Fight Lover's Forum 07.04.09: The Heavyweights

Posted by A. Shakoor on 07.04.2009

Where are all of the heavyweights? Why don't we care about the heavyweight division? Remember the "good ole" days?

I know, I know, the fans of the eastern European heavyweights are probably thinking, "Hey open your eyes asshole. We got two 6'6'' guys dominating the field, and 7 footer that can give anyone trouble. What do you need, an ‘ugly American' to hold the belt?" Well, yes I do. If not an American heavyweight champ, I need an American contender that I can feel excited about to take the belts from the three Dragoish giants. For whatever reason, neither the Klitschkos nor Valuev have captured the imagination of the boxing public. All three are very nice, classy champions. The Klitschkos are very good fighters and Valuev…well…he's an interesting physical presence, and it's kind of cool to see him step over the top rope entering the ring. However, none of the three have much charisma. Nor do they have that special "it" factor to put American butts in the seats, or cause us to spend hard earned recession depleted cash on pay-per-view. I don't know what they can do to get us to care, but it seems hopeless. Maybe it's Cold War residue. Maybe it's because of the upright, non-funky boxing styles. It could be the broken English in their speech. I don't know what it is, but we in this country don't seem to care about the heavyweight division right now.

Does that opening paragraph read a little on the xenophobic side? Perhaps, but that's not my intention. Although this site is on the world-wide web, I'm writing as an American from an American's perspective. Feel free to give it to me in the comments if you brothas and sistahs from across the sea feel insulted. I understand. But from the Dempsey era on, the heavyweight championship of the world has always been at its most popular when the champ is an American. In the past, if the champ wasn't an American, there was at least an American contender to be excited about, to bring the title back to the States. It was what it was, and it is what it is. I am truly wanting for the days when the heavyweight champion was like a monarch. The baddest, biggest, toughest king in the land is what we associate the belt with. Of course by belt, I mean the "recognized champion" in the heavyweight division. Sanctioning bodies aside, we've all known the champ when we've seen him. Right now it's Wladimir Klitschko. Vitali may be the better fighter, but the champ is Wladimir. We just know this. Ring Magazine just confirmed it. Vitali or Valuev could change this in the near future, but Wlad is the king for now, for better or worse.

Wladimir Klitschko: Heavyweight Champion of the World



I like Wladimir. I really do. Early in his career I was impressed by his class and intelligence. I enjoyed the way he would insist on doing his interviews in broken English, yet still came across as thoughtful and articulate. However as a fighter, early Wlad left a lot to be desired. He looked like one hell of a specimen visually. And he had impressive offensive dexterity and speed for a very large man. However, once you took it to him, he was like a teenager driving a stick-shift for the first time. There was panic, confusion and ultimately failure. Let me add, he also had an eggshell jaw. Wladimir also had a remarkable habit of tiring late in fights to the point where he looked helpless and desperate. It seemed like he was another dud of wasted potential. However, like we all eventually get the cool and confidence to handle that stick-shift without grinding the gears or stalling, Wlad also figure it out. The Samuel Peter fight was his coming out party. Going into the fight, most fans and pundits expected Wlad to get annihilated by the hard swinging Nigerian. I remember sitting down with my drinks waiting anxiously for Wlad to inevitably implode. It never happened. Even though Wlad's chin failed him twice in the 5th and then again in the 10th, he got up and actually showed composure. Around the knockdowns, Wlad actually put a smart, classy boxing clinic on Peter. He won a deserved decision.

Since the Peter fight, Wlad has pretty much looked unstoppable. That's not because he is unstoppable, but rather because he hasn't faced anyone worth a gawddamn as a legit heavyweight. There hasn't been anybody to challenge him half as strongly as Peter did. The division stinks like a portable toilet set on boil. It's bad. However, there is one bright spot in Wlad's evolution, besides becoming a tougher more well rounded fighter. He has shown a tad bit more edge in his interviews. He's still classy and articulate, but there has been a crack in the veneer. David Haye has gotten under Wladimir's skin something awful, and it's made Wlad more interesting when he speaks. Wladimir used to always let stuff roll off his back, and act all sportsmanlike. Its classy yes, but boring as all get out. However, recently I had a nice head-nod and laugh when Wladimir unleashed this enlightening verbal assault a couple of weeks ago when commenting on David Haye as a challenger:

"Who the f--- is David Haye that I have to wait for him or postpone fights? So I just move on." "There are heavyweights fighting their way up to become mandatory," Klitschko said. "This guy comes from nowhere and he hasn't fought anyone in the heavyweight division but Monte Barrett. Now I say to Haye, 'Get in freakin' line and deserve the chance to fight for the heavyweight title.'"

Yes. I like this side of Wlad. I like it a lot. However, in the end Wladimir is still Ukrainian, and he's the uninspiring champ of a woefully, pathetically uninspiring division. The heavyweight division is freaken lame right now, and it's a damn shame because is used to be the best, most relevant thing going on in the sport.

I Remember When This Division Meant Something

My gawd, where are all of the great heavyweights? ESPN Classic has been showing the Bowe v. Holyfield trilogy this past week, and man did it bring back memories. It also makes me nostalgic for the good ole days in the 80s and 90s when the heavyweight title meant something. I think the last true Golden Era of the heavyweight division was probably in the 1970s. However, I'm 34, so I'm too young to remember those days in the context of being a boxing fan. For me, I became conscious and excited about heavyweights around 1982 when Larry Holmes fought Gerry Cooney. That fight was an important event due to the intense, racial atmosphere of the time. Holmes had taken the throne from Ali as the recognized heavyweight champion. Gerry Cooney was the rugged hard punching contender. He was also white. To no fault of the fighters, the whole event became a "big surly black champ" versus the new "great white hope" spectacle. The only thing I remember about the fight was the real anticipation that Holmes could get caught with one of Cooney's shots and Holmes getting punched in the nuts. Of course I recall that Holmes won the fight with a knockout. That fight made me aware of the heavyweight division and aware that Holmes was the champ. Holmes eventually gave way to Michael Spinks, and we all remember what came after that.

The Tyson Era



Fight fans my age and older are so lucky to have been around for the Mike Tyson reign of terror. There's nothing like him before or since as an event. We new the back story of the juvenile delinquent, rescued by the grizzle veteran Cus D'Amato. We saw him rise through the ranks on basic cable with brutal knockout after brutal freaken knockout. Tyson was like a movie character, but not really life-like. He was like Freddy, Jason, or Michael Myers where he had a mythology about him. He was a bad guy, you feared, and yet rooted for his destruction of innocent or not so innocent victims. It didn't matter; you just wanted to see him annihilate everything in his path. His build and general look was sort of non-human, like he either hadn't quite evolved like the rest of us, or he was some other creature all together. There was also the ring entrance. There was no dancing and showboating Paez or Camacho style. There was no traditional ceremonial robe. The man just walked toward the ring with torn towel over his headnshoulders, dark trunks, and shoes with no freaken socks. He didn't care about the pomp and circumstance of the event, but rather just wanted to get in the ring and kill somebody. He had incredible head movement and hand-speed. He'd punch in vicious combinations which were cryptically numbered according to the punch style Kevin Rooney and he had worked out. Some of his knockouts were so devastating that they bordered on videogame style. The Trevor Berbick shenanigan was the most infamous, but if you youtube some of his earlier career knockouts; you'll see that it didn't take long for Tyson to master the ability to turn his opponents into drunken cartoon characters.

We he beat the man that beat Larry Holmes; he was on top of the world and looked truly unstoppable. What still resonates about that fight was the absolute fear in the eyes of Michael Spinks before the bell ring. I mean this was Michael "Fucking" Spinks, the Olympic Gold Medalist. This was the guy who dominated the light-heavyweight division and then miraculously moved up to beat Larry Holmes for the heavyweight title. Spinks had the funky, awkward style, and "Spinks Jinx" punch. How could this consummate, accomplished professional and future hall-of-famer look like he was crapping his pants at the sight of Mike Tyson? Spinks lost the fight, before Tyson ever actually knocked him out cold to make it official. That fight was Tyson's high point. It couldn't last.

Next week, I'll pick up at the 1990s when the Tyson era was coming to a close, but his presence still loomed over the field until his pitiful, pitiful end. However, a bible thumpin, undersized guy named Evander Holyfield carried the torch, passed it on, and carried it again. His trilogy with Riddick Bowe was one for the ages, though Bowe left much of himself in the ring. Also, two old legendary grandfathers got into the action to make people see if they still had it. A Jamaican-Canadian-Brit named Lennox closed out the decade, but he wasn't an American, and was never truly accepted. I'll close out next week's column by starting my countdown for my personal top-ten heavyweights of all-time.

Thanks for last week's comments, and please feel free to sound off again down below with your thoughts. Happy Fourth of July!!!