the age when he would consider retirement, let’s have a look at some of the ‘Young Guns’ contained in Julian Kasdin’s excellent list.
Alexander Povetkin is probably the closest on this list to getting a title shot. The man accomplished more in the amateurs than both of the Klitschko’s combined. In just his 7th fight as a pro he was already fighting fringe contender Friday Ahunanya and making them look silly. If anyone of the ‘Young Guns’ has a chance of defeating Klitschko, it would be him.
Also on the list that could be heavyweight title challengers in the not so distant future are Ruslan Chagaev, Alexander Dimitrenko, and Chazz Witherspoon.
Yes, Manny Steward’s quotes after the fight could in fact be the truth, but there are more then just a couple of heavyweight that beg to differ. |
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2006
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By Bobby Jones (May 1, 2006)
