Klitschko vs Pianeta Odds:
The most popular betting sites have Wladimir Klitschko a 16 to 1 favorite while his opponent, Francesco Pianeta, is roughly a 20 to 1 underdog.

While it may be hard to state a case for Wladimir Klitschko being the most exciting heavyweight champion ever, he, along with his brother Vitali, has dominated heavyweight boxing for the better part of the last 9 years.

The 5th longest reigning heavyweight world champion, Wladimir Klitschko is on a 16 fight win streak and hasn't lost since 2004.

In Klitschko vs Wach last November, the Ukrainian brutalized the over-matched, super-sized Pole all night and cruised to a decisive points win. Aside from providing about 20 seconds of brutality towards the end of Round 5, Mariusz Wach was little more than a human punching bag from start to finish.

As a matter of fact, many believed the bout should have been stopped at the end of Round 8 due to the tremendous beating Wach was taking.

So who is Wlad fighting again?

Francesco Pianeta is a 28 year old, 6'5" Italian heavyweight who was raised in Germany.A southpaw, Pianeta has triumphed in 10 round decisions over notable opponents Oliver McCall and Francois Botha, two fighters light-years past their respective primes.

But to his credit, Pianeta manufactured a draw in his bout with the capable Albert Sosnowski (then 44-2) in 2009 and KO'd Matt Skelton (then 22-3) the same year.

And in his most recent bout in November, Pianeta stopped Nelson Dario Dominguez (then 14-1-1) in the first round.

A pro for eight years, Pianeta has won 4 of his last 5 fights via decision verdicts.

Not only will Wlad have a clear advantage technically, Pianeta isn't a major threat in terms of punching power as only 51% of his fights have ended in a knockout.

And while a 51% knockouts-to-fights ratio is certainly nothing to be ashamed of, it should be noted he scored knockouts in 7 of his first 8 bouts so Pianeta hasn't exactly been heavy-handed in recent years.

Not ranked as a top ten heavyweight by most if not nearly all publications, a Pianeta upset would be tantamount to Buster Douglas' knockout of Mike Tyson in 1990.

Nevertheless, some are giving the underdog a decent chance. And keep in mind, Pianeta is a soutpaw.

Fight aficionado Bernie Campbell told FightSaga, "Pianeta is a tough hombre... Wlad is making a big mistake!"

Francesco Pianeta is, on paper, the ideal opponent for the 37 year old superstar champion to take lightly.

Will he?