The heavyweight division has slightly changed over the last twelve months. Champions Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko remain at the top, but other faces were either promoted or demoted in the division’s rankings. Also, we witnessed the arrival of former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek, who stopped veteran Andrew Golota in his first heavyweight win. Old faces returned such as Shannon Briggs and David Tua, although Briggs is currently suspended since he tested positive for a banned substance in his return bout against Marcus McGee on December 3rd. It was originally a 1st-round knockout win for Briggs, but was eventually changed to a no contest.
There is also a new WBA titleholder in former cruiserweight champion David Haye. Although Haye failed to step into the ring with both Klitschko brothers, he was able to face and defeat Nikolai Valuev on November 7th. While some fans were eager to see Valuev dethroned of heavyweight gold, the fashion of Haye’s victory left a sour taste for many spectators that evening. For most of the bout, Haye was on the run in hopes to avoid any possible attack from his giant opponent. In the end, neither man looked impressive; therefore, heavyweight fans need to hang back to see what developments take place in 2010.
While Eddie Chambers and Alexander Povetkin are still among the top challengers in the division, names like Samuel Peter, Juan Carlos Gomez, Ruslan Chagaev and Alexander Dimitrenko must climb their way back up. On the other hand, Cristobal Arreola and Tony Thompson are already back on the rise in hopes of landing another shot at heavyweight gold.
At the moment, some intriguing heavyweight match-ups have already been scheduled for the year’s first few months. In February, Tomasz Adamek will enter his second heavyweight bout against prospect Jason Estrada. In March, heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko defends his throne against Eddie Chambers. Plus, David Tua looks to face Friday Ahunanya on a March date in New Zealand.
