Time to step up the competition

By Wes Moore

28.01 - This weekend provided heavyweight fans with a look at a couple of decent fighters. However, a stench also comes with their appearances-their poor quality of opposition. This problem is becoming more and more evident within the division over the last couple of years. It's not a problem that should be attributed to the opponents that end up being selected as fodder or the fighters who use them to continuously pad their records. All of the victims are skilled, dedicated men who deserve no ridicule for their performance. It is a simply an issue of mismatched talent which provides boxing fans with less than stellar matchups. There is plenty to lose for having one quality heavyweight take on another but it must start happening on a more consistent basis.

Exhibit A

Michael Grant knocks out Carlton Johnson this past Friday.

Result

Yes, with this win, Grant continues to give the appearance that he is back from his losses to Lewis and McCline. How much rehabilitation does Grant need before he steps back in with a high caliber opponent?

I have long been a staunch supporter of Grant but now even I began to wonder if there is something he has to hide. He has long been subject to people who questioned his heart, his chin, and his overall drive. The observation of Grant's handlers would probably be that there was no one out there for a meaningful fight at this time but isn't there anyone of more consequence than Carlton Johnson. The time for tune-ups must come to an end for Grant this year if he ever hopes to get back in the thick of any title picture.

It is obvious that in the case of a fighter like Michael Grant that there is much at stake for many people. Thus, very careful decisions are made to keep a fighter relatively busy while not exposing him to any serious threats. This is of course necessary to negotiate big fights and/or title shots. However, in the process of each "position" fight you lose respect of the media, fans, and perhaps future opponents.

Isn't there much more to gain by fighting a couple of quality opponents each year (all the while taking the proper time to train) rather than taking out four of five subpar positioning opponents? On the other hand this doesn't excuse fighters such as Lewis who only find it necessary to fight twice a year at the maximum.

Exhibit B

Derek "One Man Riot" Bryant takes out Damon Reed while Cedric Boswell deals with Jim Strohl this past Saturday.

Result

Two prospects gain another win in their ledger. But couldn't they find anyone better to test their mettle against? Boswell has an ESPN2 date locked up and has openly pursued a quality opponent-kudos to him. Will the Boswell camp be able to find that quality opponent or will they only find shirkers who are too afraid to jeopardize a big fight that might materialize a year from now?

Money is undoubtedly why we are subjected to so many of these mismatches. No one can dispute a fighter or promoters desire to hold out for that big payday but they are often doing themselves a great disservice with the continued diet of crummy opponents. Fans get bored by this constant cycle even though it is sometimes necessary to bring us the top-flight matchups but it doesn't have to happen all the time.

There are numerous other examples of underachievers and barely active heavyweights within the ranks of the top 100. I for one hope that we see less jockeying for BIG fights this year and that we simply see more quality fights. This will provide us with a better gauge of the progress of prospects such as Bryant and Boswell and comebacking veterans such as Grant. It's time to for many within the division to take this year as their opportunity to step up the competition. You can reach me at largedog@bellsouth.net and until next time watch out for the upper cut behind the jab.