Ron Borges is Wrong: A Defense of the Klitschkos
March 2, 2009
Ron Borges thought this would be a good time to take an argument and try to strip it of all logic, facts and reason, and instead use it to keep toeing the party line that the heavyweight division sucks, and therefore, in turn, the Klitschko brothers are to blame.
Borges’ boxing writer resume is impeccable. I don’t doubt his boxing knowledge. But like many of today’s writers, he is holding a grudge against the modern heavyweight that is just way out of line.
His recent column over at The Sweet Science is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. Borges goes out of his way to bash the brothers Klitschko, Wladimir and Vitali, for not doing things as what he sees being the right way.
So what are they doing wrong?
Apparently, they whine too much and want things their way. But let’s take a look at Borges’ arguments and see just where he goes wrong.
Argument #1:
“Now according to Klitschko, a unification fight with WBA title holder Nikolai Valuev is being held hostage by – drum roll – Don King and, to a lesser extent, German promoter Wilfried Sauerland, who in partnership hold the promotional rights to [Nicolai] Valuev. Klitschko is insisting he has offered Valuev a 50-50 split, a fair amount considering that each man holds one quarter of the major titles presently in existence. But he also says King is insisting on three years of options on him if he wins, which is absurd but typical if true.”
So a Klitshcko-Valuev fight is not made and Valuev’s two promoters are known to be two of the most difficult to deal with in all of boxing. King has a reputation for demanding rights to fighters if they beat his champion and Valuev has a reputation of not leaving his home base to fight anyone that could be considered a threat.
Borges goes on to conclude that
“The latter sounds fair enough, and so does a 50-50 split with Valuev, assuming that includes all revenues and not merely some of it, which may be a big assumption. King insisting on options comes as no surprise either, although how he gets around the [Muhammad] Ali Act is beyond me and hence it is difficult to fathom how any such demand would hold water legally. One has to wonder if that was anything more than posturing by King, assuming it ever happened in the first place.”
General conclusion: Klitschko’s fault.
Argument #2:
Why isn’t a fight with David Haye made yet?
That wouldn’t get the fight made, according to [Bernd] Boente, because Haye can’t deliver a deal for a British soccer stadium, which according to Boente reduces the undefeated Haye to something less than a mandatory challenger and hence means a purse reduction.
The facts on this one seem clear as day. Haye was given the opportunity to fight for a title, despite having no heavyweight qualifications to have earned him such a shot. Haye and his people are promising sold out soccer stadiums in London, which in turn is promising huge television money all over Europe.
Then Haye’s people say they can’t do a soccer stadium because of the economy. So they tell Klitschko that now they are no longer bringing any money to the table, you have to secure us a location in Germany, and Haye still has not earned his title shot. But in the court of public opinion, Haye is the guy that they need to fight.
Haye and his team showed their lack of experience and professionalism in negotiations and it may have cost Haye a shot at the title.
Conclusion: Klitschko is at fault and is ducking Haye, and the brothers just won’t fight anybody.
Argument #3:
Why don’t these guys just fight somebody? When the elder Klitschko came out of a four-year retirement he got an automatic title shot against [Sam] Peter his first fight back. Didn’t have to face anyone despite having not been in the ring with a decent heavyweight since [Lennox] Lewis beat his eye out of his head five years earlier. Neither the Klitschko brothers nor Boente were doing any screaming then that they were being given an unfair advantage while bypassing the many working heavyweights who hadn’t held the title hostage year after year claiming one injury after another.
Lesson one: When you retire as champion, you are given Champion Emeritus status, which entitles you to get a shot at your belt immediately upon returning to the ring. It is irrelevant who he had fought since his four-year layoff, as he had already done the work to guarantee him a shot at the Maskaev-Peter winner before he left the game.
And as for Lewis beating his eye out of his head — wow. Talk about some revisionist history. Yes, Lewis won on cuts, but if you think that’s the only relevant part of that story, you’re just being one-sided in your argument. Klitschko beat Lewis around the ring, was winning on all three cards and was desperate to continue the fight. Lewis collapsed into his corner after the sixth and final round and clearly had nothing left in the tank. After doing all he could to try to make a rematch, Lewis chose to retire rather than fight Vitali again. Lewis got the win, but there was a reason that Vitali won over the crowd in Los Angeles that night, and it wasn’t because Lewis beat his eye out of his head.
But well done with the sneaky way of slipping it in as one sentence that most people will gloss over. You probably tricked a lot of people on that one.
And as for “why don’t they just fight somebody?”, what are you talking about? Wladimir has fought the exact same number of times as your precious David Haye since winning the title. He just fought in December and Vitali fights this week. What is your argument? Who do you want them to fight, and just how often?
Argument #4:
They dictate terms as if they were two guys who actually attract fans, which outside of Germany they don’t, as proved by their consistently underwhelming pay-per-view numbers. It’s also why half the time they fight in Germany rather than in the U.S., and HBO doesn’t insist otherwise.
Boente was quoted saying a fight with Haye “doesn’t make sense if he doesn’t bring more to the table than a regular challenger like Hasim Rahman or Tony Thompson. Why pay him more than a mandatory challenger?’’
Maybe because a few people might actually be interested in watching?
So apparently the most important thing that a heavyweight needs to be is marketable in the United States. First of all, (and I may be wrong on this) I can’t remember a SINGLE Klitschko fight being on pay-per-view. So which PPV was underwhelming? None here in America.
Yes, a few people might be interested in watching a Klitschko-Haye fight. But when he hasn’t earned the fight, and there are mandatories out there that allow you to keep your titles and make more or as much money, why should he fight him. Because a few delusional Europeans think his glass-chin can withstand a real heavyweights punch (even though it barely survived cruiserweight)?
Tell David Haye to fight someone that is worth a damn and he will earn the right to fight for the title, rather than just try to talk his way into it. One win in the division over Monte Barrett does not a contender make.
Haye had a fight with either Klitschko presented to him on a silver platter, and he and his people pissed it away. Is that the Klitschko’s fault? Borges thinks so.
Argument #5:
Let us examine, for a moment, who these two guys have beaten. On his “march’’ to the title, Vitali holds wins over Vaughn Bean, Larry Donald, Kirk Johnson, Corrie Sanders, Danny Williams and Peter. He also sandwiched in a four-year layoff in there somewhere.
His brother has beaten a murderer’s row that includes Chris Byrd, Calvin Brock, Ray Austin, Lamon Brewster, Sultan Ibragimov, Thompson and Rahman. The latter, Rahman, had been beaten in his career by Oleg Maskaev, John Ruiz, James Toney, Holyfield and Lewis yet is arguably the best guy Wladimir Klitschko ever beat.
Wladimir beats two titlists (Byrd, Ibragimov) to win the belts he currently has, beats three mandatory defenses (Rahman, Austin, Brewser), and two guys who were a combined 60-1 that everyone said he had to fight (Thompson, Brock). Who gives a shit if you think it was a “murderer’s row”? It was the best heavyweights in the world at the time. Why not point out who he didn’t fight? Oh, yeah — he fought them all.
As for Vitali, you conveniently leave out that he was not the champion and was trying to get himself a fight with Lennox Lewis. It wasn’t his responsibility to take the most marketable or biggest fights, it was his responsibility to try to win a title. In those fights listed, he won two title eliminators and one title, while also beating Lewis around the ring in a loss.
And Rahman is arguably the best guy that Wladimir ever beat? Really? What world do you live in? Perhaps in 2001 he would have had an argument, but even the biggest Klitschko diehards will tell you that he was not much of a challenge at the time they fought. But he was a mandatory and Klitschko fulfilled his obligation to the sanctioning bodies by beating the living daylights out of him. Everybody who follows boxing will rank Chris Byrd and Sam Peter well above Rahman, at least at the times that they fought.
Then Borges finishes out the column with this gem of an argument.
Argument #6:
And these guys are making demands and setting terms? What do they bring to the table besides big German TV money? Good PR and HBO’s checkbook. One of these days someone at Time-Warner may actually take a look at what they’ve been paid and ask Ross Greenberg a simple question? Why?
As for Valuev, why should he help the Klitschkos unify half the title when they have no intention of ever unifying all of it? They never had the slightest interest in helping him earlier in his career when his promoter kept trying to lure one of them into the ring.
It seems clear Valuev loses to either Klitschko because he can’t spell F-I-G-H-T let alone actually do it, so the world is hardly crying out for the match despite the Klitschkos’ claims to the contrary. No one cares.
The fact is for all their posturing, pouting, palavering, they own title belts won against lousy opposition. That is not all their fault but most of the sporting world really couldn’t care less about them or the heavyweight division. If they fight, fine. If they don’t, just as fine. Valuev? Haye? Gomez? Chris Arreola?
Who cares?
I’ll summarize this one: What have the Klitschko’s done to earn the right to call the shots during negotiations?
Oh, I don’t know — BE THE UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS? Seriously, what haven’t they done to get the upper hand in negotiations?
But the final argument is the one that gets me, summarized as “it doesn’t matter anyway, since I don’t care about the guys their not fighting, either.”
Exactly. You don’t care about any of them. They keep beating the guys who earn their spot as the mandatory defense or number one contender, and you don’t care to give them credit. You don’t care to see them fight Haye, but you have the balls to call them out for not doing it when other fights offer more money?
I’ve always respected Ron Borges as a boxing writer, but this is just plain old fashioned hatred. Sorry the Klitschkos were born in the wrong country. Believe me, if either of the brothers had the exact same resume and were American, they’d be the biggest stars in sports today.
Imagine a 6’7″ white guy from California who knocked out everyone he fought, while having his doctorate degree. If you don’t think he’d be a superstar, you’re just flat out wrong.
Just like Ron Borges.
Marquez Finally Wins the Big One
March 1, 2009
Juan Manuel Marquez finally came out on top in a big fight against a prime, elite fighter.
Marquez knocked out the younger Juan Diaz in the ninth round of an epic lightweight fight to affirm that he truly belongs among the best in the sport.
In the past, Marquez has fought brilliantly but come out on the short side in his biggest fights. He has a loss and a draw with Manny Pacquiao, but many believe that he should have two wins in that series. He lost a very close decision to Chris John in Indonesia back at featherweight.
Now, Marquez finally has that defining win on his resume and a damn good argument that he is the best fighter in the world.
Going into this fight, there were questions about Marquez’s claim to being the best in the world due to his lack of wins in his biggest fights. But he has more than enough great performances, mixed in with a whole bunch of solid wins that this victory over Diaz fills in the blanks that he needed to rise to the top.
Marquez is ranked by most boxing experts as one of the two or three best fighters in the world, and now the only argument that was held against him is gone.
Had he been managed better in his younger years, he might be on top of the boxing world by himself.
Marquez turned down lucrative offers to fight Manny Pacquiao in a rematch and to fight Erik Morales, instead opting to take pocket change to fight John in Indonesia. Had he fought in North America against a bigger name, perhaps he would have had his career defining win earlier in his career.
As it stands, Marquez has accelerated at the age of 35, rather than slow down. For a fighter not known for his power, he has two impressive knockout wins in his only two fights at lightweight and hasn’t shown his age yet in any of his fights.
With the possibility of a third fight with Manny Pacquiao, perhaps Marquez is yet to write the last chapter of his story, but even if he never has another major fight with a marquee fighter, there is no more questioning just how good Marquez is.
After the win over Diaz, Marquez called out former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather. Saying that he doesn’t believe that Pacquiao is interested in fighting him a third time, Marquez says he is looking for bigger and better fights.
With just two fights at lightweight, it isn’t known just how good Marquez would be fighting up at welterweight against a fighter like Mayweather, but at this point, anything is possible.
Golden Boy Promotions is staging a lightweight tournament in April, and the winner of that could perhaps challenge Marquez. Other possibilities include a rematch with Diaz or perhaps a fight with Ricky Hatton, should he beat Manny Pacquiao in May.
At lightweight and super featherweight, contenders include Edwin Valero, who will be fighting in the Golden Boy tournament, Humberto Soto, Joan Guzman, and Jorge Linares, among others. Outside of Pacquiao, Hatton or Mayweather, it seems as if there are no mega-fights on the horizon for Marquez, so he may be waiting for a few months for prospective opponents to sort themselves out.
One thing is for sure: Juan Manuel Marquez is in the conversation for being considered the best fighter in the world, and with his disputed non-wins against Pacquiao, he has a pretty damn good argument that he is the best in the world.
Team Maskaev Responds to Klitschko Complaint
February 26, 2009
As per Fight News, Oleg Maskaev’s camp responded to Vitali Klitschko‘s complaint that he filed against the WBC to stop them from forcing him to make two consecutive mandatory defenses.
Maskaev’s team says that Klitschko is forgetting just how he got his title back.
“Klitschko is fighting about the very same thing he received,” said Maskaev’s promoter, Dennis Rappaport. “What does this guy have a double standard? One for the rest of the world and one for the Klitschko’s?”
Rappaport continued by saying, “He’s in the mirror position of Maskaev. Why didn’t he cry when it benefited him? It’s really like a joke. Now he wants to attack the very same thing he benefited from!”
Let me drop a little science on Mr. Rappaport.
When Vitali Klitschko retired as the WBC champion, he was guaranteed a shot at that same title if and when he returned to boxing. He earned his chance to fight Sam Peter for the title by the hard work he put in to win that belt in the first place. That is why he was the mandatory defense for the Peter-Maskaev winner.
The reason that the winner of Peter-Maskaev was to defend the title so quickly was that Maskaev was given 15 months between defenses by the WBC, so when he actually got back in the ring against the mandatory Peter, the winner was going to have to fight Klitschko in their next fight.
In this situation, Maskaev is simply a former champion who was knocked out in his last title fight, and has earned one single, meaningless win since that fight. He has not earned, in any sense of the word, mandatory challenger status.
Maskaev avoided fighting Peter and Klitschko for over a year and when forced to fight a real fighter, was promptly beaten around the ring. The man who beat him proceeded to get beaten around the ring by Vitali Klitschko. Maskaev beats a journeyman in the meantime and feels like he has earned being the mandatory challenger?
The WBC was willing to let Maskaev sit around for 15 months after he beat the extremely average (to be nice) Peter Okhello. So why should they change their ways now and mandate two back-to-back defenses of the title within 120 days of each other?
If they had a real challenger, or a fighter in a similar position to Klitschko a year ago, then I could understand trying to get the multiple mandatories out of the way as quickly as possible.
But this is just a former champion who has no business getting in the ring for a shot at any title, paper or otherwise, and his people are trying to make the argument that they are in the same spot as Klitschko a year ago.
I’m sorry Mr. Rappaport and Mr. Maskaev, but you couldn’t be more wrong on this situation, and for your own good, you should please stop talking now.
Juan Manuel Marquez’s Odd Road to the Top
February 26, 2009
If you ask most boxing fans, they’ll tell you that Juan Manuel Marquez is one of the top two or three fighters in the world. They may be right. But the way he got there is about as odd as any you can think of.
It’s possible that without winning another fight, Marquez could ascend to the throne of pound-for-pound supremacy — without ever having beaten a top fighter in their prime.
Sure, you could argue that he beat Pacquiao twice, but the fights were both close enough that you just have to live with the decision losses.
So how close is Marquez to being the P4P king, all without having that one marquee victory that is usually required?
Imagine this scenario:
- Marquez fights to a draw with Juan Diaz in a great, action packed fight on Feb. 28.
- Just over two months later, Manny Pacquiao loses to Ricky Hatton in a super-lightweight showdown.
- More than likely, Marquez will become the new mythical “pound-for-pound” champion all over the boxing world.
It’s not such a crazy scenario — unlikely for both results to happen exactly in that way, but not outside the realm of possibility.
What makes it interesting is should that all happen, Marquez will become the new pound-for-pound king, all without winning a single major fight in his career against an elite-level, prime fighter.
Marquez’s Big Wins?
Sure, Marquez beat Marco Antonio Barrera, but that was not the same Barrera that was dazzling us against Erik Morales seven years earlier. It’s a good win, but it shouldn’t be the defining win of his career.
Joel Casamayor? The 37-year old Cuban gave Marquez all he could handle before getting knocked out. It would have been a fine win if Casamayor hadn’t been beaten around the ring by Jose Armando Santa Cruz in one of boxing’s greatest robberies, then taken to his limits by the very average but entertaining Michael Katsidis. Another decent win, but nothing that should be right near the top of a P4P resume.
Prior to those wins, the biggest win Marquez had ever gotten credit for was against Derrick Gainer in 2003. Another fine win, but nothing that makes somebody the best in the game.
In his fights against elite fighters at or near their prime, Marquez is 0-3-1. He lost twice to Manny Pacquiao, but many feel that he won one of or both fights. He lost to Chris John in a fight that some dispute, but many agree was just, and he lost to Freddie Norwood way back in 1999 in his first title fight.
The amazing thing is that his two close losses to Pacquiao not only add to his resume, they are the focal point!
I can’t recall a single fighter that has climbed as high as Marquez has without having any of the decisive wins that we usually require out of a fighter in his position.
The Pound-for-Pound King
Just what does it take to be the king of boxing, in it’s mythical pound-for-pound world? I’ve offered my opinion, but the question that is raised here is “can you inherit the spot” or does it have to be assigned when a fighter is deserving?
Looking at some recent pound-for-pound kings:
- Floyd Mayweather had wins over Diego Corrales, Genaro Hernandez, Jose Luis Castillo, and had been a three-division titlist before assuming the throne.
- Bernard Hopkins (if he was ever really the P4P king) had 19 consecutive successful defenses of his middleweight title, and wins over Felix Trinidad and Glen Johnson on his resume, among others.
- Roy Jones had wins over Bernard Hopkins, James Toney, John Ruiz and complete domination over everyone who crossed his path for his whole career, without exception.
- Manny Pacquiao is a multi-division champion with wins over Barrera, Erik Morales, Oscar De La Hoya and Marquez. Not all consider him a P4P king, but if you do, there is certainly a solid argument these days.
- Joe Calzaghe was undefeated with 24 defenses of his super-middleweight crown. He had wins over Chris Eubank, Robin Reid, Jeff Lacy, Mikkel Kessler and Bernard Hopkins before anyone handed him the crown.
Is it possible that Juan Manuel Marquez is on the threshold of being the pound-for-pound king based only on the accomplishments of Manny Pacquiao and Marquez’s performances against him?
Maybe it’s me, but in my view, there must not always be a pound-for-pound king. When the March BoxingInformer.com rankings come out, there will be nobody in the number one spot on the pound-for-pound rankings, due to the retirement of Joe Calzaghe. I enjoy watching Pacquiao fight, but in my opinion, he never earned being the P4P king.
But I understand that others will have Pacquiao number one, and if he loses to Hatton, then there is a good chance that Marquez will inherit that spot.
I really have no problem with Pacquiao being ranked where he is. He’s an amazing fighter with some quality wins on his resume. I don’t quite view him the way your average boxing forum poster sees him, but I think he’s quite good. But that’s a different argument for a different day.
Marquez has shown in the ring that he is extremely talented, but he really lacks the great win that I feel you need to be on top of the whole sport.
Mis-Management
One of the problems that will always dog Marquez is his lack of fights with the top fighters when he was younger. Marquez was hanging around at featherweight and super-featherweight for most of the same time that Morales, Barrera and Pacquiao were.
But in that time, Marquez fought Barrera once and Pacquiao twice, but never Morales. That is the only combination of these fighters that never happened.
Why?
Simple. Marquez made some real bad decisions, and his legacy is now paying the price.
Take for instance the time between Marquez’s draw with Pacquiao in 2004 and his fight with Chris John in Indonesia in 2006.
After the first fight with Pacquiao, HBO offered Marquez $750,000 to stage a rematch, but Marquez said he wanted $1.5 million. That was HBO’s entire license fee, so that fight didn’t happen.
Then, after a few meaningless fights, HBO offered Marquez $1.5 million to fight Erik Morales in 2005 on PPV. Marquez turned down this offer as well, saying that he wanted $3.5 million.
Later that year, Marquez had his IBF belt stripped because no promoter was willing to pay to stage any of his mandatory fights. That led him to take a fight in Indonesia against Chris John for a measly $30,000. The outcome of the fight is disputed, but Marquez’s boxing smarts, or lack thereof, are not.
Marquez had his opportunities to make himself a pound-for-pound king, but he has both passed on key fights, and failed to come out victorious in the ones he does take over the years.
It is possible that Marquez is among the best boxers in the world. In fact, I’m quite certain I’m in the minority if I say he’s not the second best behind Manny Pacquiao. I’m not necessarily arguing that he’s not one of the most talented individuals in the sport. I’m pointing out the fact that he is poised to take boxing’s highest mythical title without ever truly earning it in the ring. That, I have a problem with.
For that reason, even with a Manny Pacquiao loss to Ricky Hatton, there is no justification of Marquez being boxing’s pound-for-pound king.
Bob Arum Should Be Ashamed of Himself
February 14, 2009
Bob Arum has had a long and successful career. After over 40 years in the business, Arum has seen his share of controversies as well. But at no point in his entire career in the sport should he have been more ashamed of himself than he should be right now.
Arum’s defense of Antonio Margarito, and his subsequent statements and actions since Margarito and his trainer had their licenses revoked, is shameful and embarrassing to the sport of boxing.
To get you up to speed, Margarito and his trainer, Javier Capetillo, each had their boxing licenses revoked in the state of California for one year. This was after the California State Athletic Commission found them guilty of having used a foreign material in Margarito’s hand wraps prior to his fight with Shane Mosley.
Upon receiving the official decision, Arum’s first instinct was not to apologize on behalf of his fighter or anything near like that. It was to begin arranging a fight in Tijuana for Margarito, since Arum believes that he was only suspended because he is Mexican.
Say what?
Arum said that he definitely is going to arrange for Margarito to fight in Mexico, and that the ruling was unfair.
Specifically, Arum says it is wrong that the commission punished Margarito for basically being the captain of a team that did wrong.
“What Capetillo did was outrageous and he should be punished, but they punished him on the grounds that he’s the captain, he’s the boxer, and if anybody on his team does anything wrong he’s responsible. That’s not the law and that’s wrong. That is absolutely wrong.”
I suggest Arum do a blind “feel-test,” where he takes all of the fighters under his promotional banner, and has their trainers wrap their hands. Randomly, some will insert similar foreign objects into the hand wraps. If none of them feel any difference, or don’t notice, I’ll believe his argument has merit. But being the professionals that they are, I submit that 100 percent of the tampered gloves will be immediately recognized by the fighters.
Margarito’s hands were the ones that were in the gloves, and like it or not, he is 100 percent responsible for them falling within the rules of boxing. As A.C. Slater once said: “I was in the seat, I’ll take the heat.” That’s just the way you’re supposed to take responsibility for things.
Arum also pointed out that when Roger Mayweather stepped into the ring to confront Zab Judah, Floyd Mayweather was not punished, just his uncle. What Arum doesn’t recognize is that in that case, Mayweather was the only one who directly put someone else at risk. He was not sending someone else out there with a deadly weapon. Additionally, many people disagreed with the ruling in the ring, feeling that Mayweather should have been disqualified for Roger’s actions.
Arum is not alone on this either. The incomprehensible Jose Sulaiman, leader of the WBC, is having a hard time understanding how a fighter can get punished for something his trainer did. What he doesn’t seem to get is that the trainer is not the one that is potentially killing someone with concrete fists. The fighter is the one cashing the check, winning the belts, and headlining the card. He is responsible for his actions and has an obligation to follow the rules. Claiming ignorance is not an acceptable defense.
But for Sulaiman, who I believe is also the president of the Manny Pacquiao fan club, states plainly that the Mexican fighter is completely without fault and echo’s Arum’s belief that this ruling is only happening because Margarito is Mexican.
I’ve heard some stupid things come from the mouths of those in the boxing world, but this is in the running for the stupidest. Margarito is not being punished because he is Mexican. He is being punished for having the equivalent of concrete on his fists for a fight, and if any of these men truly believe that Margarito was ignorant to the whole thing, then they have no business being quoted, since they are too stupid to be listened to about anything.
The WBC’s official stance on this (you won’t believe this is from an “impartial” boxing organization”):
Based on the previous facts and many more pieces of evidence that will be obtained, the Mexican boxing authorities, in a very respectful and amicable way, will request the California State Athletic Commission to extend the courtesy of sending all the prescriptive documents of the case, to immediately proceed to submit a respectful but firm appeal against the suspension that Antonio Margarito, who is ABSOLUTELY INNOCENT without a doubt, was placed on; Margarito shall be restored his damaged prestige and dignity.
Here’s the kicker: This was not a WBC fight! Why are they getting involved, you ask? Since Margarito is Mexican, and the WBC is based in Mexico, Sulaiman has taken it upon himself to right this wrong in his eyes.
This is a man who instead of sanctioning the fights, as the WBC is only really in business for, often gets far too involved in the process. This is the man that adamantly opposed Ricky Hatton getting even 50 percent of the cut against Manny Pacquiao, since Pacquiao had just beaten Oscar De La Hoya and is seen as the better fighter (solid business understanding), and also said that he didn’t want Pacquiao fighting Hatton because it was too tough of a fight. Are you kidding me? Why should the WBC President be telling a fighter who is their lightweight champion that he should be taking easier fights?
Sulaiman has already solidly entrenched himself as an embarrassment to the sport with his actions over the recent years, but Arum is really treading new ground with this caper.
Defending someone who attempted to fight (and perhaps has fought in the past) with loaded gloves is pathetic. I don’t care if Margarito knew specifically what was going on. When it comes to hand wraps, the fighter is responsible. I don’t care what kind of argument you make, or how many fighters vow that hand wraps aren’t their business. If you’re a fighter, and you don’t know what’s going into your wraps, you better start paying attention.
Arum has embarrassed himself with his actions this week. And after Garry Shaw made a fool out of himself by making it clear that he would never allow Vic Darchinyan to avenge his only loss for promotional reasons, it’s becoming more and more clear why Golden Boy is taking over boxing.
These men continue to hurt the sport of boxing, from their rivalries and treatment of fighters, to the occasional asinine statement about mixed martial arts, to defending the indefensible.
Sulaiman is already a worthless figure in boxing, but Arum should know better. For his actions this week, Arum should be ashamed of himself.
And if he allows his suspended fighter to fight in Mexico, all but guaranteeing that he won’t be relicensed in the United States, he should one-by-one lose his whole stable of fighters as they leave for promoters who may actually be looking out for their best interests.
Margarito needs to take a lesson from A-Rod and just take your medicine. One quote of, “I was not aware of what was going on, but as the fighter, I accept responsibility for the actions of my team. It was a terrible mistake, and I hope to win back the trust of my fans when I return from this suspension.”
How hard would that be? Then you sit out a year (God knows you can afford it), and start training for a fight next February or March. Like it or not, Margarito screwed up. He has to take his medicine now and try to rebuild. Allowing your promoter and an idiot alphabet talking head to make it worse is the wrong move for Margarito.
But as we’ve seen, he isn’t exactly the smartest guy in the world when it comes to who he surrounds himself with. I suppose you get what you deserve, and every day that goes by, Margarito is making it easier and easier for me to believe that he deserves all of this.
I, for one, would not be heart broken if Margarito, Arum and Sulaiman all retired to Mexico together, never to be heard of again. I don’t think boxing would miss a single one of them at this point.
10 Best Pound-for-Pound Matchups in Boxing
February 9, 2009
In the pound-for-pound world, anything goes. Comparing light-heavyweights to flyweights is part of the game. So if the top fighters all lived in a pound-for-pound world, and were all magically bamfed into the same weight class, what would the best fights be?
Here are my selections for the ten fights I would like to see if I could transport all of boxing into one weight class. Not everyone on this list is necessarily a top pound-for-pound fighter, but I think these would make great matchups.
10 – Jermain Taylor vs. Juan Manuel Marquez
The reason I picked this matchup is that no one looks good against either guy. Taylor is just tough to win rounds against, and Marquez is a dominant boxer. I’d love to see if Marquez could look good against Taylor, or if Taylor spends too much time moving back and not punching. Both fighters have been known to be mentally fragile, so I’d really be fascinated to see how the second half of the fight played out, after adjustments have been made. Not the most exciting fight on the list, but a very intriguing matchup.
9 – Ivan Calderon vs. Winky Wright
A boxing fans dream and a casual fans nightmare. Ivan Calderon and Winky Wright, when at their best, can be two of the most “boring” fighters in boxing. By boring I mean dominant boxers who take no risks, but are in complete control at all times. Both are very slick and this would be like watching a chess match. Actually, there might be more punches landed and thrown in a typical chess match, but I wouldn’t miss a single second of this fight.
8 – Kelly Pavlik vs. Antonio Margarito
Sure, this matchup looked a whole lot better before Pavlik got beat by Hopkins and Margarito by Mosley, but their styles are still great fits with each other. Two high volume punchers who never stop throwing is a recipe that could get us Ward vs. Augustus on a higher level. Now that Margarito’s chin legend has been busted, and after seeing Pavlik get off the canvas multiple times, this one might not make it the distance, but it would be fantastic while it lasted.
7 – Juan Diaz vs. Israel Vazquez
Another classic matchup of brawlers. Juan Diaz puts on pressure as well as anyone in the game and Vazquez doesn’t know how to step backwards. This has the makings of being even better than Vazquez-Marquez, since Diaz’s style may be even more complimentary to Vazquez’s style than Marquez’s is. This fight would be huge in Houston or Mexico.
6 – Bernard Hopkins vs. Vitali Klitschko
A guy who has only let one man take him the distance against a man that seemingly can’t be knocked out. Vitali Klitschko hits as hard, pound-for-pound, as anyone in boxing. Bernard Hopkins may be the toughest guy in the sport to knock out. Would Hopkins outsmart him and spoil his game, like he did against Pavlik, or would Klitschko’s power and skill be too much, as it was against Sam Peter and (for six rounds) Lennox Lewis. I would love to see Hopkins eat one punch from a great puncher, but as we saw against Pavlik, he’s not so easy to hit.
5 – Edwin Valero vs. Vic Darchinyan
How about two of the most exciting, yet somewhat limited, slugging southpaws in the game? Both fighters resemble a rough-around-the-edges Manny Pacquiao and this fight is guaranteed fireworks. Edwin Valero has never left the ring without winning by knockout, and Darchinyan may be the most devastating puncher below 122 pounds. First one to land a left hand wins.
4 – Miguel Cotto vs. Ricky Hatton
Two of boxing’s best in-fighters, body punchers and warriors, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto came close to meeting years ago when Cotto was still campaigning at 140. It was never to be then, and it will probably never happen at 147, but in our mythical world, it’s one of the fights to see. Neither likes to step back and both are willing to stand shoulder-to-shoulder and exchange body shots. This would be an epic battle and could end up looking like Corrales-Castillo I in a perfect world.
3 – Manny Pacquiao vs. Chad Dawson
The current pound-for-pound champ in many eyes against the future pound-for-pound champ in quite a few eyes. Both fighters look classes ahead of most of their competition, and a matchup between the two could be just the quality competition they both need. I don’t see how this is not a great fight.
2 – Shane Mosley vs. Bernard Hopkins
Boxing matchups don’t get much more traditional than this. Two fighters, Shane Mosley and Bernard Hopkins, who really epitomize the phrase “styles make fights,” you never know what you’d get with these two fighters. They’ve both been on top of the game for a long time and they’re both a bit long in the tooth, but what a classic matchup this would be. Both have great speed and great defense, but both have shown some weaknesses. They are two of the smartest fighters, and watching them work at the same time would be a joy. Winner gets the others Golden Boy shares.
1 – Floyd Mayweather vs. Joe Calzaghe
In my opinion, the two best fighters of the post-Roy Jones era. Mayweather is a master of all with speed and defense second to none. Calzaghe can’t seem to do enough to win over boxing critics. His wins over Mikkel Kessler, Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones solidified his career and have earned him the right to be called “pound-for-pound” the best in the world, a title he inherited from Floyd.
These two guys would put on a boxing clinic, while adding the intrigue of the classic lefty vs. righty matchup. It may not be the most exciting fight in boxing, but it may be the best fight in boxing.
Winner gets to retire again. Loser has to retire again.
And while they’re not classic P4P matchups, per se, I’d love to see the Marquez brothers fight each other and of course, the Klitschko brothers fight each other. I figure, while I’m in Fairy-Tale Boxing Imagination Land, why not shoot for the ultimate fictional matchups.
8 Boxers That Need to Retire
February 6, 2009
If there is one constant in boxing, it’s that fighters just don’t know when to walk away. For as long as anyone can remember, great fighters have hung around for one too many fights, often many more. Legendary fighters like Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, who each lost three of their four final bouts, and Sugar Ray Robinson, who lost five of his last 10 fights, all remained in the game longer than they should have.
While every generation has fighters that should have walked away sooner, there seem to be more and more fighters sticking around too long today. Perhaps it’s the money, or perhaps it’s the chance to win one of a dozen belts in each weight class, but for whatever reason, retirement doesn’t take with many fighters.
There are far too few Lennox Lewises, Joe Calzaghes and Floyd Mayweathers (if he stays retired), who walk away when they still have their legends and their wits. Sure, they all leave money on the table, and perhaps some great fights aren’t made, but for the sake of their own well-being, I would say there are too many Holyfields and not enough Lewises when it comes to walking away at the right time.
Here are eight fighters that are still going, but really need to walk away from the sport.
8 – Jose Luis Castillo
I know! He’s still fighting? Yes he is. He’s actually fought three times since losing to Ricky Hatton — the fight in which the world decided that he was a shot fighter. He lost a lopsided decision to Sebastian Lujan in 2008, yet continues to fight on. The man who will be remembered for his failures on the scale as well as his triumphs in the ring is now campaigning at welterweight, a full weight class above where he wasn’t competitive. There is no upside to his continuing on.
7 – Marco Antonio Barrera
After his losses to Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao in 2007, Barrera showed that he just isn’t capable of fighting at an elite level anymore. Yet he presses on. With two fights in 2008, and at least two more in 2009, there is no end in sight. Unfortunately, Barrera seems to be on the road to fighting until he learns the hard way that he’s just not capable anymore.
6 – Israel Vazquez
Three wars with Rafael Marquez and surgery for a torn retina, as well as surgery for a shattered nose — all in less than two years. You just don’t keep fighting after that and live a normal life. He can surely still fight — more so than anyone else on this list, but for his own well being, he should walk away while he can.
5 – Zab Judah
Judah has had more bad breaks and close calls, but he’s really just not good enough to do anything about it. He falls in the same class of Fernando Vargas, as fighters who were better than all of the ‘B’ level fighters, but never as good as any of the ‘A’ level fighters. Judah fought Floyd Mayweather as well as about anyone, and certainly looked like he belonged in the ring against Miguel Cotto. But he lost both of those fights, as well as losses to Cory Spinks (though he beat him later) and Kostya Tszyu, always leaving him one step below of where he wanted to be. At this point, it’s hard to see him getting to the top, so unless he’s willing to permanently drop to 140 pounds, Judah might as well walk away.
4 – James Toney
Let’s face it, James Toney is a shadow of what he used to be — a much bigger shadow. This is no longer the man that was the pound-for-pound king of boxing. This is now the man who is stealing decisions against Fres Oquendo and winning split-decisions with Danny Batchelder. He’s shown no desire to improve his conditioning, but still has tremendous skills. But he’s slower than he used to be and doesn’t take punches as well as he did years ago. Right now, he’s fighting because he loves to fight, which I respect, but he is only going to end up damaged if he keeps going.
3 – Roy Jones
Many would say that Antonio Tarver ended his career, but if you want to say he rebounded from the knockout losses to Tarver and Glen Johnson, then Joe Calzaghe certainly ended Jones’ career. Yet he fights on. Perhaps his fight with Omar Shieka will be his last, but for now, he’s just another shot fighter with a fight scheduled. Jones earned the right to go out how he wants to, so I’ll just hope that the Shieka fight is his hometown farewell before walking away. Any fight after that is just asking for trouble.
2 – Oscar De La Hoya
He can make millions by continuing to fight, but can also make millions without ever getting into the ring again. Every fight he’s in is now a sideshow. He has no more meaningful fights ahead of him, and by staying in the game, he’s holding boxing hostage because everybody waits on his next move. His performance against Manny Pacquiao hopefully told him what others haven’t — he’s done.
1 – Evander Holyfield
The epitome of sticking around too long. It’s hard to argue that Holyfield’s career didn’t end in 2002 when he lost a one-sided decision to Chris Byrd. He was knocked out by James Toney a year later. Sure he had some injuries, and he also should have gotten the decision against Nicolai Valuev, but at 46-years old, Holyfield is always one punch away from a catastrophic injury. He may still be talented and in great shape, but he’s just not the fighter he used to be. Before we all see something we don’t want to see, Holyfield needs to hang the gloves up for good.
Sadly, boxing is a sport where only the fighter has the final word. If this were baseball, basketball or football, athletes like Holyfield just wouldn’t be able to land a job, thus forcing them into retirement. But in boxing, all you need is a willing opponent and a promoter that is willing to take a cut of your money. That’s not that hard to find in this sport. So, as long as boxing is organized the way it is, I don’t think there is any way for others to “make” fighters retire. No matter how much everyone around him knows that fighters like Holyfield shouldn’t fight again, as long as the checks keep clearing, they’ll keep on supporting them.
Can a One-Division Fighter Be a Top Pound-for-Pound Guy?
February 4, 2009
As Ricky Hatton prepares to fight Manny Pacquiao in May, one of the things that Hatton says he is fighting for is to claim Pacquiao’s pound-for-pound title that many organizations have mythically given to him. Whether Hatton deserves to be ranked at or near the top of such a list with a win over Pacquiao is a debate in and of itself, but Hatton’s quote led me to an opinion I was never familiar with.
Somewhere, as I prowled the Interwebs for boxing news and information, I came across an opinion that said even if Hatton won, he couldn’t be pound-for-pound number one since he only fights in one weight class.
I was taken aback, figuring that that shouldn’t matter at all. Then again, when was the last time you saw a heavyweight on a P4P list? Is it that they aren’t qualified in the skills department, or that they aren’t qualified because of the sole fact that they fight in one division.
I submit that pound-for-pound, in all of its mythical glory, is a measure of overall talent, not your abilities to move weights.
Of course, in today’s generation of weight class jumpers, perhaps your ability to fluctuate in weight and be successful in multiple divisions is a skill that ranks right next to hand speed. Call me old school, but I don’t think you can take anything away from a fighter who either knows his limitations or chooses to stay in one weight class. Some people are just middleweights. Some are just welterweights. Not everyone has to move weights to prove their overall abilities.
So the question is, can a one-division fighter be a top pound-for-pound fighter?
I say unequivocally: yes.
Pound-for-pound is about your skill level at your best weight, transposed to fighting all other fighters at their best weight. Really, it is based on the ideal version of each fighter. If you happen to be at your best staying in one weight class, then there is no problem.
Let’s go back in time, to a time when fighters stayed in one weight class until they needed to move up in weight. James Toney, Roy Jones and Sugar Ray Leonard fought at one weight for the majority of their prime years. Muhammad Ali is considered by many to be a pound-for-pound great, but he was a heavyweight.
The measurement of fighters against each other with no regards to actual size. To measure fighters in a pound-for-pound situation would be to compare fighters as if they were all the exact same weight. All advantages that they have in their current weight class would remain (i.e. if you’re taller than the rest of your normal weight class, you have a height edge in a P4P world). The pound-for-pound rankings indicate how fighters would fare against each other if they were all the same size.
By that definition, it should not matter if a fighter fights in one class or four. If you are good enough to fight in multiple classes, then your skill levels are seen at a higher level accordingly. But if you are built like Ricky Hatton, you just aren’t going to be able to fight your style at welterweight. Hatton fights small, so going up in weight is a matter of him getting into a level where he is at an extreme physical disadvantage being only 5’7″. Factor in his lifestyle and he’s not going to make 135. I’m not going to say he’s less of an all-around fighter because of these factors.
Too many people have taken “pound-for-pound” and changed its definition to mean simply who they think is the best and/or most accomplished fighter in the world, preferably at a smaller weight. Despite the fact that Joe Calzaghe has a better resume and has been elite for longer and remains undefeated, many people rank Manny Pacquiao as the pound-for-pound best in the world. Despite his fights with Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez, people consider excitement a more impressive feat than boredom by domination. I have nothing against those who rank Pacquiao as the top dog (as of Feb. 2009), I just disagree with it based on my definition of the phrase.
Considering the fact that there is no universal definition for “pound-for-pound,” I can’t really argue with someone who doesn’t consider a fighter like Ricky Hatton or Vitali Klitschko a P4P star. By their definition, which is about as binding and true as mine, he’s not if they say one-division fighters can’t be on the list.
I think it comes down to skills and talent, and anyone who has the total package is a pound-for-pound top fighter. If Ricky Hatton beats Manny Pacquiao, then yes, at 46-1, with his only loss to Floyd Mayweather, and wins over Pacquiao, Paulie Malignaggi, Kostya Tszyu, and Luis Collazo, he’s in the running for P4P #1.
But that’s the beauty of boxing. There’s only so many fights that are physically possible to make. There will always be an argument about who is better. That’s what keeps us watching year after year.
Pound-for-pound is in our heads. My rankings are different than your rankings. Your rankings are different than someone else’s. Without the arguments, boxing only happens in the ring. That’s why you’re reading this, and that’s why I’m writing it. Tomorrow will be a new argument. So make whatever rules you believe in when you are ranking your fighters, but in my opinion, a one-division fighter can absolutely be a top pound-for-pound guy.
It’s Time to Restructure the Weight Classes
February 3, 2009
There are 17 weight classes in boxing, with their limits spanning nearly 100 pounds. Early in the 20th century, there were just eight weight classes spanning the same weight range. It is no coincidence that as the number of weight classes went up, the popularity and legitimacy of boxing has decreased. Perhaps it’s time to make a few changes once again.
It’s not that the weight classes in and of themselves are the problem — it’s the way they are used. When fighters can bounce around between two or three weight classes, they obviously aren’t serving their purpose. Their purpose is to separate men of different sizes to prevent unfair advantages. When there are fighters that pick what weight class they want to be in for monetary reasons alone, the weight classes themselves aren’t doing the job that they were created to do.
The problems that boxing faces with the weight classes being too close together are twofold.
First, it hurts the competition. Rather than dominating, or attempting to dominate a single weight class and claim superiority, great fighters are constantly chasing paychecks that are out of their comfort weight, or at least out of the weight class that they remain elite in.
A few recent examples are Kelly Pavlik and Manny Pacquiao.
Pavlik moved up to light-heavyweight for the sole reason of collecting a paycheck against Bernard Hopkins, and proceeded to lose nearly every round. The same thing happened when Winky Wright chased a paycheck against Hopkins. These are elite fighters who are leaving their best weight classes to fight fighters that they have no business fighting, at least at that weight.
For some guys, like Steve Forbes, moving up a few weight classes for a paycheck is worth it, since he probably made more money against Oscar De La Hoya than he will in all of his career fights combined. Even in the oldest forms of boxing’s weight classes, a fighter like Forbes would have done the same thing. This argument isn’t about guys like that. A once in a lifetime paycheck is always tough to argue against, no matter the circumstances.
But Pavlik was the undisputed middleweight champion of the world. He had just beaten Jermain Taylor twice (who had claimed the undisputed title from Hopkins). There was no reason for Pavlik to chase a paycheck when he was A) already rich, and B) in position to command large sums of money in many future fights.
In the case of Pacquiao, you have a prime example of a fighter who jumps weight classes for prestige and money and never settles in one class enough to take care of the business that a champion should take care of.
Pacquiao handled his business quite well at 126 pounds, and after a loss to Erik Morales, rebounded to become “the man” at 130 pounds. Since then, he fought the weakest titlist available at lightweight and took the money to fight De La Hoya at 147. With a new generation of fighters at 130, Pacquiao moved up in weight. With three real titlists still remaining, a bunch of young talent, and the prospect of another bout with Juan Manuel Marquez at 135, Pacquiao moved on. Upon making his mark at welterweight, Pacquiao again moved classes to challenge Ricky Hatton for his 140 pound title.
It’s not that Pacquiao isn’t making great fights — in some cases he is. It’s that he’s a party to taking the sport in a different direction that it has historically gone in. Fighting Ricky Hatton marks the fourth weight class in four fights for Pacquiao. In a sport with so much history, there is no way to historically judge a fighter like Manny Pacquiao. I understand that that’s not his problem and he is not fighting for historical inclusion, but as a fan of the sport, and someone who cares about its future, I see problems with what fighters like Pacquiao and Pavlik are doing.
Certainly, these fighters are not alone. De La Hoya, Marquez, Hatton, Hopkins, Calzaghe, Wright, Mayweather — all fighters who moved weight classes at least once with the main purpose to be to collect a paycheck. And what do you make of a fighter like Paul Williams, who could be legitimately ranked in the top five in three different weight classes right now. If he were stretching to span two classes that were farther apart, perhaps Williams would settle in and attempt to be great at one, rather than passable at three. Nothing against Williams, but I think a fighter like him would fit in better in years past when his weight determined where he fights, rather than the available fights determine his weight.
With each passing mega-fight, which is undoubtedly being contested at a “catchweight,” the belts and championships that have so long defined boxing, are becoming less and less relevant. The sanctioning bodies have done as much as anyone to de-legitimize each belt, but the nostalgic side of me longs for the days when winning the belt meant something. As long as each major fight is fought for no titles and in no real weigh class, the days of champions will remain behind us.
The second problem that boxing faces with the weight classes being so close together is that it is far too easy for a fighter to convince himself that he can cut down one more weight class to fight. Instead of coming into the ring near their natural weight and healthy, fighters are far too often draining themselves to go down below where they would more naturally fit in.
Oscar De La Hoya was so far out of the weight range that his body should be in when he fought Manny Pacquiao that he didn’t put a single pound on in the day after the weigh in. His body was so dehydrated that he wasn’t even able to absorb liquids or nutrients. That’s just plain dangerous.
It’s not just De La Hoya, not by a long way. How often do you watch a fight on HBO and see fighters that are fighting at “122″ that weigh 135 on fight night. If you actually weigh 122 pounds, you have to fight at about 112 pounds so that you don’t face an unfair advantage in the ring. You are at such an unfair advantage fighting at your natural weight that no one will do it that weighs less than about 170 pounds. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. was one of the few fighters of this generation that could fight in lower weight classes and not have to cut pounds to make weight. Perhaps Pacquiao will be another if he stays in the 140 and 147 classes, but even he seems to be filling out so much that his natural weight will be around 160 soon enough.
So jumping weight classes and fighting outside of your natural weight range can be dangerous for both men in the ring. For a fighter cutting weight, he is putting his body at risk, and the fighter that doesn’t have to cut weight may be outweighed by 10-15 pounds on fight night. This isn’t good for anyone.
The solution may sound simple in principle, but will be very difficult to accomplish in the real world. The easy solution is to cut the weight classes down from 17 to about 12. This sounds simple because it makes sense to those of us with no financial dependence on the 17 classes. With four (or more) titles per weight class, we are talking about 20 titlists having to give up their belts in order to make this happen. You might find a few fighters on board with this (those who are bigger than the belts), but the majority of these fighters would either not be on board with giving up their belts, or their promoters would fight it to the death.
Promoters and television networks like to bill as many fights as possible as being “title” fights. Every cards seems to be for some championship, and eliminating five weight classes will be like pulling teeth, especially when it comes to the sanctioning bodies. The alphabets that run these bodies love nothing more than collecting sanctioning fees and would not be thrilled with sacrificing five titlists.
At the end of the day, the promoters, TV networks, fighters and sanctioning bodies all need to take a step back and look at the sport as a whole. The best thing for the sport would be to spread out the divisions by a few pounds and allow fighters to be healthier, while also creating truer and more lasting champions.
The current limits are:
Heavyweight – over 200 lbs
Cruiserweight – 200
Light-heavyweight – 175
Super-middleweight – 168
Middleweight – 160
Light-middleweight (super welter) – 154
Welterweight – 147
Light-welterweight (super light) – 140
Lightweight – 135
Super-featherweight (junior light) – 130
Featherweight – 126
Super-bantamweight (junior feather) -122
Bantamweight – 118
Super-flyweight (junior bantam) – 115
Flyweight – 112
Light-flyweight – 108
Strawweight (mini-fly or minimum) -105
My proposal for your 12 new weight classes:
Heavyweight – over 210 lbs
Cruiserweight – 185
Light-heavyweight – 170
Middleweight – 160
Welterweight – 150
Super lightweight – 142
Lightweight – 135
Featherweight – 128
Bantamweight -122
Super-flyweight – 116
Flyweight – 110
Strawweight -105
Now, as you can see, the weight differences are pretty structured, and remain smaller as the weights are lower. This is because a six pound move from 110 to 116 pounds is about five percent of a fighter’s body weight, the same as the 10 pound move to 170. It’s not until you get up to the higher weights do the increases tend to be bigger, since for the most part, these weights are dealing with more fully grown men, and they are less likely to put themselves at risk by cutting weight at that size.
I fully believe that the only reason this wouldn’t be accepted by the boxing powers is money. The fear of losing 20-plus titlists and the fear of losing the billing of fights as for “championships,” is enough to keep the powers from going anywhere near this. It would take an independent organization, like Ring Magazine, to change their weight classes and award titles as such. Perhaps then, fighters and organizations would also get on board, but it’s still not likely.
Realistically, only a complete overhaul of the boxing industry can get this accomplished. Boxing needs a lot of fixing, but until there is a true governing authority, there is no incentive to make any true, meaningful changes.
Is 2009 the Year of the Heavyweight?
January 30, 2009
It’s been a long time since heavyweights have been the focus of boxing. Not since Lennox Lewis retired nearly five years ago has there been a true “champion.” And not since Mike Tyson was capable of winning fights was there genuine interest in the division.
There’s no guarantee that the interest will return from casual spectators, but to true boxing fans, the heavyweight division might be the most exciting that boxing has to offer in 2009.
Certainly the division lacks the depth of the lighter weight classes. It is nowhere near competing with the likes of lightweight, welterweight or even super-bantamweight in that respect. But there is a chance that by January of 2010, there is a unified champion (or brothers champion) at the heavyweight level. At the very least, there promises to be some fantastic fights at heavyweight in 2009, unification or not.
Currently the heavyweight division has three belt-holders in its four divisions: Wladimir Klitschko has the IBF and WBO belts, his brother Vitali has the WBC and Ruslan Chagaev holds the WBA. Nicolai Valuev likes to keep that belt warms while Chagaev is injured, but there are really only three belt-holders.
There is fresh, young blood entering the upper ranks of the division as well. David Haye is attracting a lot of attention since his jump up from cruiserweight, and will have his chance to do more than talk a good game when he challenges Wladimir Klitschko in June.
If that fight somehow falls through, Klitschko will instead fight Chris Arreola in May. Arreola may not be the best heavyweight in the world, but he draws the most attention of any of the heavyweights in North America. With his following in the southwest United States and Mexico, his first big fight is sure to be in front of a packed house.
Vitali Klitschko returned from his four-year absence with a dominating win over Sam Peter in 2008, and has Juan Carlos Gomez and Nicolai Valuev in his sights for 2009.
As for Chagaev, he’ll return to the ring on Feb. 7. Assuming he beats the undefeated Carl Drummond, he plans on also fighting Valuev again, the man he took the title from. If he were to win both of them, he’s made it clear that he wants to unify the belts with the Klitschkos.
For all of the negative talk the heavyweight division has received in recent years for being so Euro-centric, the fact that all of the belts reside in the same region could go a long way to making important fights happen.
And if all of that isn’t enough for you, there are unsubstantiated rumors that Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield will fight for a third time in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, a fight that would make each fighter $35 million. While I don’t believe for a second that that will happen, talk of it alone will add some fuel to the heavyweight fire.
It’s been a rough start to the century for the sports most popular division, and perhaps they’ll be back on top by the time the next decade begins.