Fresh Sweet Science Heavyweight Rankings

UP SIDE OF THE SCALE – Tomasz Adamek had both more to gain and more to lose than Cristobal Arreola on Saturday night.By dismantling the tough, strong Arreola, Adamek vaulted to very near, if notthe top of the list of heavyweight contenders. While Adamek would be alongshot against similarly proportioned David Haye and a huge underdog to either of the dwarfing Klitschkos, Adamek is stillprobably the biggest draw at the most minimal risk for a big alphabetchampionship bout.

Had Arreola won, the cliche that Adamek wasnt big enough would tell the story for most customers. Adamek would either end the grand 210 pound experiment or go back to a years worth of drawing boards. Even with a crushing win, Arreola would have probably been expected to prove himself against another respected opponent before he was on a short list for a title tilt.

Adamek comes in at a respectable number 7 on TSSs new heavyweight rankings. He might be wise, from a business sense, to sit back and wait forone of the titlists to come to him.

At the top of the hill, the Klitschko bros switch bragging rights for the third time recently as Wladimir goes back to number one after his blowout of Frozen Eddie Chambers.

It appears the younger Klitschkos shoulder was fine after the surgery and the layoff that caused Vitalis previous installment as conking kingpin. Vitali looked far less than invulnerable against Kevin Johnson, whos awful Swiss movementcomparably made Chambers smothered assault look like young Mike Tyson.

Even if Vitali looks awesome in his Mayappearance against Albert Sosnowski, Wladimir has been way ahead of his slugging siblingin the quality of opposition category lately.

Haye is starting to breathe down the Klitschkos necks from a public relations standpoint but still not bycompletely proven merit. Haye hasnt fought anywherenear the big boy level as either of the brothers K. Still, his beat down of stubborn but eventuallynuked John Ruiz and winning waltz versus Valuevwere probablymeaningful enough to justify moving Haye way up from his previous number10listing.

There have been reports that K2 and Hayemaker have begun exploratory negotiations for a fight that would continue the divisions less slowly, more surely resurgence. The fight will happen, probably in Vegas, but is also a candidate for a major football/soccer stadiumlocale. Richard Schaefer will give the K boys a blueprint for another swoop into the US market, and may set the stage for a riveting rivalry.

Meanwhile, heres how the top heavies look onelectro paper, and some outlook for the immediate future.No drum rolls, please.

1.Wladimir Klitschko
2.Vitali Klitschko
3.David Haye
4.Alexander Povetkin
5.Nikolai Valuev
6.Ruslan Chagaev
7.Tomasz Adamek
8.Denis Boytsov
9.Odlanier Solis
10.Eddie Chambers

If the Klitschkos cant land Haye, mandatory challenger Povetkin will probably get the next shot. With the addition of motivational trainer Teddy Atlas, Povetkins chances at all the mauling marbles improve 25%.

Valuev stays in the middle of the pack. If you really have to take the champions belt, then Haye owes him a rematch, which could be contractual.

Chagaev is scheduled to face off with Kali Meehan for another mandatory marker. Unless Klitschko broke him down, Chagaev should be back in line for a title fight early next year. Chagaev was relativelyresilientbut otherwise worthless against Wladimir,but he could be tough for Haye,et al.

Boytsov needs to make a move or hes going to get stale.

Solis made a slight move with his blast out of Monte Barrett, and has stayed busy enough to put himself thick in the mix without a mainstreamsignature win.

Despite his dismal showing againstWlad, Chambers stays in contention through wins over Samuel Peter and Alexander Dimitrenko (Dimitrenko exits from inactivity since loss to Chambers).

Chambers against any of the men ranked above him not named Klitschko could be an excellent scrap, and Im hopeful the classy Chambers will rebound. After Klitschko creamed him in Dusseldorf, Chambers never said I wont make excuses, then blab out a mouthful. He never even mentioned the word excuse at the post fight press conference. Instead, he and his team gave their thoughts on technical or personal observations. They were good ambassadors for the US, and I was gladI had my Phillies hat on.

There arealso a fair number of quality workmen waiting for the fight that could move them up into optimal earning range.

Tony Thompson and David Tua shouldmeet for the #11 on deck spot.

Jason Estrada has hung toughin defeats to Povetkin and Adamek.Estrada should take on Arreola for top gatekeeper status.

Nordic Nightmare Robert Helenius stepped up and stopped Lamon Brewster, and ispoised to take Boytsovs spot based on activity.

Audley Harrisons dramatic victory over late substitute Michael Sprott counted for something since Sprott recently performed better than most contenders designated foils.

Harrison – Helenius is an intriguing styles make brawls situation, butbad for both camps in the risk-reward department.

300 pound Alexander Ustinov is loitering on the threshold of prominence, but he looked dismal against Barrett and Sprott. Sometimes it seems the more tutorial rounds Ustinov notches, the more he slips.

Its exactly the opposite for undisputable champion Wladimir Klitschko.

Klitschko has looked stronger andmore polished lately, as Emanuel Steward is getting another late career runalong the lines of his ride with Lennox Lewis. Klitschko looks like he has another good five years at the summit, but as it was with Lewis that could all change with one wild whap.

Its not a matter of whether or not this years modelcontenders are worthy. Youre only as good as your champion. The Klitschkos have founda family formula to keep that covered well.