Klitschko Wins in a Landslide - Now What?

Before going any further, let's get something out of the way immediately-Chris Arreola fought gallantly in his first attempt at winning a world heavyweight title belt. He fought without fear, but it was not nearly enough as the taller, older, better Vitali Klitschko beat him in practically a whitewash before the referee stopped their bout contested for WBC crown on September 26 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The main event was televised on HBO World Championship Boxing.

Further, if the 28 years-old Arreola, who suffered his first professional defeat in 28 contests, is in the kind of shape that he was when he took on Klitschko, then he could be safely in the title picture for the foreseeable future.

Now, however, it's time to focus on the athlete who thoroughly dominated the action with his good movement, long jab, accurate rights and some good body work mixed in against Arreola on the last Saturday night in September.

The elder Klitschko, now 38 years old, improved to 38-2 (37 knockouts) by beating down the younger man. Given his stellar performance, it's clear that's he's going to be active in the sport for at least a little while longer.

With that in mind, why not take a look at five opponents who could present marketable, if not competitive, fights for the 6-foot 7-inch man from Kiev, Ukraine. Yes, we are excluding his younger brother Wladimir.

David Haye (28 years old, London): He's brash, carries a big punch, has good reflexes, in other words, he is unquestionably talented. While Haye stands tall at 6'3, his best weight may be somewhere around 205 pounds. If he wins his November fight against Nikolay Valuev in any fashion, a match-up against either Klitschko becomes a strong possibility. A contest pitting Haye against Vitali would be fun while it lasts-about four rounds-until Klitschko puts him down for the count. Haye will enter the ring at 22-1 (21 KO's) against Valuev.

Nikolay Valuev (36 years, Russia): Valuev, the WBA champ, has proven that he is more than an oddity in the ring. He stands 7-feet tall, and guess what, he has some tools as his 50-1 (34 KO's) mark would indicate. He has some nice victories on his resume whether or not you believe that some of his decision victories were questionable. Again, everything depends on the outcome of his bout with Haye. A win could set him up nicely to face off with Klitschko in an encounter that would be huge in Europe. Vitali would find Valuev an easy target and after some difficult moments would win via an 11^th round stoppage.

Alexander Povetkin (30 years old, Russia): A pretty solid all around fighter, Povetkin has already toppled some well-known Americans such as Eddie Chambers and Chris Byrd. He has the weapons needed to compete at the highest levels of the heavyweight class for several years to come. But, Povetkin 17-0 (12 KO's), is still a tad too green on the grand stage to handle Vitali and he'd lose to the seasoned veteran in a 9^th round TKO.

Eddie Chambers (27 years old, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania): 'Fast' Eddie had his share of opportunities against Povetkin in their January 2008 fight, but he just didn't take advantage of them and consequently he lost by a unanimous decision. He's rebounded nicely since then and is on a five-fight winning streak which includes triumphs over Samuel Peter and the previously undefeated Alexander Dimitrenko. At 35-1 (18 KO's), Chambers' speed would cause Vitali fits, for a couple rounds anyway. By the fifth round, Klitschko would have him figured out, and Chambers would be in big trouble. The call is Klitschko is a 7^th round knockout.

Tomasz Adamek (32 years old, Poland): The world's top cruiserweight is trying his hand at heavyweight and the challenge in front of him, which will be enormous in Poland, is a bout against Andrew Golota. If Adamek can overcome that challenge and look good doing so, a match-up with Vitali could become viable. Remember, however, that Golota is now in his 40's and is not in the class of someone like Vitali. Adamek brings a record of 38-1 (26 KO's) vs. Golota. A win could very well be in the cards for Adamek, but against Vitali, he would simply come up too small and would lose on a lopsided unanimous decision.