pointed this out on weoweoweo's fanpost yesterday but as more sites are picking up the story I think it's very important to point a few facts out.
Andrei's well respected boxing coach Freddie Roach made the following comment:
If Andrei wins against Fedor on the 24th, I would put him right into a title fight with (WBA Champion) Nikolai Valuev right away.
A few things need to be realized to put this statement into context.
1) Freddie Roach is a trainer, he does not get to decide if his fighters get title fights, that would be up to the WBA.
2) This fight would have to take place overseas and even then could have some difficulty getting any sort of legitimate sanctioning for a 50-1 champion to face a guy making his pro boxing debut.
3) The WBA (and every other sanctioning body) have rules in place for who is eligible to fight for a world title. From the WBA's own rules and regulations to be ranked in the top 15 or compete for the world title they much have no less than five ten-round fights or have a regional title. This is the most important thing here as there is no way for Arlovski to be put into a title fight without meeting these requirements.
So basically if the fight happens it would be a non-title fight and I would find it odd if it were made to be anything over 6 rounds for a guy making his pro debut. For what it's worth Valuev is not the best heavyweight in the world but he holds several wins over very credible opponents, and while a few decisions in his past have been questionable (see his fight with Holyfield) he is a legitimate boxer and I honestly think he would knock Arlovski out in under four rounds.
This was an example of Roach propping his guy up but Freddie is a legitimately smart trainer and he knows better than to make such a ludicrous fight for a guy's professional debut.
