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The Heavyweight division has
virtually always captured the
imagination of the boxing
fraternity. Ali, Frazier,
Foreman, Holmes and more excited
fans around the world with their
skill, power, finesse, strength
and of course in Ali’s case the
gift of the gab.
Ali could sell ice in the South
Pole such was his personality
and marketability. Ali remains
my number one heavyweight of all
time!
Even in my home country of South
Africa we had our own era of
exciting heavyweights, perhaps
not in the class of the above
mentioned fighters but pretty
damn close. Gerrie Coetzee,
Kallie Knoetze, Jimmy Abbot,
Mike Schutte, Pierre Coetzer,
Johnny Du Plooy and of course
the late Corrie Sanders.
I’m sure the Klitschko brothers
remember Corrie well. So I
digress slightly, but going back
to the current crop of
heavyweights today, I would like
to focus on three unbeaten
champions - Anthony Joshua,
Deontay Wilder and Joseph
Parker.
Joshua - a well-spoken and
humble young man. Big, strong
and immense power. He showed
great courage when down and
almost out against Klitschko, he
dug deep and turned the fight
into an incredible KO victory.
I met Anthony in London when he
knocked out Brazilian Raphael
Zumbano and found Anthony to be
a likable and genuine guy,
always willing to talk to his
fans. Joseph Parker also is a
genuine, down to earth and
equally likeable fighter.
I met Joseph in New Zealand when
I accompanied my good friend
Francois "The White Buffalo"
Botha when he journeyed out
there to fight the then
up-and-coming Parker. Fast
hands, good movement, slick
skills and perhaps not a
one-punch knockout expert, but
certainly power in both hands.
Then we come to Deontay Wilder,
whom I have never met
personally. From what I’ve seen,
Deontay is somewhat of a moody
fighter, who on his day is
brilliant and unstoppable and
who can take out anyone.
There are other times when
Wilder, while looking good,
doesn’t look great. I guess in
boxing one needs someone to
bring out the best of you as a
fighter and perhaps that’s what
Deontay needs.
So here are my own personal
predictions: Joshua vs. Parker -
Joshua on points. Parker vs.
Wilder - Wilder wins by KO in
the late rounds. Joshua vs.
Wilder - a war with Joshua
winning by KO around the middle
rounds.
The beauty of boxing is that
when we talk the sport we love,
we can always agree to disagree.
Until next time, keep boxing.
Howard Goldberg
PRESIDENT: World Boxing
Federation
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