Well, the dream is over for now. It was great having four white HW champs, but we all knew it had to come to an end some time.
The scary thing about Briggs is that he can beat at least two of the remaining three champs, if not all three. Maskaev is getting old, Valuev is obviously vulnerable, and Klitschko has been KO'ed twice. (Yes, I think Wlad would beat Briggs... then again, I thought Lyakhovich would beat him.) Lyakhovich reminds me of the former UFC champion, Rich Franklin. Talented, but largely unproven. He had a great fight against Brewster, but Brewster ain't that great.
Maskaev could lose to Peter (or whoever,) Valuev could lose to a number of guys, and Klitschko could lose to Briggs. (And I'm keeping my fingers crossed about next Saturday!) I hope the Eastern European HW's aren't just a flash in the pan. (Yes, I know there are other divisions and other fighters.) I'm down to two sports now, boxing and MMA! I can't stomach anything else.
At any rate, Klitschko's our guy.
As for the reach advantage, tough sh*t. Black fighters almost always have the reach advantage over white fighters. That's just the way it is. Preferably, a white fighter should be taller than his black opponent; as we've seen with Klitschko/ Peter, a height advantage can nullify a reach disadvantage. Either that, or be quicker and more athletic a la Joe Calzaghe. But most white fighters out there aren't that quick/ athletic, unfortunately.
I don't want to see a rematch! I agree with Shogun. Let these black guys beat up on each other for awhile. I'd like to see Briggs fight other fighters for a couple of years before he fights Lyakhovich again, or any of the white champs. It's more important for white fighters to not get defeated than to regain that particular belt.
As for Sultan/ Briggs, yikes! If Sultan had problems reaching Austin, how's he going to deal with Briggs' counterpunches and 6'8" wingspan? Hmm....Edited by: JD074