By Sanjeev Shetty

Klitschko (right) knows he was well beaten

Maybe Lennox Lewis was right all along - the Klitschkos, particularly Wladimir, offer him no real challenge.

With the emphatic defeat of Klitschko by ageing South African Corrie Sanders, boxing lost a potential heir to Lewis' crown and perhaps a little credibility.

Klitschko was a man that television company HBO signed to a nine-fight deal, so confident were they that he would be the next ruler of the heavyweights - on Saturday, he looked like a novice.

All credit to Sanders, an honest professional who took his chance late in life and followed a gameplan successfully, but the 37-year-old is not the second coming of Mike Tyson.

The state of the heavyweight division has not been this poor since the mid 1980s, when Larry Holmes was close to his first retirement and Tyson had yet to explode onto the scene.

Among the many surprising facets to Klitschko's second-round defeat was just how bad it looked.

Although the fight went into the second round, the contest was ended in the first round when Sanders landed a left hand and his Ukrainian opponent went down.

From the available evidence, Kitschko cannot take a punch and had little idea how to survive when badly hurt.

Klitschko stunned by Sanders

But before writing his career obituary, consider this - have you ever seen Lewis get up from a knockdown and win a fight?

HAVE YOUR SAY How on earth can we expect Wlad to come back after a loss like that? Losses like that don't just 'happen'. He was over-hyped from the start. From Sfuayn, Qatar Join the debate

The British fighter has been on the canvas twice in his career, and on both occasions, he ended the fight with a defeat on his record.

After both those losses, Lewis and his camp acknowledged complacency had cost him and changes were made.

Klitschko already has two losses to his name - he was stopped by journeyman Ross Purity in the early stages of his career - and he cannot afford another one.

Perhaps the pivotal moment of Lewis' career was when he hired trainer Emanuel Steward and modified his boxing style.

Watching Klitschko's stiff, upright European technique against Sanders, it is possible to believe that a more compact, American style may prolong his career.

While a Klitschko defeat was considered impossible by virtually everyone in boxing, one wonders whether fate was at work in Hanover.

Sanders, who had fought just twice in the last three years, had been scheduled to face Britain's Danny Williams last November in South Africa.

Williams, a devout Muslim, pulled out because the fight clashed with Ramadan and waited until February before fighting European champion Sinan Samil Sam, who beat him badly.

But guess who Williams could have fought instead of Sam - the now deposed WBO champion Klitschko.

The British and Commonwealth champion, currently in America so that he can find the quality sparring he so desperately needs to rebuild his career, must be wondering what might have been.

But whatever happens next, the heavyweight division has a dreadful future ahead of it.

What now for Jones Jr?

Its best and most marketable fighters remain the old guard, Lewis, Tyson and Evander Holyfield, while new WBA champ Roy Jones Jr may yet return to the light heavyweights.

Wladimir Klitschko and his brother Vitali were supposed to be the new guard, ready to take over when the rest make way.