Wladimir Klitschko wants to return on December 11, five opponents rumored

According to a report at BoxingScene.com quoting the Golzka paper, world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko is working on another fight for December 11. The German TV network that broadcasts his fights, RTL, has set aside the date, and manager Bernd Boente is looking for an opponent.

The opponent will not be Alexander Povetkin. It seems right now as though Povetkin may have put himself in a position where the Klitschkos simply won't be dealing with him after bailing on two scheduled dates with Wladimir. The two were set to fight in December 2008, and again just last weekend, but Povetkin had to be replaced by Hasim Rahman and Samuel Peter. Povektin's new trainer, Teddy Atlas, doesn't seem to want his fighter in the ring with Wladimir Klitschko any time soon, feeling that the 30-year-old Russian "isn't ready."

The current rumored names are as follows.

Denis Boytsov: Boystov had surgery in May on his right hand, which kept him fully out of the gym until just recently. Boytsov, 24, is 27-0 (22 KO) and a good young fighter, but going right at the best in the world off of hand surgery? Not only is it a massive step up in class from the likes of Vinny Maddalone, Taras Bidenko and Jason Gavern, but it would seem as though waiting until next year would be smart. Still, it's a great payday, and it's not like anyone would think tremendously less of him were he to lose to Wladimir Klitschko.

Tomasz Adamek: Adamek is fighting Vinny Maddalone on December 4, a fight that carries little risk, will draw some money in New Jersey, and should be exciting if not "legit" as a win on his record. He'll then perhaps look to face one of the Klitschkos next year. There has been talk of him fighting Vitali at Madison Square Garden in the spring.

Jean Marc Mormeck: The former cruiserweight champion is no challenge to Klitschko whatsoever and this would be an awful fight. After getting stopped in 2007 by David Haye at cruiserweight, where he lost his crown, he returned in December 2009 as a heavyweight, beating Maddalone by decision in France, and coming back this past May with a very controversial and arguable decision win over Fres Oquendo, also in France. Mormeck is 38 years old, not even six feet tall, and shop-worn. It's a complete mismatch in every way.

Odlanier Solis: I'd love to see it, but wouldn't hold my breath. Solis (16-0, 12 KO) isn't tall at around 6'1", but he's got a long reach (79") and the pedigree to not foolishly play into Wladimir's strengths if he can help it. My gut feeling (semi-pun) is that Solis might as well jump the ladder and go after these fights. He's 30, he can't keep himself in shape, and better to lose reaching for the brass ring than to eventually show up weighing 285 pounds and drawing with some mediocre assumed pushover.

David Tua: I really thought after he took a draw with washed-up Monte Barrett in July that maybe we'd be through with this "Tua should fight the Klitschkos, he can knock out ANYBODY!" crap, but apparently not. I like David Tua just fine, but at 37 and having never really done anything of great significance, can we give up this ghost? I like David Tua in the same way that I like Randall Bailey, and I'm not itching to see Bailey fight Floyd Mayweather. If they go with this fight, Klitschko will thoroughly dominate him to the point that Tua might have to just give up in the corner. It won't be the least bit competitive. I guess I'd rather see this than Mormeck, though I figure Monte Barrett of all the freaking people in the world has as good a claim to this fight as either of those guys do.