Klitschko Wants Valuev To Step Up, Unify The Division
Dmitriy Mikhalchuk
March 22, 2009, 8:48 a.m.
%foto2%After his ninth round knockout of mandatory challenger Juan Carlos Gomez in Germany, the WBC champion Vitali Klitschko would re-issue his challenge to WBA champ Nikolai Valuev. Vitali has the WBC title and his younger brother Wladimir holds the WBO/IBF titles.
\"The Klitschko brothers wants to have all four of the heavyweight titles. We have three and only one is left. I want to fight Nikolai Valuev,\" Vitali would say.
Valuev, standing at 7\'0, is one of the few fighters who are actually bigger than the 6\'7 Vitali Klitschko. The fight is not possible until Valuev meets and wins his next obligation, a mandatory rematch with unbeaten Ruslan Chagaev. Putting Valuev\'s last performance into consideration, the close win over the aged Evander Holyfield in 2008, I wouldn\'t hold my breath on Valuev beating Chagaev.
Vitali may not even be champion if the WBC gets their way. They ordered him to fight former champ Oleg Maskaev next. Vitali and K2 are doing everything in their power to fight the WBC\'s ruling and if the sanctioning body prevails and Klitschko fails to fight Maskaev - he may get stripped.
