The New Batch of Heavies - Who will Rise and Who will Fall?

It is a well-known fact that Vitali is only a few months away from hanging up the gloves, and that Wladimir won't be around for ever. The question has to be asked: Who is likely to take over? Everyone is always going on about how poor the heavy division is, but the fact remains that a lot of the half decent heavies haven't fought against each other yet and many seem to be being protected. So who are they & what do I think?

Manuel Charr (27) 21-0-0 (11) WBC No 1 challenger due to fight Vitali. Little known about him other than he's got a big mouth and fancies his chances. Biggest name on his record was a 275lb Danny Williams... Be interesting to see how an old & slow Vitali deals with him.

Mike Perez (26) 18-0-0 (12) Fairly small but quick with a wrecking ball punch. Career appears to have stagnated after his Prizefighter-winning 1 round demolition of Tye Fields (the biggest name on his record). Needs a good test.

Alexander Povetkin (32) 24-0-0 (16) WBA "Regular" Champ. Probably the most protected heavy out there. Has twice pulled out of fights with Wladimir and doesn't appear to want the further himself, seemingly being content fighting has-beens (next fight is against Rahman) and struggling against a blown-up cruiser in Huck. Biggest name on his record is a dull UD against Chagaev long after Wlad ruined him.

Tyson Fury (24) 19-0-0 (14) The well-liked Fury is all about entertainment, being it talking lots, hitting himself, hitting the deck or beating up on cab drivers. Doesn't appear to be trying to get a big name on his record and seems to think he's rated very highly. Biggest win against a horrifically out of shape Chisora.

Odlanier Solis (32) 18-1-0 (12) After his knee gave way against Vitali, his only fight after reconstruction has been a UD against the limited Konstantin Airich where he weighed 267lbs - shocking for someone only 6ft 1". Seems to favour the pie shop and the sweet trolley over constant training, so it is possible that his great talents will go to waste. I would take him to beat most of the contenders without breaking sweat. However, I believe he will now not amount to much.

Seth Mitchell (30) 25-0-1 (19) US puncher who seems limited but is entertaining. Perhaps not the greatest in terms of boxing ability although he does seem to have decent power. Biggest win was a demolition of former fringe contender Timur Ibragimov.

Robert Helenius (28) 17-0-0 (11) The 6ft 6" Finn was starting to go through the contenders well (a 9th round come-from-behind KO of Peter being his best win) until his disastrous fight with Chisora , which most thought Dereck had won. He was allegedly injured - it will be interesting to see how he progresses and comes back from this.

Denis Boytsov (26) 31-0-0 (25) A fairly small heavy, he has gone largely unnoticed in most circles, massing a big unbeaten record consisting mainly of former fringe contenders and no-marks. His biggest win is a UD against Audley-conqueror Dominick Guinn.

Deontay Wilder (26) 24-0-0 (24) The 6ft 7" "Bronze Bomber" appears to have all the tools to succeed with his perfect record. However, he has yet to be tested at all and is fighting a bunch of complete nobodies. If anyone here shows a padded record it is Wilder. The best win on his record is the not-so-great-at-all Owen Beck.

David Price (29) 13-0-0 It is possibly a little unfair to put Price in here seeing as he has only had 13 fights and his opposition is strictly national level. he has potential, but he has only been knocking over most of the people put in front of him. It'll be interesting to see how he deals with Audley.

Of this motley crew of 10, I see Helenius, Price, & Wilder as the stand-out 3 with the most "potential", but this is only if they can step up to the plate. Helenius I believe had a nightmare against Chisora because he was out of sorts and injured and both Price & Wilder I can see improving the better their respective opponents. Solis is an outside runner if he stops eating...

But in the Heavies, one punch can change EVERYTHING. Time to step up, Gents.

The fact that Helenius had a come from behind win against Peters says a lot. How can a washed up Peters be ahead of him on the cards?

Fury, Boystov and Wilder seem the best of the bunch.

Price will fall if he doesn't build confidence. Solis will fall if he doesn't stop eating. Mitchell will fall as he is not smart enough in the ring. Wilder will rise, Fury too, and that KO king i saw the other month, the Eastern European training with Martinez's guy, he will rise. IMO.

Great post.

Why did you have to put Price in?? Cue 5 pages of Az telling us why he'd get knocked over by a stiff breeze and Fury is the saviour of British HW boxing....

TopHat24/7 wrote:Why did you have to put Price in?? Cue 5 pages of Az telling us why he'd get knocked over by a stiff breeze and Fury is the saviour of British HW boxing....

I haven't even mentioned Price. Stick to the thread mate and don't personalise it.

To be honest am not impressed with the American's Mitchell and Wilder.

Wilder seems to have a thin frame (especially his legs) which suggests he would be on queer street when he receives his first full blooded punch. Not been in with a live opponant yet after 24 fight which does suggest he's not ready for the elite and his handlers seem to have little faith in him.

Mitchell seems very crude and does lack a ring IQ as already suggested. The second he's in there with any of the above (bar Wilder) I think he looses.

Povetkin gets a hell of a lot of stick on here - some justified, I'll add - but to be honest, if Haye waltzes off in to retirement (again), I'd still back him to be the top man at Heavyweight once the Klitschkos are gone for around eighteen months at least. Good amateur pedigree, more meaningful experience than the rest of them and, if we strip away his less desirable traits, some considerable ability. I think I'd back him to beat all of the other names listed if he fought them right now.

In the long run, I think Mitchell, Solis (if he can be bothered to get in shape) and Price will be the cream of the crop by, say, 2015. I maintain that Price is the superior talent to Fury, Mitchell has impressed me more than Wilder and Solis has all the tools, if only he had the application. Maybe that side of things will come for him, maybe not.

I think Fury will be in the chasing pack, Boystov too. Not sold on Wilder yet, and can't for the life of me understand the buzz around Helenius. The 'Nordic Nightmare'? Well, they've got it half right, as he's certainly sleep-inducing...

Wilder will get flatted by the first decent heavy he comes up against. He has been held back too long.

Fury will get found out too, he is too wreckless.

Boystov is too small. A long jab will be his downfall in a division with much bigger men.

Price hopefully is let off his leash in the next 3-4 fights. He hasn't put a foot wrong against guys who would give Fury, Wilder etc a lot of trouble.

Can't really comment on Helenius until his fights again as the Chisora fight was a disgusting set up. The ref was on his side as well as the judges. It was up there with Ottke vs Reid.

Solis seems to have falling into the modern heavyweight mindset of just walking into the ring fat. His last fight was a disgrace, the rolls of flab he had.

Povetkin nearly got beat by Huck. That is not a future HW conqueror.

Mike Perez doesn't seem to be taking things serious anymore which is a pity.

Price has the tools and been the most impressive up to now. But he is only 13 or 14 fights in, so will be a force to reckon with as he moves up.

Its actually shocking that none of these guys listed have even fought eachother. The closest we got was Price calling out Fury and Fury running under Mick Hennessys belly for protection

Wilder is far better than Mitchell...Mitchell nearly got stopped by Witherspoon.

Wilder is the real deal...Golden Boy need to step up the opponents.

Fury is just fun to watch but cant see him being a world champ. He beat Chisora but Chisora was very over weight and blowing halfway through the fight, but even then Chisora put Fury under pressure... But he is young so has lots of time to grow and get better and fitter.. So who knows.

Odlanier is very talented but too unfit, if he lived the life and got in proper condition he could be a real threat... but if he has not done it yet when will he?

Price has all the tools and looks like he could be the real deal.. just need to test his chin and heart and if he ticks those then I think we have a real champ on our hands. Needs to be fighting much more than he is.

Solid is easily the most talented fighter out of the lot but will end up having the worst career due to his weight problems. He weighs in at 270lbs standing at 6'1, it's embarrassing. That being said he must be the best 6'1 270lber I've ever seen as he looks very good despite the weight. If he hits 220-230 he could dominate the division

The others aren't particularly outstanding and thats why I feel any of them if not all of them will be HW champion (or one of the champions) in their career

Wilder is waiting to be knocked out, spindly frame, overrated power, poor technique and a suspect chin. He has faced the weakest competition out of the lot

Povetkin is also decent but their was enough in the huck fight that showed that he will have a couple losses if he fights a couple top guys

Fury is rubbish imo BUT is very young for a heavy and will win a title or 2 in the future

Perez is overrated imo, good in prizefighter but he suited the format well, and hasn't impressed (with his power moreso) in the pro game

Mitchell excites me and while he may be closest to the shot he looked vulnerable vs witherspoon

No-one has fought good enough opposition for us to judge