2004 Will be a Big Year for Boxing’s Big Boys - The Aftermath

by Carl Rice
10/18 - Last year I penned a piece called “2004 Will Be a Big Year for Boxing’s Big Boy”. In that article I predicted that Lennox Lewis would officially retire, Jones v Tyson will take place, Joe Mesi would fight for a title, Wlad would lose, while Vitali would rise to the top, that James Toney would beat Jameel McCline and then go on to fight for a title, and Evander Holyfield will officially retire. Some of those have come true, and some of those have totally fall off the map, but it has been entertaining to watch. Let’s go through each of these to see how I either called it or was totally off base.

Lennox Lewis Will Officially Retire

Although no one in Lewis camp is admitting it publicly, Lennox is waiting to see what happens with this fight between Vitali Klitschko and Kirk Johnson on December 6. The winner of that fight will be positioned to fight Lewis, and this is where the decision will be made. If Klitschko wins, it is less likely that Lewis will ever enter a boxing ring again. He already knows that it will be a tough fight, getting in top shape is not a easy as it used to be, and he already fought and beat the guy, so there will be little incentive to come back. However, if Johnson wins, it validates Lewis not wanting or needing to fight Klitschko again. Since he was already slated to fight Johnson before a pectoral muscle forced him to pull out, which allowed Klitschko to fight Lewis in the first place, he will return for one last fight against Johnson before calling it a day. And even if he does fight the winner, after that fight Lennox is done anyway. 2004 will be the first time in a long time that the division will be completely open to whomever can get through the door first.

I have to say that I called this one pretty close. Lewis did wait to see what happened with Klitschko v Johnson, and after Vitali pounded Johnson into submission, Lennox decided that he’d done enough to garner respect from the boxing world, which is exactly what he has been receiving. Yes, it would have been good to see Lewis v Klitschko II, but it’s still early. Maybe Lewis will pull a Trinidad and take some time off and then when he feels ready or sees that Vitali is vulnerable, he could come back. But with Manny now being in their corner, it’s hard to see Lennox coming back. I’m sure that Manny has schooled both Klitschkos about Lewis’ tendencies and some of his weaknesses. Plus, Lennox seems pretty grounded and watching both Roy and Oscar get KOed this year, he’s probably chillin in Jamaica with Ricky Williams blazing a blunt.

Jones v Tyson Will Happen

This fight will happen for two main reasons: Tyson is broke and Jones looks vulnerable. Four months ago, if you asked any boxing fan who would win that fight, Jones most likely would have been the favorite, especially after seeing how Mike had been so sporadic in his ring appearances. But now, after Jones’ harder-than-expected title fight with Antonio Tarver, Jones looks more beatable than ever. Does anyone doubt that Tyson saw that fight and thought “If I could get him on those ropes like that, it’s an easy victory for me.”? It will be a fight of huge proportions and there will be two distinct factions: those that want to see Tyson return to prominence, and those who will want to see Jones get his head blown off. Of course there will be a segment of fans that will cheer for Roy, but they will be vastly outnumbered.

Currently there are several hurdles that could prevent this fight. One is the fact that Tyson is a Showtime guy and Jones is a HBO guy, but Lewis v Tyson was proof that something could be worked out between the two networks. With the money that can be made in a fight of this magnitude, combined with the fact that Showtime has to believe that Tyson can and will win this fight, I’m sure that a deal could be reached. Another question is who would get the lion’s share of the purse. Surely Jones thinks he should because he’s a titlist and simply because he’s Roy, but he also understands that Tyson is the spectacle here, and so Jones will make concessions to make this happen. The biggest hurdle may be the fact that Tyson has publicly said that he will not work with Don King again. If the WBA trinket is at stake, then Tyson would have no choice but to work with King again if he accepts the fight, not to mention King’s love for options on fighters. But Tyson is in a huge financial mess and King is willing to do whatever it takes to get out of Tyson’s $100 million lawsuit against him. It would, after all, be the biggest purse in Jones’ and maybe even Tyson’s career and Jones could dispel his many critics that perceive Jones as never willing to take a risk. It’s the perfect fight for both men call it a career.

Well, two things mentioned in this are true: Tyson is broke and Jones is vulnerable. It’s hard to believe that just 1 year ago, Jones was sitting on top of the boxing world and thinking of taking on all comers. Now people are not only acting as if Jones is dead but their spitting on his grave. I read today how some writer called Jones victory against Ruiz suspect. He won that fight fair and square and no one can take that away from him. People can drink all the Haterade the want but it still won’t quench their thirst. But back to me, this was my mistake and I accept responsibility. What prevented this fight from happening was Tyson’s unwillingness to deal with Don King (ironically, earlier this year they settled Tyson’s $100 million law suit). But now it seems it was just Tyson’s unwillingness to fight, period.

Tyson seems to be much more unsettled in the ring. Even though he still has one of the most power packed punches in the heavies, he just doesn’t seem to want to fight anymore. But because he needs the money, he’s forced in the ring. Hopefully his sad story will end with a TV job, especially since Tyson is a very knowledgeable boxing historian. As for Jones, since I wrote that, we all know what happened. Now Jones is saying that he wants to take a sabbatical and see what happens. He has nothing less to prove, and, unlike, Tyson, he doesn’t have to fight for money. Hopefully he’ll choose to settle on promoting and leaving the fighting to those who have something to prove.

Joe Mesi Will Fight for a Title

It’s been a long time since a white American heavyweight has been in the position Joe Mesi has been in the past 2 years. He has fought his way up the chain on local shows, to ESPN2 cards, and now he has finally made it to the big time, HBO Championship Boxing. Mesi is a relatively talented guy with some power, some speed, but also some question marks. How will his chin stand up to a solid shot? Can he make it through 10 or 12 hard rounds? Will he ever fight a live body? Is he the next Great White Hope, the next Great White Hype, or the next Great Heavyweight? Mesi seems like the real deal now, but 2004 will be a breakout year for him. After beating Davarrel Williamson, many have clamored that he steps up the level of competition. Monte Barrett, next on the agenda, is not quite a step up, but recall that Barrett fought Wlad Klitschko 3 years ago, so there is a comparison there (hopefully it will not take Mesi 3 years before stepping up to fight tougher opposition). After dispatching of one or two more Barrett class fighters, he will get his chance to fight for 1 of the 4 titles out there. If Jones does not defend the WBA title, the winner of Rahman v Ruiz will be in line for the title, and it is one of these guys that Mesi will fight for the title.

If Mesi had not suffered a hematoma against Vassily Jirov earlier this year, he most certainly would have fought for the title this year. His train had been sailing along until he fought Monte Barrett. That’s when chinks were seen in his armor. His shortcomings were more exposed in that fight than in any other and the fight after that was Jirov. Jirov took Mesi’s punches, but kept coming, and his perseverance paid off when he finally caught up to Mesi and knocked him down 3 times before the final bell. If he has won some of the earlier rounds, he could have pulled it out. But now it seems as if Jirov was the real winner, as he continues fighting, while there is speculation that Mesi will be calling it quits later in the year.

Wlad Klitschko Will Lose Again. And Vitali Will Rise to the Top

After the pounding Wlad received against Corrie Sanders, many fans said that Wlad was done, and this is the truth. Wlad will fight a few stiffs before either stepping to the plate to fight Sanders again, who now holds the psychological edge and will once again KO Wlad, or he will fight someone to get in place to fight for one of the titles and get KOed in that fight. In any case, it is safe to say that little brother has been exposed and now the intimidation factor is gone. Vitali, on the other hand, had shown his toughness. Yes, he does have a very upright European style, but he took on the real champ and not only held his own, but was close to scoring a knockdown on several occasions. Of course, he was on the verge of being knocked down as well, but the fact is that he was very much in the fight. I see the fight playing out like this: Vitali shoves that telephone pole jab into Kirk’s face and Johnson responds by fighting while going backwards. Johnson’s boxing skills keeps him in the fight, but Klitschko delivers a hard right hand that puts Johnson down in the 5th, and another that puts him out in the 7th. After beating Johnson, there will not be very many heavies that will want to fight him. However, he will be in line to fight a title eliminator for Lewis’ belt after he retires and will beat either Corrie Sanders or Davis Tua to become the first Klitschko to win a major world title.

I’m still back-slapping myself for this one. The only thing I was wrong about was the round in which Johnson was KOed in. Wlad should just give it up. He didn’t realty look that good against DaVarrel Williamson and he could have possibly lost had the fight went the distance. When he steps in against top echelon fighter, he’s gonna have the same results as the other times he was stopped. Vitali has been looking good since losing to Lewis, but I’m just not yet sold on him yet. Beating Corrie Sanders and an overweight Kirk Johnson doesn’t really prove anything to me. Next on the list is Danny Williams, conqueror of the 2004 version of Mike Tyson. So it only takes one fight to put a guy in position to fight for the linear title? Wow. Vitali needs to fight someone that will not only challenge him but will garner mainstream attention. Perhaps, with this league of heavyweights, garnering mainstream attention will be tough, but there are plenty of heavies that have been around the block and would give Klitschko a nice fight. In fact, I feel his first matter of business should have been fighting the first guy who beat him, Chris Byrd. But in lieu of that fight, he could take on...well, there’s...wow, there really isn’t anyone besides Byrd and James Toney, which we may see sometime next year.

James Toney Will Beat Jameel McCline and Fight for a Heavyweight Title

James Toney showed the world that he could compete at heavyweight not just beating Evander Holyfield, but completely dismantling him. However, he will be taking on his biggest challenge to date when he fights Jameel McCline in February. This seems like a tall order (pun intended) for Toney, but if there is any fighter that can be a giant killer, it appears to be Toney. McCline’s lack of experience will come into play, as will his tentative (that’s putting it lightly) boxing style. But if McCline can realize that he is fighting a much smaller man, he may go on the attack. If he does, that will play right into Toney’s uncanny counterpunching abilities, which will allow him to outbox the big man, and Toney will get a hard-earned decision. After that, he will have several options to fight for a title, and will most likely go after one of the Klitschkos to do it. If Vitali has a title later this year, which I suspect he will, Toney will fight him, or fight little brother Wlad, but this McKline fight is being taken for a reason. It is getting Toney ready to take on the big boys.

Toney was cocked and ready to go before his Achilles was torn. After that, the only fight he would have would be with physical therapist and Twinkies. But he came back last month with a pretty good performance against an almost obese Rydell Booker but tore his left bicep in the process. That injury will probably keep him out of the ring for a few months. I suspect Toney will take on another tune up type bout before getting a chance at the title against Klitschko. Toney looked good against a bigger man, but Vitali is even bigger. I’m not sure he can pull it off, but if there’s one guy in the heavyweight division that is skilled, slick, and strong enough capable of beating Klitschko, Toney is that man.

Evander Holyfield Will Retire

It has been a tough ride for Holyfield the past few years. He wins, loses, and ties with the very average John Ruiz, a guy he would have destroyed in the early 90’s. Then he has a good showing against Rahman, producing one of the ugliest swellings I have ever seen with his melon head. But then he gets in the ring with slippery-when-not-wet Chris Byrd, a man he publicly stated he did not want to fight, but boxing politics (along with being offered the chance to fight for another title) forced his hand. In that fight he tears the rotator cuff in his shoulder, but continues to fight and loses the most lopsided decision of his career. But after repairing his shoulder and saying all the right things, he was slated to fight Roy Jones for the WBA title Jones acquired by whooping on Ruiz for 12 rounds. But, as is the case with many of Jones’ fights, money was the key issue, and with each side not willing to concede, Holyfield found James Toney, who was looking for a fight also after negotiations collapsed with a fight with Bernard Hopkins. The cause of this breakdown? Money (GHASP!). The result of this fight was the worst one-sided beating Holyfield has ever absorbed in the ring, even worse than Bowe v Holyfield III.

Although Holyfield has reported that he will continue on his quest to become the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World again, he will have problems getting all the belts together, plus it is doubtful that he could beat any of the current titleholders. Combine that with an unwillingness of the major boxing outlets (HBO, Showtime, and ESPN) to showcase Holyfield again, and the fact that every top 10 fighter will be looking to take on and defeat this shell of the old Holyfield, he will come to the conclusion that he has achieved ample success in boxing and has finally had enough.

Well, it seems Holyfield truly does have a hard head. Even though many boxing outlets did not offer any fights for Holyfield, Don Turner, his trainer for most of his career leaving his side, and a noticeable decline in his skill level, Evander continues to toil in the netheregions of boxing’s heavyweight division. His resolve is admirable and t is hard to go against a man who has been written off more than a diary. But the fact is that the man who fought a war with Dwight Muhammad Qwai is no longer in the ring. Who is in the ring is a man with a heart and spirit that will not quit and who wants to regain the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world, but who’s body has been hinting that his dream may not be possible. There is nothing that I would love than to see Holyfield regain the title, and the only reason for that would be that he could retire happy. But I’m not sure he’d retire happy; I think he’d want to defend that title to prove that he could do it, and if he lost, the quest for being undisputed would take over again. It’s tough to say goodbye to something that has been such a meaningful part of one’s life for so long. Media types like to tell people then their time is done, but they themselves would hate to be forced out the door because some people though they no longer had the stuff. Let the man be and he’ll come to the rational conclusion sometime. Besides, he may still retire if he doesn’t win this fight with Larry Donald next month.

So currently I’m 2-5 and 1 pending. Of course, if I had to list the record myself, I’d say I’m 2 up, 2 that were totally possible, one I was completely wrong, and one that’s still pending. Hey, in baseball, 2 of 5 is still pretty good! Later on in December I’m gonna make some more predictions for the upcoming year in boxing, but this time I’m going out of the heavyweight division.

Please send all comments/opinions to crice@catsmpo.com



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