HBO Hedging Against a New Dark Age for Boxing? Part II

By Steve Trellert

30.11 - The Heart and Soul of Boxing is in fear, mortal fear. A fear that is in essence a fear of nothingness and obscurity. A fear of an impending vacuum in our beloved sport. The cause of this terror? Quite simply the retirement of the Heavyweight Champion of the World, Lennox Lewis. A Lennox Lewis who's left would bring exactly the same response from the public: "Who's left?" Of course the bengay boys in Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson and the sundry squatters of the perpetual "next generation" who need to join 'Anonymity Anonymous' self help groups. With the formers windows of opportunity reduced to the size of the eye of the needle, the latter have come ever more into focus as their inheritance is pending by default. In Part One we noted HBO's apparent awareness of the need to build a bridge between the generation of Heavyweights close to expiry and the new torch bearers so Boxing does not slip further into public obscurity. They have already taken the first important step towards preservation.

The first step made to prevent boxing from slipping into the Dark Ages was quite simply to make sure Lennox Lewis did not go off into the sunset, and apparently this has been successful concluded. Rumors abound that Lennox has signed a new three fight deal with HBO with the opposition essentially lock stock and barrel baring any unforeseen circumstances. Lennox Lewis final path apparently runs through the following in order of appearance, Vitali Klitschko, Mike Tyson and Wladimir Klitschko. And which of these is HBO hedging the future of Boxing upon? The third fighter, Wladimir Klitschko. Why Wladimir as opposed to Vitali or Tyson you may ask? Because they are simply a means to an end, with the end being Wladimir.

Vitali Klitschko is the brother of Wladimir and a decent fighter in his own right. Of course decent is no match for Lennox Lewis. Vitali is clearly an undeserving fighter of a title opportunity. Lennox Lewis originally had a mandatory opponent in Chris Byrd, but he dropped the belt that obliged him to fight Chris and stated that Byrd would provide no challenge to him. Is Vitali that challenge? Clearly not as he himself lost a fight to Chris Byrd in his home base of Germany. Surely Chris Byrd deserved a title shot before him based on that fact alone. Now some may claim Vitali had to concede defeat to Byrd based due to injury. Even if we allow this fact to cancel out the loss has Vitali Klitschko ever defeated a top ten fighter? Clearly not, in fact it could easily be argued he has not even defeated a top twenty fighter. Clearly this should be an absolute minimum requirement for a title opportunity. This in addition to the fact that Vitali will have to jump up to the highest level of competition in Lennox Lewis after only ever defeating 'Class B' opposition in Larry Donald and Herbie Hide states that based on transition alone, never mind abilities, Vitali will have little chance. Vitali Klitschko's role can only be explained through two means: 1) He has a large fan base in Europe which should bring in large amounts of revenue, and 2) It will help market Lewis' future fight with his brother Wladimir as the latter's chance to seek revenge.

Mike Tyson's role in all of this seems to be based on either contractual reasons originally established before his first fight with Lewis and the still ever present huge payday associated with a Mike Tyson-Lennox Lewis rematch. Of course irrespective of this it is difficult to see how the second fight would end up any different than an instant replay of the first. Lennox's reach, height, and style is the bete noir for Tyson and that is not even including Tyson's much greater precipitous decline from his peak in comparison to Lennox Lewis who remains relatively near his. Of course nostalgia based Tysonistas are still trying to find a link between Tyson's egregious demolition and Crop Circles, Area 51, Alien Abductions and Sedatives, but clearly the rematch is simply filler on the way to Wladimir Klitschko.

So why is HBO seemingly hedging bets on Wladimir Klitschko? The main reason is the fact that he 'appears' to be the best of the new generation of fighters and most seem to concur. The majority of Boxing experts, even the skeptical ESPN commentator Max Kellerman, place him as the number one contender to Lennox Lewis. His height, weight, speed, power and generally high level of technical skill and athleticism seem to bode well and place him as the best bet to carry the mantle after Lennox Lewis.' Like his brother he has a large number of victories over 'B' level opposition, but unlike Vitali he has also beaten a top ten fighter in Chris Byrd decisively despite the latter's defensive wizardry and awkward style. So why not have Wladimir fight Lennox now? As HBO wants to maximize the chances of their plans success, and here timing is of the essence. Amazingly at age 37 Lennox Lewis is still very near his peak and would be a heavy favorite to defeat Wladimir Klitschko who is still a young 26. With the confrontation likely to occur in the spring of 2004, there should be an inverse progression between the two fighters with Lewis' abilities declining and Wladimir's increasing as he moves into his prime. Wladimir Klitschko will be fighting his second top ten opponent next weekend in Jameel "Bigtime" McCline and this fight should provide additional learning experience and exposure that can only benefit him. One would expect HBO to try to market Wladimir in the intermediary period far more than in the past before his fight with Lewis (barring a loss). Expect to see Wladimir in with a high profile fighter such as Evander Holyfield or Hasim Rahman either in the spring or fall of next year. Of course he will have to get by the "Bigtime" to get there but odds are that he will. HBO commentator Larry Merchant has stated innumerable times that Boxing is "the art of the unexpected." Perhaps this time Boxing would be better off with a bit more predictability. For many the jury is still out on Wladimir Klitschko, but one thing is reasonably certain, he is the best hedge against the Heavyweight horror of a future in the Dark Ages of Obscurity.

If you have any comments regarding this article, post them here at Eastsideboxing or email me at Vancanste@aol.com.

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HBO Hedging Against a New Dark Age for Boxing? Part 1

By Steve Trellert

12.11 - It is no secret that the Heavyweight Division largely dictates the success of the sport of Boxing. It is by far the largest revenue generator, and being Heavyweight Champion of the World frequently eclipses those dominating the lighter weight classes in terms of prestige and attention. With this in mind, some Boxing writers have rightfully taken it upon themselves to announce the impending sacking of 'their Rome' and the advent of a new dark age within the sweet science: the Dark Age of Obscurity. The beckoning of this new era is not the arrival of a Vandal sword, but something far more sinister, the spectre of retirement. Despite their advanced age, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson remain the only household heavyweight names in Boxing. Meanwhile the remainder of the division has stubbornly retained its status of anonymity. Why is that?

Lack of exposure has certainly not been the case as many of the younger generation have had years of exposure on HBO (Home Box Office), Showtime, Pay-per-view events, or even on ESPN. Is it therefore a matter of personality?

It is hard to deny the fact that most of the current crop is largely devoid of charisma. Most of them seem to be soft-spoken nice guys whose personalities are about as menacing as the Olsen twins or as vociferous as Teller in the company of Pen. Boxer's certainly could use some aid in marketing, or even acting (but that is another article), but this would really not absolve the current situation and only slightly enhance it. After all, Hasim Rahman had a tremendous amount of charisma and largely put Lennox Lewis to shame in terms of his one-liners and over all personality. Unfortunately for Hasim, he failed to back it up in ability on a sustained level, and fell back into obscurity. Personality can aid the next generation, but without the goods it becomes largely an act in marketing futility.

The inability to knock the old guys off of their perch has been the root cause of continued obscurity for all of them and it is clear the only solution is for someone to step from the shadows and seize the torch of inheritance from the older generation. But from whom, Iron Mike Tyson?

Mike Tyson's domination at the hands of Lennox Lewis has sent a clear signal, even to the Cult of Iron, that Mike is but a shadow of his former self. That fight may have been a boon to boxing in terms of Pay-Per View numbers, but as a critical entry point for the future it was a disaster. First of all it showcased two fighters of the older generation, that stated more about the past than the future. Secondly, its one sided nature essentially eliminated Mike Tyson as a potential springboard for the next generation. If Clifford "the Black Rhino" Etienne somehow manages to defeat Mike Tyson this February, he will be denied credit, as Tyson already appears to be confirmed shot as a fighter. If Etienne had defeated him before Lewis fought Tyson, that would have been a boon to Etienne magnified by 100 what it could possibly be now. Mike Tyson has essentially been eliminated as a potential bridge. What about Evander Holyfield?

Some may claim that the "Real Deal' has already lost a fight to a member of the next generation in John Ruiz, and this seemed to do little in terms of enhancing the latter's popularity. This is largely true, but what really needs to be illuminated here is the need for a bridge to occur decisively. Ruiz' victory over Holyfield was relatively close, and the fact that their three fight series ended both officially tied, and by perception tied, indicates Ruiz' battles with Evander Holyfield were essentially even and therefore inconclusive. A decisive destruction of Evander Holyfield therefore should suffice as a sufficient bridge for a member of the next generation. Of course Holyfield's next opponent Chris Byrd does have that opportunity, but clearly he is too light punching to knock out Evander. The Holyfield Bridge may arise one day, but not in the foreseeable future as of yet and even so, with his mediocre battles with Ruiz in mind (and greater age), it most certainly would not have the same effect that a decisive defeat of Lennox Lewis would provide.

Clearly Lennox Lewis is the only available remaining fighter of the past generation who is presently strong enough, or near enough to his peak, to function as a bridge, or starting block, for the next generation. Being a relatively dominant Heavyweight Champion of the World certainly enhances that ability as well. But wait, was not Lewis defeated by a next generation fighter in Hasim Rahman?

Yes, this is true, but the fight progressed evenly up to the point of the flash knockout and Lennox decisively attained revenge. Additionally, Rahman did end up in the spotlight and therefore is probably the fourth best known Heavyweight in the division. It most certainly aided the younger generation, but its failed sustainability provided too short lived to create a sturdy enough bridge to prevent a collapse. Rahman could not hold it up and therefore became little more than a flash in the pan. Lennox was able to preserve his island of dominance up to the present.

Of course Lennox wants to prevent any potential boxing sappers (bridge builders) from succeeding where Rahman failed, and at all costs, unless of course that cost includes an $80 Million dollar payday out of HBO Coffers for a three-fight deal. Lennox Lewis has stated publicly that it would take large sums of money to prevent his ride out onto the sunset, and HBO seems more that willing to provide it. Why is HBO willing to pay this outrageous sum? To engineer the building of a bridge that will protect the viability of boxing's future, and keep the barbarians of obscurity at bay. If HBO is the Engineer, and Lennox Lewis the saboteur, who is the sapper? Seemingly it is HBO's heir apparent, Wladimir Klitschko. In two weeks, Part II.

If you have any comments regarding this article, post them on the Eastsideboxing message boards or email me at Vancanste@aol.com.