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Once upon a time the Heavyweight champion in boxing was regarded as the most famous sportsperson in the world! Legends like Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Mike Tyson and many more holding true to the above mentioned statement.
The division has fallen massively in popularity during recent years due to lack of competition, but things are looking on the bright side at the moment with young and talented fighters coming up in ranks through good performances ready to challenge the top dogs in the division. Here we look at the best there is in the heavyweight division at the moment.
?5 . Tyson Fury :
The 6ft 9 giant from Manchester, England is making small waves inside the Heavyweight division. Fury a good trash talker, is undefeated at the moment and has victories over decent opponents like Dereck Chisora and Christian Hammer. Fury’s advantage is his size and ability to box from various ranges using his reach advantage but on the downside, he is a bit slow and doesn’t have the knockout power you would associate with a world class heavyweight.
The reigning champion Wladimir Klitschko has openly talked about his desire to fight Fury as his next opponent and if that happens we can really get to know if he truly is world class or just another hype-job!
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Kubrat Pulev :
The”Cobra” is coming off of a heavy loss to champion Wladimir Klitschko but is good enough to make it into the list. Pulev was perfect at 20-0 before being stopped by Klitschko and in those twenty wins he has got the better of good boxers like Alexander Dimitrenko and Alexander Ustinov.
A fighter who is good at judging distance with excellent footwork Pulev’s main asset is his shot selection and accuracy which is one of the best among Heavyweights. Pulev needs to get his focus back after the recent loss and should test his skills with good opponents so that he can get the rematch against Klitschko.
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Alexander Povetkin :
The former Olympic, World and European amateur champion decided to turn professional in 2005 and has done a decent job till now. Povetkin is 29-1 in his pro-boxing career and is now the mandatory title contender for the WBC Heavyweight title after smashing up Cuban Mike Perez in his last fight.
Povetkin is a pressure fighter who likes to throw a lot of shots which has decent accuracy and good power, an intelligent guy in the ring whose best asset is the technique which he got from his amateur days. Povetkin’s only blemish till now has been his one-sided loss to champion Wladimir Klitschko who gave him a good bashing, but Povetkin seems to have improved after that and would be trying to make a statement when these two meet again in the near future.
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Deontay Wilder :
Wilder started boxing only at the age of 20 to feed his daughter who is suffering from a spinal condition and what a journey it has been for him! An Olympic bronze medallist, undefeated as a professional boxer and to top it all the current WBC Heavyweight Champion. Wilder has all the attributes that is required to be world class having an athletic physique coupled with excellent stamina and power.
He has a perfect record of 33-0 with 32 knockouts which is the highest knockout win percentage in the division at the moment. Wilder’s brute force and quickness inside the ring has made him a force to be reckoned with. Wilder is scheduled to take on American Eric Molina on June 13th and if all goes as planned, a fight with Alexander Povetkin would be made and it would be Wilder’s biggest test till date.
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Wladimir Klitschko :
Part of the reason why the heavyweight division has come down in popularity, “Dr.Steel Hammer” has been dominating the division for quite some time now and at a time was making it look like there were no worthy opponents at all! The reigning champion currently holds all the recognised heavyweight titles and is in no mood to give them up. Klitschko’s win over American Bryant Jennings increased his title defence streak to 18 which puts him 2nd only to Joe Louis in Heavyweight history.
A boxer with the precision of a surgeon while at work, Klitschko’s power and balance are second to none and while he is often accused of clinching his opponent many a time one should see it as a person taking full use of his size advantage. The heavyweight division has sprung back to life once again with Klitschko getting younger and tougher opponents in front of him which would certainly put “Dr. Steel Hammer” to the test.
