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http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=4306’s Column
pictured: Joe Calzaghe
This year has been somewhat uneventful for white boxers. At the start of 2009, our fighters held 17 of 20 belts from middleweight to heavyweight. Whites currently hold 16 of 20 titles and could very well pick up two more by the end of the year. Unfortunately, our best fighters have not fought very often this year due to a variety of reasons.
Ricky Hatton lost badly (to Manny Pacquaio) in the most high profile match involving a white fighter in 2009. Both Klitschko brothers had the latest great black nope, David Haye, pull out of signed fights. Kelly Pavlik and Michael Kessler have only fought once this year (against non-descript opponents) and cruiserweight king Tomasz Adamek has not been able to land a promised match against Bernard Hopkins.
To top it off, there are no white boxers in most top 10 “pound-for-pound” rankings for the first time in years.
But all this could change as this fall promises to help send off 2009 with a bang. Here are some of the most meaningful matches involving our best warriors:September 26 – Vitali Klitschko v. Chris Arreola
The elder Klitschko defends his WBC championship against the strong but limited Arreola. The fight will be carried live on HBO and is garnering a good amount of attention, perhaps due to the fact that Arreola is undefeated and looking to be the first Mexican heavyweight champion. They will have to wait a little longer as even at 38, Vitali has too much for the inexperienced Arreola.
October 17 – Arthur Abraham v. Jermaine Taylor
The first fight in Showtime’s 168 pound tournament is a good one. Abraham moves up from middleweight to take on the well-known Taylor. Abraham has not beaten great opposition and is not well known in the U.S. He does have a shot at winning the whole thing and should certainly have enough to defeat the slightly past-it Taylor.
October 17 – Carl Froch v. Andre Dirrell
Froch burst upon the scene with two dynamic victories over Jean Pascal and Jermaine Taylor. He defends his WBC belt against Dirrell, who is undefeated and was a gifted amateur. But it should be a good night for white fighters as Froch is on a roll and would seem to carry too much power.
November 7 – Nicolay Valuev v. David Haye
Haye is perhaps the only black heavyweight with a decent shot at a title. He (wisely) backed out of two fights involving both Klitschkos, after talking a big game. Now, the mouthy mulatto finally gets his chance to fight for a title. Haye, a former cruiserweight champ, will have been off for a year and has only had two fights at heavyweight. All the experts and drunk white fans on boxing websites have been hoping and praying that Haye is the real deal. We will find out on November 7 as he tries to take the WBA title from the Russian champion. Nicolay will have a 10 inch height advantage and a 100 pound weight advantage, which should prove to be fatal for Haye, who has chin and stamina issues. No word yet on whether this will be on U.S. television.
November 21 – Mikkel Kessler v. Andre Ward
This is the caste matchup of the year in my opinion. Though both men are not well known, the winner should move into the top 10 pound-for-pound ratings. Most experts are predicting either of these guys to win the Showtime super middleweight tournament. Kessler is a longtime champion at 168 and currently holds the WBA strap. Ward was a gold medalist at the 2004 Olympics. The Dane has fought the better competition and his only loss was to the legendary Joe Calzaghe. Now that his managerial problems are resolved, look for Kessler to score a knockout and move toward becoming the successor to Calzaghe as the best white fighter in the sport.
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