13.10.06 – By Cesar R: The Heavyweight division topic has been discussed ad nauseam and, as you know, a huge sector of fans consider this one of the worst eras in Heavyweight history, probably the worst. It is a fine opinion, but I think this people need to realize the context in which we are situated. In the 1940s, a fighter could have a record of 13-17-3 against contenders; in the 1970s, probably something like 9-4. It was more common, and easier, to fight Top 10 boxers in the previous eras. So, you can see boxers with a higher number of wins against this kind of opposition, but also with more losses in general.
Lets remember also that, in the last 20 years, a heavyweight’s professional career is composed by 40 to 50 fights. In the current era, boxers fight less times in the careers and it is much more difficult to arrange bouts against contenders. That is certainly not a problem of the fighters, it is a problem of the system. The Order has changed…boxing has changed…you will see less fights between contenders, accept it. When ranking this era, the true historians will study the context and consider all this factors before formulating a verdict.
For example, someone might compare an important heavyweight fighter from the 1960s (record: 70-17) with an important heavyweight of the current decade (record: 36-3). What factors do you need to consider before doing a correct ranking? Here are some suggestions:
The average number of contenders that most Top10ers used to fight in each era.
The average time that a fighters used to wait between fights.
The number of journeyman that they fought, in proportion to their whole record.
Their “Wins against Top10s/Losses in general” ratio.
The eras have changed. You can’t examine this era with the same microscope that you use to examine the 1960s, or 1970s, or 1930s. As I said before, I don’t think that the Heavyweight division is as bad as they say, I prefer to think about, and to analyze, the current Heavyweights than the Super Middleweights, Cruiserweights, Featherweights, etc. The only weight divisions that I prefer more than the Heavyweights are the 130-160 pound divisions. You know, the ones that were -or can be- “Mayweathered”.