The New Face of Boxing

[Sean]

Boxing has gone through many transitions over the years. It has been dominated by certain ethnic groups, then another would come and overwhelm the first, and so on. But, for some inexplicable reason, in the 1950's boxing started to be dominated by a race, instead of just a certain ethnic group. After Swedish heavyweight Ingemar Johannson, there would not be another majorwhite heavyweight champion until Vitali Klitschko. Why this happened is a whole different story. But, yet again, boxing is changing. There is once again a new face to boxing, and that face is Caucasian. No longer dominated by just a certain ethnic group, though arguments could be made for Eastern Europeans, white fighters the world over are begining to do their part in reclaiming heavyweight boxing. In this post, I hope to show you the fighters who are making this happen, and hopefully have photos for each. The will be listed not in order of potential, but how they are rated on boxrec, which isbased on points. However, it is quite possible than any one of thesefighters can be the champ.And what better place to start at, than the top!

Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko are two of the best Heavyweights out there. Vitali is the champ, and he'll be taking on Hasim Rahman on April 30. Vitali has never been behind in a fight, and his two losses were both controversial. Wladimir is now considered a hasbeen. But don't let them fool you. Just ask Chris Byrd!

Nikolai Valuev
31 years old
7' tall/ 324lbs
40-0-0 (30 KO)
The Beast from the East is definately one of the top guys to watch out for. In his last fight, he beat black heavyweight Attila Levin into retirement.

Joe Mesi
31 years old
6'1/ 225lbs
29-0-0 (25 KO)
Baby Joe Mesi hasnt fought for over a year, due to injuries he suffered in his victory over Russian Cruiserweight Vasili Jirov. Great black prospect Davarryl Williamson, who was thought of as the next big thing, lasted only seconds against this throw back to the great Italian fighters.

Andrew Golota
37 years old
6'4/ 240
38-5-1 (31 KO)
Andrew Golota will forever be famous for his two losing bouts against Bowe...his two losing bouts that effectively ended Bowe's career for good. Golota has since been robbed in two of his comeback fights, but watch him destroy Lamon Brewster in quick fashion on May 21.

Oleg Maskaev
36 years old
6'3/ 240 lbs
30-5-0 (24 KO)
Oleg Maskaev should never be counted out. His chin is weak, but he packs such a punch, that no one wants to fight him. He recently beat Quinn Navare, and should be looking for another payday. He was going to fight Mike Tyson a while back, but the fight fell through. I wonder if Tyson wants to risk it now?


This is all I have time for now, but expect much more! Coming soon!


Edited by: Sean

 

[Sean]

Corrie Sanders
39 years old
6'4/ 236 lbs
40-3-0 (30 KO)
Corrie Sanders is one of the oldest white fighters who still has a chance to make some noise in this division. Corrie has fought many upper echelon fighters, including Rahman, and a win over Wlad. He injured his back after winning his comeback match by 2 round KO.

Luan Krasniqi
33 years old
6'3 1/2/ 230 lbs.
27-1-1 (13 KO)
Krasniqi is a high class European fighter, with much potential. He beat Turkish prospect Sinan Samil Sam, and fought to a draw with fellow European prospect Timo Hoffmann. Luan was scheduled to fight Lance Whitaker, but the fight seems to have fallen through.

Timo Hoffmann
30 years old
6'7/ 260 lbs.
31-3-1 (18 KO)
Hoffmann is the only man to ever go the distance with Vitali Klitschko, and not get knocked out. He has one of, if not the best, chin in boxing, but he needs to work on his ring skills a bit more. His next fight is against Bob Mirovic on March 12.

Serguei Lyakhovich
28 years old
6'4/ 240 lbs.
22-1-0 (14 KO)
The White Wolf could possibly be one of the best of the bunch. He may look like a little kid, but he's the onewho knocked off the next great black hope, Dominick Guinn.Going into the fight, Guinn was going to be the next black champ, but Serguei held him off, and won a UD!

Vladimir Virchis
31 years old
6'4/ 238
16-0-0 (14 KO)
Virchis is an undefeated Heavyweight prospect with lots of potential. In his last fight, he dominated Cliff Couser, stopping him in 5 rounds. Unfortunately, his next fight is against fellow prospect Taras Bidenko, on March 29.


More to come...Edited by: Sean

 

[Sean]

Tye Fields
30 years old
6'9/ 270 lbs.
32-1-0 (30 KO)
Tye Fields is the second best American fighter right now. He built up an impressive KO record fighting more like a toughman competitor, but has since began to take boxing more seriously, with wins over Sherman Williams and Julius Long. He was scheduled to fight Vaughn Bean. but the fight has since fell through. If he can become more active, he is certainly big enough to be a presence in boxing.

Steffen Nielsen
27 years old
6'2/ 230
24-1-0 (13 KO)
Steffen Nielsen has enough talent to become a European champion. His only loss as to Julius Francis, but he gained revenge by beating Francis by UD to win the EEC title. More of a boxer than a puncher, he'll need to become more active before he can really make a mark.

Ruslan Chagaev
26 years old
6'1/ 225
15-0-1 (13 KO)
Most people believe that this is the next big thing in the Heavyweight division. Of all the prospects, he's looked the best. He's a southpaw, with great power, and it seems like a lot of heart and skill. He will be tested by Sherman Williams on March 26.

Dennis Bakhtov
26 years old
?/ 220 lbs.
20-3-0 (13 KO)
Dennis Bakhtov is yet another Eastern European prospect. He was beaten by Brit Matthew Ellis, but has since avenged that loss by stopping Ellis. He also avenged an earlier loss by stopping his foe in 2. More recently, he was stopped in 10 rounds by Sinan Samil Sam, but still has the talent, and is young enough to make a splash in the European section.

Jean-Francois Bergeron
31 years old
6'5/ 222 lbs.
20-0-0 (14 KO)
Bergeron is a French Canadian fighter of decent skill. He's not been beaten in 20 fights, and has never even really been in trouble as a pro. He boasts wins over Mario Cawley, Brian Nix, and Rogerio Lobo. He should think about stepping up his opposition soon. His next fight is against Jimmy Joseph on March 18.

Tomasz Bonin (shown fighting Audley Harrison)
31 years old
6'1/ 235
29-1-0 (15 KO)
Bonin is one of many good Polish fighters. In his fight against Audley Harrison, he was supposed to be fodder, but put on a great showing. When the fight was finally, and very controversially, stopped in the 9th round, Bonin protested the stoppage, while Harrison remained silent. At the time of the stoppage, Harrison was ahead 77-76 on two of the cards, but many at ringside felt he was a round or two behind.

Albert Sosnowski
25 years old
6'2/ 230
35-1-0 (22 KO)
Another Polish prospect. Sosnowski has remained extremely active, as his 36 fights at age 25 shows. His last fight was only his third fight in the USA, which he won by a 2 round TKO.

Alexander Dimitrenko
22 years old
6'7/ 245
17-0-0 (11 KO)
It's easy to see why he's called Baby Face, but at 6'7 and 245 lbs, he certainly is no baby in the ring. He is one of the best prospects in the world, with wins of Julius Francis and Ross Puritty. He is fighting Chris Koval on March 5.


More to come...

 

[Sean]

Paolo Vidoz
34 years old
6'3/ 235
17-2-0 (11KO)
Vidoz is a skilled fighter known as the Gladiator. As an amateur, he beat Samuel Peter. In his last fight, he was stopped by fellow prospect Nikolai Valuev, but showed tremendous heart. He is currently searching for an opponent sometime in April.


(Picture coming soon)
Taras Bidenko
25 years old
6'4/ 221 lbs.
14-1-0 (9 KO)
Bidenko is a very good fighter, his only loss coming in his fourth fight to none other than Nikolai Valuev. But even at that, he held Valuev to a UD. He has since come into his own, with several impressive wins. His next fight is against fellow prospect Vladimir Virchis on March 29.

Cyril Seror (above left)
29 years old
?/ 236 lbs.
15-0-0 (12 KO)
Cyril Seror is the lone French prospect. He has never been defeated, and was the French champion, until he abdicated his title a while back. He has won his last 6 fights within 5 rounds.

Timor Ibragimov
30 years old
?/ 225 lbs.
16-0-1 (9 KO)
Timor is one of two Ibragimov cousins who has opened some eyes in the heavyweight division. His next fight is March 3, against Ronald Bellamy. Hopefully tommorrow i'll need to edit this post, and add another win.

John Poore
33 years old
?/ 220 lbs.
16-0-0 (16 KO)
John Poore is a former toughman fighter, who has never had a fight go over six rounds. A good US prospect. He's KO'd all his opponents. His next fight is March 24 against Robert Hawkins.


Mike Mollo
(coming soon)

Oleg Platov
21 years old
?/ 222 lbs.
18-1-0 (15 KO)
Good hard hitting Ukranian prospect fighting out of Belgium. Still extremely young, and learning, but definately one to look for. He's searching for an opponent for sometime in April.Edited by: Sean

 

[Sean]

Scott Gammer
28 years old
6'2/ 226 lbs.
12-0-1 (7 KO)
Scott Gammer is a Welsh fighter, who will fight just about anyone it seems. He is scheduled to fight Mark Krence April 29, in an Eliminator for the British Heavyweight Title.

Sultan Ibragimov
29 years old
6'2/ 220 lbs.
14-0-0 (12 KO)
Sultan is the other half of the fighting Ibragimov cousins. His next fight is March 3 against Al Cole.

Art Binkowski
30 years old
6'2/ 234 lbs.
13-0-2 (9 KO)
Art Binkowski took some time off boxing to make a movie, but should not be counted out as a prospect. He's another one from Poland, though he fights in Canada. He has wins over some decent opponents.

Roman Greenberg
22 years old
6'3/ 233 lbs.
18-0-0 (13 KO)
Greenberg is a Jewish fighter, but he fights in England. He's been very impressive so far, and has some decent power, and good skills. There are still a few questions about his skills that need answered, but he is young, and should be a real force.

Brian Minto
30 years old
5'11/ 212 lbs.
18-1-0 (11 KO)
Minto beat fellow prospect Vinnie Maddalone, despite being an underdog. His last fight he lost a very controversial split decision to Tony Tubbs. One judge had Minto winning the fight 97-93. Still, Minto has not let it bother him. He'll be fighting Cerrone Fox on March 23.

 

[Sean]

More coming.Edited by: Sean

 

[right winger]

Great work Sean!

 

[kevin]

god ty fields looks like a monster i have never seen a piture of him before. he is build like the white jameel mcline. i just hope he developes more endurence then mccline.

 

[Sean]

Thanks guys.


There's more to come, but I need to find a place to host all the pictures, otherwise they'll keep turning into those red x's. So I probably wont update until then.

 

[Don Wassall]

Nice job Sean. You can start another thread, call it The New Face of Boxing, Part 2, if you have more pictures.


It's very impressive to see all the talented white boxers put together like this. I had gotten away from following boxing for a number of years, but my interest is back now!

 

[okra63]

Who is the best American boxer? Why are there not many American boxers?

 

[jaxvid]

Sean,

I can store pictures on line if you want. Send them to me and I will send you the links.

 

[Gary]

There are a few white heavyweights who are American born.Mesi was the best.Ty Fields has potential.I don't like to see two white guys fighting-Mesi fought Jirov and it may have ended Mesi's career.Most of the top propects seem to come from Eastern Europe.For 30 years we had about 2 good white heavyweights per decade.With Quarry,Cooney,Morrison,Chuvalo and Coetzee.There just wasn't very many.But now with the iron curtian down we have lots of good white fighters,now they may not be the boy next door and they don't come from Tennesse or Ohio and there names may not be Jimmy,Billy or Bobby but they are white and they can fight!!

 

[Sean]

Who is the best American boxer? Why are there not many American boxers?

There are several, but most are up and comers still. They will all be posted eventually, but to name a few: Joe Mesi, Tye Fields, John Poore, Brian Minto, Vinnie Maddalone, Mike Mollo, Michael Marrone. There are others out there. The US seems to be picking it up a little. Hopefully these guys do better than the white heavyweights of the 90's and 80's.

 

[okra63]

Yes, I sure hope so. It would be great to have a white American boxer with the heavyweight title around his waist.

 

[Guest]

Chagaev got a UD over Williams.

 

[Guest]

<H1 =style2 align=left><A name=3084></A>Bidenko gets knocked out by Virchis
</H1>
30.03.05 - German based Ukrainian Taras Bidenko suffered the first knockout loss of his career against his massive countryman Vladimir Virchis who stopped Spotlight Boxing's prospect in the final round of a heated battle between two European heavyweight top contenders. Virchis decked Bidenko in round 2 with one of many powerful right hands that he landed during the contest and he also had the upper hand in the following two rounds.<A name=more3084></A>. But in round five Bidenko gained more control of the fight and systematically outscored Virchis with his jab and precious combinations while moving from side to side.

But the powerful 115,6 kg Virchis remained highly dangerous up until the final bell. Just as the final round ran down it appeared that the almost 15 kg lighter Bidenko would come out as the winner by decision. But Virchis landed his right hand again several times in round 12 until he dropped the exhausted Bidenko again. As Bidenko barely rised on unsteady leggs referee Erich Stümpfl called a halt to the bout after one minute and 54 seconds of the final round.

At the time of the stoppage Bidenko was leading on all three official scorecards.

Bidenko and Virchis headlined an event of Spotlight Boxing at Wandsbeker Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany. The main event was televised live and all over Europe on Eurosport TV. Five fights from the undercard were broadcast live and free of charge on the internet on www.boxing.de.

It was the second defeat in the career of the 24-year-old Bidenko as he dropped to 14-2 with 9 knockouts. His pervious loss came against Russian giant Nicolay Valuev against who he lost a controversial twelve round decision in 2002 in his 4th professional contest.

Vladimir Virchis remained undefeated at 17-0 with 15 knockouts.

 

[kevin]

two young cruiserweights that could possible make an impact a heavy weight are are 18-0 (7) Pavel Melkmain age 24 of russia and Krzysztof Wloardczyk age 23 of poland 31-1 (24). Wloardczyk is ranked number 9 in the world with one loss was against number 18 Melkmain. I rally think both these guys dispite not having great size could have a huge impact as heavy weights.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Thanks for the updates Sean, that is some very good stuff.

 

[Sean]

Sorry to not have updated for a while, there is more to come, but I've been pretty busy lately.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

No prob, I understand how it is. Not all of us can sit in front of a PC waiting for someone to say something else like one new member on here. You do what you can Sean and don't worry about it. We're patient.