Wladimir Klitschko-Tony Thompson in Germany this July

The winner will have Povetkin as their mandatory, according to Fightnews:

Thompson next for Klitschko!
IBF/WBO/IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs) will next defend his world titles against WBO mandatory challenger Tony Thompson. "The fight will take place this July in Germany," Klitschko told BILD. The 6'5 Thompson is currently the top American hope in the heavyweight division with a record of 31-1 with 19 KOs. He has 27 straight wins and has been unbeaten for eight years. The winner of Klitschko-Thompson will have a mandatory due around the end of the year against IBF mandatory Alexander Povetkin (15-0, 11 KOs).
Thursday, March 27 2008

 

Another American softie will feel the power of the EAST :crafty:

 

Who is Tony Thompson?

 

Yet another Klitschko opponent who doesn't hit anywhere near as hard as David Haye. opcorn:

 

Nice. :bears: Tony can fight a little bit, and has certainly earned this shot.

 

No, but he probably brings more stylistic problems than Haye. A 6'5 southpaw, that can fight on the inside...and actually seems to prefer it over the jab-from-the-outside style. He's painfully slow and can be pretty dull to watch, but he's got a decent repetoire of (short) punches if he can find the right distance.

Thompson can be a bit of a slow starter and his punch output seems to depend on his opponent.

I tend to think he might take a back seat to Klitschko if the Ukranian continually punches first. If Klitschko shows some let-up in that regard, or tires, it could get interesting.

 

Agreed. Thompson is a legit opponent/contender and has earned his shot.

Peace.

 

True. Also to be effective I think Thompson has to try to pressure Wlad and if he has the guts to do that, it would be a fun fight to watch (can't be worse than Wlad's last fight anyway)

 

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Thompson is the US answer to Akinwande. Relatively hidden, but very, very good. Imo, he's been the best US heavy for a while.
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Too bad for Thompson and the USA that his first high-profile fight is against someone as good as Wlad. I think he's pretty much the equal of the other guys and I would have made him a the favorite over Sultan.
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If Thompson is able to get off, he is one of the few guys who actually might be able to box with Wlad. I guess that applies to anyone, but with Thompson, the chance to be able to get off is actually forseeable.

 

Yeah, but Wlad hits a hell of a lot harder than Carl Thompson. ::

 

I do think that Thompson can fight but I don't fell he '' certainly earned his shot '' like most of you think. Krasniqui, Guinn and the other Iggy aren't top 10, maybe not even top 20.

 

That goes to show what a packed division heavyweight is. :bears:

 

Come on now, we all know that if a HW fighter beats more than one guy you have heard of he is deserving of a title shot.

At least that's the way it seems these days and that says a lot about the state of the division. ::

 

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