The heavyweight division is the glory division in boxing. The saying goes that as goes the heavyweights, goes boxing. Thanks to compelling action in the lighter divisions in recent years, that thankfully has been the case. However, since the departure of Lennox Lewis the division has largely been a collection of overweight contenders and futile titleholders. Two men have emerged at the top, but they will never fight each other, leaving the state of the division in further disrepair.

Heavyweight division rankings last updated November 8, 2009.

1. Wladimir Klitschko – He’s on an 11 fight winning straight, including 8 title defenses. After destroying Chris Byrd and Calvin Brock, he was being hailed. But since then he has had a handful of uninspiring performances, and despite his enormous size advantages often seems unwilling to risk anything. Flaws remain in Wlad, however nobody has been able to exploit them. After David Haye backed out of their fight, Klitschko took on top rated Ruslan Chagaev, beating him handily but still not dominating as many think he should.
2. Vitali Klitschko – After an injury plagued 4 year hiatus from the sport, the knockout king has returned. He demolished Sam Peter and then got another win over Juan Carlos Gomez. Then he met one of the top American heavyweights, Chris Arreola, and in what was perhaps the best performance of his career he forced the bout to be stopped after 10 rounds. In 38 professional wins, he has 37 wins by stoppage and his two losses came from an arm injury against Chris Byrd and a cut against Lennox Lewis. Next up is American heavyweight Kevin Johnson.
3. David Haye – Haye finally has a piece of the heavyweight crown after toppling Nikolay Valuev. It’s just his second win at heavyweight, but his self promotion as well as his in-ring performance as vaulted him to one of the top spots in the division. After canceling fights with both of the Klitschko brothers, will he get an opportunity to fight one of them any time soon? There are a lot of people ahead of him in line, including Eddie Chambers and Alexander Povetkin for Wladimir, and Kevin Johnson for Vitali.
4. Eddie Chambers – Chambers was beating Povetkin handily until midway through the fight when either Povetkin did something miraculous or Chambers simply ran out of inspiration or energy. From watching the fight, it certainly appears to be the latter. Chamber has since beaten Sam Peter and dominated Alexander Dimitrenko in a title eliminator, leaving him in position to challenge Wlad Klitschko for his titles. His body says that his best weight would be cruiserweight, but it hasn’t cost him yet with the big boys. He has since leapfrogged Povtekin in the heavyweight division because Povetkin has been relatively inactive, fighting only twice against mediocre opposition since their encounter.
5. Alexander Povetkin – Povetkin was fast tracked to a shot against Wladimir, but then injured himself in training and the fight had to be postponed. If Povetkin has been using this time to further hone his skills, he may just have a chance at climbing the mountain. Unfortunately, his relentlessness also makes him an easy target, which could just as easily spell doom against Vitali or Wlad. Since beating Eddie Chambers, he has only fought twice.
6. Ruslan Chagaev – After taking care of the sideshow Nikolay Valuev, Chagaev was gaining recognition as one of the best heavyweights in the world. After both of their fights got canceled, Chagaev stepped in to meet champion Wladimir Klitschko. Add him to the list of challengers who were “supposed to” against Klitschko, and failed to perform whatsoever.
7. Sultan Ibgragimov – Once a promising titleholder and contender, he seemingly put forth little to no effort in his decision loss to Wladimir. Granted the size difference is challenging, but a better performance would have been appreciated. A match against Chagaev could be interesting.
8. Odlanier Solis – While he may not have the professional creds, yet, Solis has been burning a hole through the rankings since his defection from Cuba. Considering his wealth of amateur skills, it’s no stretch to say he should be a more viable contender than the likes of Sam Peter, Nikolai Valuev, Hasim Rahman or another retread. By the end of 2010 it could be title shot time.
9. Chris Arreola – He went into the fight with Vitali Klitschko a massive underdog with a large following, and a left a conquered, beaten fighter with an even larger following. He has heart, and he has power, but his limited boxing ability and conditioning problems showed against the elder Klitschko. After a few turns back in the ring he could be ready for another step up in class.  A fight with Sam Peter or American heavyweights such as Kevin Johnson or Tony Thompson could be intriguing.
10. Alexander Dimitrenko – Although the body size and country of origin called to mind Klitschko brothers redux, Eddie Chambers put on a boxing clinic against Dimitrenko to earn his title shot. Still, he has size and skills that could give many fighters problems.

Keep Your Eyes On:

• Manny Quezada: Stopping Travis Walker with a first round knockout blasted Quezada into the picture.
• Kevin Johnson: The light hitting, smooth boxing of The Kingpin is facing a major challenge when he battles Vitali Klitschko in December. Will he be able to rise to the occasion and score a huge upset?
• James Toney: Toney managed to weigh in at about 217 pounds for his last fight, 20 lbs lighter than his most bloated. Of course, losing another 17 and getting down to cruiserweight would do far more for his hopes.

More Boxing Weight Class Rankings:

• 175-200 lbs -Cruiserweight Division

Written by: Jake Emen