It wasn?t all that long ago that the heavyweight division was populated by legendary fighters such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, and Evander Holyfield. Excitement was high and memorable fights took place on a reasonably regular basis. From the time Ali won the heavyweight championship in 1964 until Lennox Lewis put to rest the myth of Tyson in 2002, there was an incredible run of Hall of Fame quality heavyweights and great fights. Then, starting with the retirement of champion Lewis in 2004, things gradually fell apart.
Today, the heavyweight division is an afterthought throughout much of the sporting world (including the United States) and an embarrassment to most boxing fans. It?s so bad that the second most-asked question in boxing (after when are Pacquiao and Mayweather going to fight?) is; Why does the heavyweight division suck?
It is both ironic and emblematic of the sorry situation that the largest crowd for a heavyweight championship fight in recent history (more than 60,000) witnessed one of the most boring heavyweight title fights of all-time: Wladimir Klitschko?s monotonous 10th-round technical knockout of Ruslan Chagaev on June 20, 2009, in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
Even more ironic is that while most of the world yawned, the fans in attendance at the Klitschko-Chagaev sparring session went home happy, blissfully ignorant of what they had just seen. Such is the current state of boxing?s so-called glamour division, a bizarre circumstance where, outside of Germany and a handful of other European countries, heavyweight boxing barely has a pulse.
While Wladimir and his older brother, Vitali Klitschko, can fill massive venues and garner huge television rating on their home turf, the rest of the world hungers for the days when a heavyweight championship fight meant you were going to see some serious mayhem. That was back when true giants walked the earth and the heavyweight champion was a giant among giants. Today, it?s different. Today, a pair of robotic automaton rules the division. Science has replaced sizzle. But make no mistake. The Klitschkos are extremely good at what they do; it?s the aesthetics that don?t work.
The New Normal?
Some believe that Klitschko are forerunners of the new normal. And maybe they are, but a look back at history tells another story:
Whenever a dominant heavyweight champion retires, he usually leaves a talent vacuum in his wake, due to the fact he had cleaned out the division of the top challengers before hanging up his gloves. After Jack Dempsey retired, Gene Tunney, who had taken the crown from him, soon followed suit, retiring in 1928 and leaving the division to the likes of Max Schmeling, Jack Sharkey, Primo Carnera, Max Baer, and Jim Braddock. It wasn?t until Joe Louis kayoed Braddock to claim the heavyweight championship in 1937 that a new golden era for the division began. Similar fallow periods occurred following the retirements of Louis, Rocky Marciano, and Ali.
The last great heavyweight title fight was between Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko on June 21, 2003. It was an epic back-and-forth bloodbath between two huge men who took turns clobbering each other with thunderous blows. It ended when Klitschko, whose eyes had been brutalized by legal punches, was ruled unable to continue. Lewis retired soon afterward, and Klitschko has yet to meet another opponent capable of giving him the same sort of life-and-death struggle.
Prior to stopping Vitali, Lewis, like Dempsey, Louis, Marciano, and Ali before him, had beaten all the top heavyweights, including Tyson, Holyfield, Buster Douglas, Hasim Rahman, and David Tua. There was nobody left to give either of the Klitschko brothers a decent fight. It wasn?t their fault; that?s just the way it was.
Brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko dominate the heavyweight ranks
The less-than-satisfying situation has not been helped by the Klitschko brothers? style of fighting. Although Vitali seems to relish trading punches a bit more than Waldimir, neither brother is a seek-and-destroy assassin in the mold of Louis, Marciano, or Tyson. But they have certainly learned how to take full advantage of their imposing size better than any boxer other than Lewis.
Vitali is 6?7?? and has an 80? reach, while Wladimir is 6?6? with an 81? reach. In the past, oversized heavyweights were usually clumsy stumblebums, and although they often look wooden in the ring, Wladimir and Vitali have mastered the art of ?fighting tall.? That has been very good for them, but not so good for their challengers and even worse for heavyweight boxing.
Not Unbeatable
Despite how effectively they employ it, the Klitschko brothers? mechanical style is far from unbeatable. Imagine what would happen if Frazier or Tyson ducked underneath one of the Klitschko?s jabs, stepped inside and unloaded a left hook. Sadly, at present there is nobody in the heavyweight division even remotely close to ?Smokin? Joe? or ?Iron Mike,? so we?ll probably never know.
Quite a few folks thought that athletic, trash-talking Englishman David Haye had what it took to pump some excitement back into the division. But when Hayes saw Wladimir standing across the ring from him, all thoughts of fighting aggressively were quickly forgotten and Klitschko won another uneventful decision.
Haye?s poor performance against Waldimir speaks to another problem that has infected boxing in general and the heavyweight ranks in particular: fighters failing to fully commit themselves to the moment.
Who knows what would have happened if Haye and thrown caution to the wind and torn into Klitschko winging haymakers? Chris Arreola took that approach against Vitali in 2009, and although he was stopped in the 10th round, the Mexican-American slugger provided Vitali with some uncomfortable moments and gave the audience a real fight for their money.
Boxing fans are not the most patient people in the world; they want what they want and they want it now. But time is on their side whether they know it or not. The status quo won?t last forever. Vitali is 40 years old and already talking about retiring in favor of a career in politics. Waldimir is five years younger.
While the Klitschko brothers? impact on the heavyweight division is undeniable, it would be unfair to blame them for the sorry state of heavyweight boxing. They are dedicated, hard-working fighters who have made the best of their abilities and maintained a pristine image outside of the ring. Still, even when they finally leave the stage, it won?t change much unless a new superstar is waiting in the wings. Who knows? We might even have to suffer through the reign of another unappetizing titleholder or two.
But if history does indeed repeat itself, the new messiah will come along eventually. He always has. The big question is whether or not anybody will still care when it happens?
*This article appeared in the February issue of PI Sports International. Email comments to [email protected]
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