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 April 25, 2010

1. Wladimir Klitschko – He’s on an 12 fight winning streak, including 9 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. He added a knockout win over Eddie Chambers to his resume and now will have to face Alexander Povetkin.
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. Kevin Johnson was the next up, and he was a rarity for merely making it to the final bell. In 39 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.
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 last year it may be a struggle to get one of them in the ring again, although momentum is building once again for a fight against Wlad. He disposed of John Ruiz as was expected.
4. Tomasz Adamek - Adamek continues to prove how much of a beast that he is, climbing up to heavyweight and in three wins establishing himself as one of the best fighters in the division. If not for a thiry lb weight disadvantage, the fight against Arreola would have been a whitewash. He has the chin, skills and toughness to compete against anybody, but a fight against fellow former cruiserweight champion David Haye might be the most compelling.
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. Unfortunately, his relentlessness also makes him an easy target, which could just as easily spell doom against Vitali or Wlad. He is now training with Teddy Atlas but because of his injury has fought just four times since he beat Eddie Chambers.
6. Odlanier Solis – While he may not have the professional creds, he has an impeccable amateur background and Solis has been burning a hole through the rankings since his defection from Cuba.  By the end of 2010 it should be title shot time. Solis needs to watch his weight however, one look at his physique suggests he’d be better served in the 240-250 lbs range than the 260 lbs range.
7. 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.
8. Eddie Chambers – Chambers did his best to get something done against Wlad, however the size disadvantage left him unable to generate any kind of significant offensive attack. He weighed in at 209 lbs for the fight, so one has to ask if cruiserweight is where he should be plying his trade. It’s a suggestion he doesn’t take kindly to, but it may be his best bet at winning titles, at least as long as the Klitschkos are around.
9. Tony Thompson – Add him to the list of top 10 heavyweight fighters who have lost to a Klitschko. Thompson has two wins in a row since his shot at a title against Wlad. By the end of 2010 he could be working his way back into title contention, and he recently called out Tomasz Adamek after his win over Chris Arreola.
10. 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. He was exposed against Tomasz Adamek, a quicker and more skilled fighter that wouldn’t crumble when he got decked a few times. Not that he was running either, Arreola was rightfully busted up by the end of the fight.

More Boxing Weight Class Rankings:

• 175-200 lbs -Cruiserweight Division

Written by: Jake Emen