Per Ake Persson reports that WBC heavyweight titlist Vitali Klitschko will return to the ring no later than May, and is looking at a fight that month or in April against ... Nikolai Valuev.
Oh dear.
American TV has long been saying "no thanks" to Valuev fights, and after the Vitali-Kevin Johnson disgrace on Saturday, I'm not sure HBO is exactly clamoring to see Vitali on its airwaves in a fight with Valuev.
On the giant off-chance that Vitali Klitschko or a member of his management ever read this, I'd like to ask them a favor.
Please, no. Please, don't torture us all with Vitali-Valuev. I mean, you seem to enjoy taking the "0" from younger, up-and-coming fighters. Give Odlanier Solis an offer. Fight Denis Boytsov.
Veterans? Hey, Dominick Guinn won again. Fight him! James Toney never shuts up about you and your "sister," Wladimir, being afraid of him. Sultan Ibragimov quit boxing, but Timur is still out there.
I know these all seem like bad suggestions for you. But if you have any regard for boxing fans the world over, please don't re-legitimize Valuev. Our prayer was that David Haye, even in an ugly win, had rid us of him for at least a year or so.
Klitschko is also talking about fighting David Haye next year, which should come as no surprise. The big money, high-profile opponents are few.
"Now, I have to look at Haye and his people – we will find out if he wants to have a real fight; we will find out if there is more than just words."
Vitali also offered this load of a quote:
"Johnson was tough and took a lot of good punches."
I'm not sure Vitali landed more than three-to-five punches I'd categorize as truly "good" in that entire fight, and Johnson was a lot of things, but "tough" isn't among them.