Wladimir Klitschko’s next fight is now roughly a month away, when he meets Australian heavyweight Alex Leapai on April 26 in Germany. Leapai isn’t a bad fighter, and is arguably the best new heavyweight coming out of the Australasian region. Let’s face it, though — he’s a no hoper.
“The Lionheart” is 34 years old, and stands at 34-4-3 with 24 KOs. Two of those defeats come by way of knockout, and the most recent was only two years ago, when Leapai got TKO’ed in the 9th by American journeyman Kevin Johnson. His resume is noteworthy mostly on the basis of how undistinguished it is, and the justification for his title challenge against Klitschko rests in large part on his victory over undefeated Denis Boytsov, who was a protected, paper undefeated to say the least.
Dr. Steelhammer is going to stop The Lionheart, and that is a promise. So the big question really is “what next?” With big brother Vitali gone off into the midst of the Ukrainian international crisis, Wladimir Klitschko is soldiering on alone in the heavyweight division at the age of 37. Big Wlad’s own retirement must be in sight, so what it all really boils down to is how does he want to go out: riding high or coasting out?
Clearing House
The best way for Klitschko the Younger to leave the scene would be for him to dominate the new, rising crop of heavyweights. In doing so, he would have either outlasted or dominated three distinct, successive classes of heavyweight contenders. He made a good start on that by taking down Alexander Povetkin last year, but in fighting Leapai he is now merely collecting a (admittedly weighty) paycheck.
At the present time, Klitschko fights only twice a year, and he will doubtless want to keep all three of his titles (IBF-WBA-WBO) until he is ready to retire. That points to him taking care of a mandatory challenger, just to keep on top of things. Indeed, dealing with mandatory challengers is largely what Klitschko does these days, and that is why he is fighting Leapai in the first place, since Leapai is the WBO’s #1 contender.
A quick look at the WBA’s rankings reveal a vacant #1 slot, following Povetkin’s defeat. Their fake “regular” world championship is also vacant. So, in the near term Klitschko doesn’t need to worry about the WBA telling him to fight somebody, because the WBA needs to get its own overly-complicated house in order. Signs are pointing to the winner of the Tyson Fury vs. Dereck Chisora rematch landing mandatory honors, but that fight doesn’t even take place until July. With Leapai covering the WBO, leaving just the IBF, and that is where things get interesting.
Who is the IBF’s #1 contender? Why the undefeated contender from Bulgaria: Kubrat Pulev, ranked as the number 2 heavyweight in the world by ProBoxing-Fans.com. The strong, technically gifted, 6’4 1/2″ Pulev is arguably the most formidable opponent on Klitschko’s horizon.
If Pulev becomes Klitschko’s second fight for this year, that is a fight to watch. In the meantime, the Leapai fight is one you’ll be forgiven for missing.
