TalkingBoxing Articles
Lightweight Talent = Heavyweight Competition
WED March 21, JOHN VACI - Do you like knockouts? 
How about competitive, bruising Fight of the Year candidates? Then why is there such disdain for the heavyweight division? Sure the politics preventing unification are nauseating.
It’s alarming when washed up titlists roam the division, whose title winning efforts marked their first significant win since the ‘90s and the WBC ‘champion emeritus’ leap frogs worthy contenders for an immediate title shot, not too mention the fatness and the steroid controversies. Which leads me to this…are we in the midst of the weakest heavyweight era of modern times? Possibly, however just don’t tell me were not getting entertaining and competitive fights from the division.
If you can get past these embarrassments [if you’re a hardcore fan, you can] putting up with this mess is nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe you do appreciate the heavyweight division that has been putting up more than it’s fair share of entertaining scraps, more than the overrated welterweight division for instance.
Think back to 2003 when then WBC champion Lennox Lewis took a TKO win over Vitali Klitschko and retired. This is the point when the division started to tank, at least in terms of talent and lack of a dominant champion.
Since then, think about the match-ups we’ve seen: Joe Mesi-Monte Barret, Joe Mesi-Vasilly Jirov, Oleg Maskaev-Hasim Rahman, Chris Byrd-Andrew Golota, Lamon Brewster-Andrew Golota, Lamon Brewster-Luan Krasiniqui, Lamon Brewster-Sergui Liakovich, Lamon Brewster-Wladimir Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko-Samuel Peter, James Toney-Samuel Peter I and II, Wladimir Klitschko-Chris Byrd, Wladimir Klitschko-Calvin Brock, Sultan Ibragimov-Ray Austin, Sultan Ibragimov-Lance Whitaker and probably a few others I’m missing. But you get the point, a good amount of action fights are happening and a fair amount of the contenders are fighting each other. This is thanks to the fact that there is no huge Mike Tyson type paydays out there and everyone is so beatable. Most of the divisions’ contenders see vulnerable titlists and every incentive to take fights presented to them.
Title bouts on tap within the next few months include Sultan Ibragimov fighting Shannon Briggs on June 2nd in Russia for Briggs’ WBO title, Oleg Maskaev defending his WBC title on June 2nd against Vitali Klitschko, WBA champ Nikolay Valuev defending against Ruslan Chagaev on April 14th in Germany and a potential Samuel Peter versus ‘TBA’ for a vacant WBC title, if Peter does not accept Vitali’s step-aside money to allow Vitali to face Maskaev.
Finally, a rumored Wladimir Klitschko-Lamon Brewster rematch could be taking place during this time frame and if #2 Ring Magazine rated Peter and #1 rated Wladimir Klitschko, continue winning and face each other for a second time, a consensus champion will emerge and a Ring Magazine Champion will be crowned. Did I mention both Peter and Wladimir are huge punchers and generally make for entertaining fights?
The June 2nd showdown with Ibragimov-Briggs is almost guaranteed to end in a knockout. Despite Briggs’ snail like work rate, he knocked Serguei Liakhovich out of the ring in the closing moments of their November fight, winning via a 12-round TKO, proving he can’t be counted out. Chances are the aggressive, hard hitting Sultan Ibragimov will take the fight to Briggs.
Valuev-Chagaev presents a very interesting David vs. Goliath match-up. The six-foot, one inch Chagaev is much smaller, but the crisper sharper puncher. For all the jokes about the seven-foot Valuev, he does present a tough fight for one of the Klitschko’s or even Peter. Watching Peter attempt to bring down the behemoth sure would be fun.
With Vitali returning to the division, there’s a new villain to root against. He’s clearly undeserving of a title shot after a several postponements and cancellation of a his own title defense against Hasim Rahman and a brief retirement, but that doesn’t mean he can’t fight and be a crowd pleaser.
Contenders James Toney and Chris Byrd, who returns in April on ESPN, are nearing the end of their careers and both brought an unusual amount of skill and toughness to the division over the past several years. Neither man was a natural heavyweight, but both had quite a bit of success. Fans always like to see fighters push themselves as far as they can and both guys did. Toney just finished a two bout series that gave us one of the most skilled fighters in the sport, against one of the strongest, hardest punchers in the sport, in Sam Peter. What more could you ask for from a former middleweight champion?
Both Toney and Byrd definitely had their detractors and many might say the fact that these two undersized fighters could be as successful as they were just goes to show how weak the division is. Perhaps that is true, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t make for some competitive fights, and have courage to spare. And for those who complain about the lack of craftsmanship and amateur backgrounds, both guys were amongst the most skilled in the game, regardless of weight class.
The lack of a dominant champ, the lack of depth in the division and general chaos, are all legitimate concerns, but eventually at least some of these glaring problems will correct themselves as they always do, maybe by late 2007. Until then, sit back, don’t be a snob, and enjoy the competitive fights.
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