It’s not clear who Wladimir Klitschko will face in his next fight. Only one thing is certain: It won’t be Chris Arreola.
Negotiations between Klitschko and David Haye seem to be stalled, which means the IBF/WBO heavyweight titleholder could go another direction for his June 20 fight date. The rumor is that Arreola tops the list but his promoter, Dan Goossen, said it’s not going to happen.
Instead, Arreola will face Jameel McCline on April 11. A new conference to formally announce that fight was canceled last week, which played into the rumors that Arreola would face Klitschko.
“No,” Goossen responded when asked whether Arreola would be the man. “We’re going to reschedule the news conference for this Monday or Tuesday.”
So where does that leave Klitschko?
The two most likely opponents are Alexander Povetkin, the IBF’s mandatory challenger, and Alexander Dimitrenko, the WBO’s No. 1 contender.
No heavyweight fight would be bigger than Klitschko-Haye because of the titleholder’s name and Haye’s personality. Klitschko-Arreola would be intriguing because of Arreola’s wild style and the fact he’s American. The Povetkin and Dimitrenko fights would be of major interest primarily in Germany and Eastern Europe.