06.03.06 – By Craig Parrish: With the recent, and justified, early retirement of Vitali Klitschko, things were looking rather bleak for Boxing’s “Big Boy” Division, the Heavyweights. However, there have been some recent developments in the Division that gives hope to the Boxing fan that the Heavy’s are on an upswing. While the current groupof Contenders are certainly not the greatest the sport has ever seen, there is a good smattering of talent, guts, charisma, and personality that hopefully will draw fans back to what was once Boxing’s “Glamour” Division.
Lamon Brewster has been a great shot in the arm for the Heavyweights. While he is not the most accomplished Boxer, he possesses great heart and a great chin. His unlikely upset of Wladimir Klitschko could have been taken right out of a draft for the next “Rocky” movie. He funneled the energy from thatwin into a demolition of the unlucky Andrew Golota in one round, and then took on tough Luan Krasniqi in his own back yard for another victory.
If he could only manage to get more press, Brewster has all of the tools to become a “People’s Champion.” He is a man who is humble, tough, and will fight anyone, anytime. He is a throwback fighter, charismatic, and a class act all the way. He is the type of Fighter that people like to root for, as he always seems to be the underdog. If Lamon can get past Sergei Liakhovich inhis next fight, he will more than likely get a shot at another belt to add to his WBO strap.
Another boost for the Division has been the re-emergence of Wladimir Klitschko. The younger Klitschko was once viewed as the next ruler of the Heavyweights, until his shocking knockout loss to Corrie Sanders and subsequent loss to Brewster. Many felt that Klitschko was done, his chin exposed and his confidence destroyed. But then Klitschko made a move that surprised everyone by facing off with the up and coming slugger, Samuel Peter. This looked like a recipe for disaster for Klitschko, as there would be no way thathe would be able to endure the fierce punching of the “Nigerian Nightmare”. And indeed there were points during the fight that looked like this prophecy would come true, as Wlad hit the canvas several times. But not only did he get up, he schooled Peter with a boxing lesson and landed a mammoth shot in the final round that nearly put Peter away. As he won the decision, one must imagine that surviving Peter has done wonders for Wlad’s confidence and under the tutelage of Master Trainer Emmanuel Stewart he has once again become a real threat in the Division. This confidence will be a boon for him when he takes on Chris Byrd for the IBF belt.
Klitschko has already beaten Byrd handily in the past and has just won a fightagainst one of the Division’s hardest punchers. Barring some bizarre incident, Wladimir should have no problem claiming the IBF belt.
The new kid on the Block is Nikolai Valuev, the massive Russian who defeated John Ruiz for his WBA belt. Valuev is a giant of a man, 7’ tall and over 300 pounds. However, he struggled in his victory over Ruiz and some even questioned the decision, even though he dwarfed the game “Quiet Man”. While Valuev may draw some fans in just for the curiosity factor of seeing this behemoth in the ring, I do not believe that he could defeat Wladimir Klitschko or possibly even Lamon Brewster. He is simply too slow. But again, he is a fresh face and most fans had never heard of Ruiz or despised his wrestling style of Boxing.
The addition of Valuev to the Title Holders may draw more viewers, and hopefully more fans. And then, you’ve got the wild cards: Hasim Rahman and James Toney. Rahman was elevated to the WBC title when Vitali Klitschko retired, and was very lackluster in his last fight against Monte Barrett. When Rahman is inspired, he can be an effective Fighter as he showed in his recent destruction of Kali Meehan. But it seems that you never know which version is going to show up. His first title defense is against Toney. Toney is a divisive character, and most fight fans seem to love him or hate him.
There is no question that he is an outstanding Boxer, in fact he is probably the most accomplished “sweet scientist” of all the current Heavyweights. Yet he is aging, and has a tendency to fight vastly overweight. If Toney comes in for Rahman in shape, he will probably get the decision. But Rahman always has a Puncher’s chance. If it’s true what they say, that style makes fights, this should be an interesting matchup. If things fall out the way I’m guessing, in a few months the Heavyweight landscape will contain these 4 Title Holders: Klitschko, Brewster, Toney, and Valuev. Hopefully, we can then get a Klitschko-Valuev match-up and a Toney-Brewster match-up, with the victors squaring off for the Undisputed title. Will it happen? Probably not. But I’m a glass half-full kind of guy and I can still hope. There will always be the nay-sayers that claim that no matter who the players are, the Division is no good. I disagree. Is it as good as it was when I was a kid in the seventies? No, and it probably never will be. I say give these guys a break, let these guys fight, and let’s see who rises to the top.
If die-hard Boxing fans aren’t supporting the Heavyweights, who will? If the promoters who are strangling the sport with meaningless PPV’s wouldback off and get more fights on cable and network television, they would see their fan base expand and their profits rise. Promoters, it’s time to re-invest in the Heavyweight Division and don’t kill it for a few quick PPV dollars. These guys don’t deserve that.