By Jason Peck: Of all the fights on the horizon, I’m most looking forward to the upcoming WBC bout between Chad Dawson and former light heavyweight champ Glen Johnson. Finally – some closure in the 175 division. For the first time in years, the men who are supposed to rule this weight class begin fighting the unheralded men who might be holding the reins..
As I write this, the undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world has defended his title against a blown-up junior middleweight. No word on where 42-year-old Bernard Hopkins will fight next. Antonio Tarver, 39, backed out of a fight against Danny Green to fight another, less threatening Danny. Glen Johnson, 39, has continued his quest for one last world title. And somewhere out there, Roy Jones Jr., 38, prepares for a bout against Felix Trinidad that comes almost 10 years too late.
This is supposed to be the cream of the light heavyweight crop, the division’s Big Four. Is it a gang of 40-somethings looking down from the top of the hill? I see four potential upsets.
For years the public has focused on the most popular light heavyweights, not the best ones. But overall, I think this is one division where the hated sanctioning bodies are closer to correct. While Tarver went for the headlines, the alphabets quietly filled their spots with belt-holders who could seriously challenge the Big Four.
Until recently, the Tomasz Adamek held the World Boxing Council belt. Dawson took his title, but either one poses a threat. Clinton Woods rebounded from his loss to Roy Jones in a big way, winning the International Boxing Federation title and scoring a string of solid victories (including Johnson, although the fight was close). Zsolt Erdsei has defended his WBO title against better competition than either Tarver or Johnson in many of his fights (although that sometimes isn’t saying much). Former super-middleweight Danny Green has moved up to light heavyweight, and brought his heavy hands with him. Recently he made himself a player when he won the WBA title.
Might as well forget that one big super-fight, Clinton. No one’ll bite.
By and large, the Big Four – Tarver, Hopkins, Johnson and Roy Jones – avoided them. Too much risk, too little money. They talked, but the talk usually came to nothing. And in the meantime, the serious boxing fan must wonder who’s really on top.
I think it all started with Roy Jones Jr. Back in 2003, he made history by beating John Ruiz, make him the first former middleweight in more than a century to capture the heavyweight title. Never mind that the heavyweight Ruiz actually posed less of a threat than Jones’ conquests at light heavyweight…the mainstream press went crazy. This brought Jones to a profound thought:
“Don’t fight the best. Fight the most popular. You make more money, and who cares anyway?”
Antonio Tarver adopted the same mentality when he KO’d Jones a year later. He just finished a legend, why not piggyback off Jones’s name and make some money? Like Jones, he called out Mike Tyson instead. Then Glen Johnson also stopped Jones, making Tarver-Johnson more feasible. Rather than face their mandatories, they fought each other. Ring Magazine trumpeted this fight to challenge the alphabets – in effect dismissing anyone but these two.
Be real. Do you honestly think that Glen Johnson was the only guy in the world who could have knocked out Roy Jones, post-Tarver? Or would Tarver-Johnson have happened, had they fought their mandatories first?
Tarver lost, then won the Ring belt in the rematch. He beat Jones again and got his ass handed to him by Bernard Hopkins. Hopkins followed up this victory by defending the Ring title against Winky Wright – a bloated junior middleweight who gained 10 more pounds for the occasion.
And here we are.
Try a little exercise: Stack the Big Four against the Real Four. See who comes out on top. I’m not saying that the champion keeps his belt every time, but he won’t lose every time either.