Predicting How the WBA's Heavyweight Tournament Could Play out
It seems boxing tournaments are all the rage these days.
After the WBC proposed—only to then change their mind—events for their vacant welterweight and junior middleweight belts, the WBA have revealed plans to work out who is their undisputed heavyweight champion.
The WBA currently has several fighters holding titles. Tyson Fury is the super champion, Ruslan Chagaev has the regular belt and Luis Ortiz is in possession of the interim strap.
Confusing, right?
Well, WBA president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza wants to make things simple. He has announced a knockout tournament that will decide the organisation’s one-and-only champ.
There will be seven competitors in the mix, an odd number that will be explained later, and the draw has been set in stone.
Bleacher Report has looked at all the planned bouts and tried to forecast results throughout the competition. As ever, this is just an opinion. Feel free to share yours through the comments section.
Quarter-Final 1: Tyson Fury vs. Wladimir Klitschko
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Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) became the WBA’s super champion by ending the long reign of Wladimir Klitschko (64-4, 53 KOs).
The Englishman upset the odds in Dusseldorf, Germany, triumphing by scores of 115-112 (twice) and 116-111. The margins on the cards were generous—to the beaten champion.
Fury celebrated with a rendition of Aerosmith’s classic "I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing" to the crowd at the Esprit Arena. He had plenty to sing about, too, seen as had just handed Klitschko his first defeat in 11 years.
However, the Ukrainian quickly dismissed the idea he would hang up his gloves.
Instead, he confirmed his intention to take up the contractual option for a rematch via an announcement on his Instagram account.
Dr. Steelhammer will need to do more in the second fight if he is to progress beyond the first round of the tournament.
According to David Anderson of the Mirror, the bout is likely to be staged in May at an as-yet undetermined venue.
Klitschko will be 40 by the time he steps between the ropes again. He will need to roll back the years, and plenty of them, if he is to gain revenge.
Predicted result: Fury wins again, and again on points
Quarter-Final 2: Luis Ortiz vs. Alexander Ustinov
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Luis Ortiz (24-0, 21 KOs) became the WBA's interim champion by stopping Bryant Jennings on Dec. 19, 2015.
The Cuban-born, Miami-based Ortiz recorded a TKO triumph in Round 7 against an opponent Wladimir Klitschko couldn't budge over the course of 12 rounds.
Ortiz impressed on the big stage, with Mike Coppinger noting for Boxing Junkie: "A decorated amateur, Ortiz showed his immense boxing ability in the bout, and was even comfortable off his back foot."
The Real King Kong is scheduled to fight again on March 5, per BoxRec.com.
According to the tournament's schedule, he is due to go up against Alexander Ustinov, a Russian with a 33-1 (24 KOs) record, at the quarter-final stage.
Ustinov—who stands at 6′7.5″ tall— has a career knockout ratio of 71 per cent.
He is also 39 and relatively untested at the highest level, with his solitary career defeat coming at the hands of Kubrat Pulev (who was blown away inside five rounds by Klitschko).
Predicted result: Ortiz's performance against Jennings gets him the nod.
Quarter-Final 3: Ruslan Chagaev vs. Lucas Browne
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Ruslan Chagaev is nicknamed the White Tyson. That probably because he's a heavyweight who is under 6'0" tall, rather than due to his ability to flatten opponents.
Still, the 37-year-old from Uzbekistan (34-2-1, 21 KOs) is a two-time WBA champion whose only career defeats have come against Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin.
The southpaw claimed the WBA's regular belt when coming out on the right end of a majority points decision against Oquendo in 2014. He has successfully defended it once, knocking out Francesco Pianeta in Round 1.
His next challenger will be Lucas Browne (23-0, 20 KOs), an unbeaten Australian who is confident his trip to Grozny, Russia, on March 5 will be worthwhile.
Big Daddy said in a press release, per BoxNation: "Travelling overseas to fight doesn't bother me in the slightest. I've done it many times in my career and at the end of the day it'll be just me and Chagaev in the ring."
Browne is a former Commonwealth champion who will have a size advantage, as he stands at 6'4". However, Chagaev—who is 5'11"—has a far more impressive CV.
Predicted result: Chagaev wins by stoppage
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Bye: Fres Oquendo
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Fres Oquendo (yes, Fres Oquendo) has been handed a bye through to the final four, a move that at first seemed a little odd.
However, WBA president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza explained the Puerto Rican had a U.S. court order that gave him the right to fight for the title.
Quite how that earns him an automatic place in the semi-finals is tough to understand, but Fast Fres' career is about to get a much-needed injection after a decidedly slow period.
He has not been seen in a ring since losing a close points decision to Chagaev in the summer of 2014.
Oquendo had a rematch clause in the initial contract, but a planned second bout bit the dust when the challenger hurt his shoulder in training, as revealed by ESPN's Dan Rafael.
Semi-Final 1: Fury vs. Ortiz
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A clash between skilled big men Fury and Ortiz could make for a cracking semi-final. As they are both unbeaten as pros, someone's perfect record would have to come to an end.
Ortiz honed his talents during a long amateur career but has so far made a smooth transition into the paid ranks.
Fury, meanwhile, showed against Klitschko that for all his antics outside of the ring, he is deadly serious about his job once the first bell sounds.
His head movement and long, sticky jab caused the Ukrainian all sorts of problems.
At 6′9″, the 27-year-old would have a five-inch height advantage to work with against Ortiz.
However, Fury has had his sticky moments in the past. He was dropped to the canvas by both Steve Cunningham and Neven Pajkic, although these days he's in far better physical shape.
Klitschko was meant to be the biggest test of Fury's career, but it didn't quite work out that way. Ortiz, though, has the talent and temperament to give the Englishman a serious run for his money.
Predicted result: Despite not having it all his own way, Fury still wins on points
Semi-Final 2: Oquendo vs. Chagaev
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Chagaev and Oquendo have history. Plenty of history.
Their first meeting was a close-run thing, with Oquendo rallying in the closing stages to close the gap on the scorecards.
In the end, however, two judges scored it 115-113 to Chagaev. The other official's card made the contest a 114-114 draw.
In his report for Boxing News, Matt Christie wrote: "The fight was predictably poor. The legendary Evander Holyfield was ringside and must have re-considered his recent retirement several times during the uninspiring action."
It is never a good situation when the over-50 Holyfield could be considered capable of beating either man.
The battle quickly moved from the boxing ring to the courts. Oquendo claimed not only that he hadn't been paid, but also a breach in his contract over an immediate rematch clause.
A second bout was agreed upon, but never materialised due to Oquendo getting hurt.
The draw for the WBA tournament would see the duo finally meet again. Just don't bank on it being a classic.
Predicted result: Chagaev wins again, this time by a wider margin on the cards
Final: Fury vs. Chagaev
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Having already seen off Klitschko (again) and Ortiz, Fury would be a heavy favourite to win the final.
The likelihood is Chagaev would find the taller man tough to deal with.
He certainly found Klitschko a real challenge in the summer of 2009, with the Ukrainian dominating from distance. Behind on all three scorecards, Chagaev retired after Round 9.
The big question for Fury would be over whether he wanted to remain in the tournament beyond a money-spinning quarter-final.
Titles are not his main priority. He was stripped of the IBF belt after overlooking his mandatory challenger, Vyacheslav Glazkov. In fairness, there was little he could do once Klitschko committed to a rematch.
Fury is chasing big fights—and that includes a clash with compatriot Anthony Joshua at some stage in the future.
Per Richard Damerell of Sky Sports, Fury said: "It's just a matter of building him [Joshua] up, getting everybody to love him, building a big record and then I'll take it from him and break him in."
Predicted result: Fury wins by stoppage to be crowned the WBA's champion (again).
Do you agree with Bleacher's fight predictions? If not, feel free to share your opinions on what might happen in the WBA's heavyweight tournament.
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