20/20 Hindsight: By the Numbers for Klitschko, Entertainment in Montreal

To summarize Wladimir Klitschko's TKO victory over Ruslan Chagaev, I'd like to quote Jay-Z before he and Nas teamed up on "Black Republican" a few years ago: "It's what you expected, ain't it?"

Another outing, another opponent who basically posed no threat to Dr. Steelhammer. Chagaev gave it a shot, but he had no answer for Klitschko's jabs and the right hands that eventually came behind them.

Until someone can either effectively get inside the jab or just show the reckless abandon to wade through it to test Wlad's occasionally shaky chin, the scene we saw on Saturday is going to continue to play out. Klitschko has improved as the decade has gone on, but in the process, he's sucked almost all of the drama out of heavyweight title fights.

Can anyone bring it back? I still have hopes that David Haye can do it if he gets another shot to fight Klitschko. He should have the boom or bust mentality necessary to liven things up, and if he doesn't, he'll look like the world's biggest hypocrite for talking so much smack.

Michael Rosenthal hinted on The Ring Blog that Chris Arreola is also a potential opponent for Klitschko, likely for L.A. in September. He'd at least try to press the issue with Wlad, though I'm not sure he'd have a great chance at pulling off the upset.

As fans, all we can hope for is that someone can push Klitschko soon, because his recent fights haven't been much fun to watch.

On the flip side of the entertainment coin, Friday's light heavyweight title fight between Adrian Diaconu and Jean Pascal didn't disappoint. The fifth round was one of the best in boxing this year, with Pascal scoring an early knockdown but finding himself holding on late as Diaconu made a determined rally.

I'd never seen Pascal fight before, and he struck me as a really poor man's Roy Jones Jr. He carried his hands low, using his reflexes and movement to dodge punches, often at the last possible moment.

He also flashed some quick hands on offense, though he didn't seem to have a ton of power behind all of his shots. You definitely got the feeling he was flirting with disaster even as he was winning rounds, which may not be the safest way to have success but does provide a good show for fans.

I'm not sure Pascal has enough upside to rule the light heavyweight division, but with the big names at 175 getting a little long in the tooth, it's not bad to have the 26-year old as an option to spice things up.

I'd love to see him in against Chad Dawson, though Bad Chad has unfinished business with Glen Johnson first.

Finally, a summer boxing schedule that already looked to have only a few truly compelling fights took another blow over the weekend when Chris John was forced to withdraw from his rematch with Rocky Juarez because of a blood problem said to be similar to anemia. That news comes as a bummer, as John and Juarez proved to be well matched the first time they threw down.

We should know more about HBO's plans for this Saturday's broadcast later today. Victor Ortiz may really be forced to put on a show in his bout to provide a reason to tune in.

Posted by The Franchise