By Matthew Paras – In the history of the Middleweight division, it’s brought some fantastic memories. From the epic three round brawl of Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns to Bernard Hopkins upsetting Felix Trinidad in Madison Square Garden, Middleweight has brought some great memories for boxing fans. However, ever since Kelly Pavlik has become champion, the division has turned into the worst it has ever been..
Kelly Pavlik was once a promising young champion. He had battered trash talking Edison Miranda and then took the crown from controversial decision king Jermain Taylor in an exciting seven round fight. He looked like the future of the middleweights. That is, until a 43 year old Bernard Hopkins absolutely wrecked him.
That wasn’t necessarily the end of the Middleweight division though. All Kelly Pavlik needed to do was bounce back strong against Marco Antonio Rubio and then fight his number one contender in Arthur Abraham. It seemed simple right? Wrong.
After a disappointing outing vs. Rubio in where Kelly didn’t look new and improved at all, he then schedules a fight with…*drumroll* SERGIO MORA! Yes, not Arthur Abraham, but Sergio Mora. It’s insane to think how Mora could get a title shot after losing to Vernon Forrest at 154 pounds instead of Arthur Abraham. Luckily the fight never happened due to Pavlik gaining a staph infection.
Kelly Pavlik vs. Arthur Abraham was crucial for the division. It was the champion vs. the number one contender. Both had monstrous power and it looked like the match to bring some hype into a barren wasteland. Instead, Abraham finally outgrew the division and could not make weight after his fight against Mahir Oral. For a fight that made so much sense, it never happened.
It’s not only that, but everyone else in Middleweight seems to be worthless. Felix Sturm, who is probably the newest number one contender, turned down 3 million euros to fight Arthur Abraham and struggled against #4 ranked, Khoren Gevor. Abraham also brutally stopped Gevor.
The division had finally seemed to gain some excitement when Kelly Pavlik vs. Paul Williams was announced. Two volume punchers who never stop moving forward had all the ingredients for the perfect fight. That wouldn’t last long as the fight may now be in some doubt as it’s not sure if Williams wants to wait until Late November or Early December to fight Kelly Pavlik, after Pavlik once again gained another staph infection.
It has boxing fans wondering if Pavlik is training in a jungle with all the staph infections he gets and frustrated with no key fights happening. Not only that, but Middleweight is a dead-zone of other contenders besides Paul Williams and Felix Sturm.
Other top ten contenders include: Winky Wright, Khroen Gevor, Sebsitan Zbik, David Lopez, Anthony Mundine, and Daniel Geale . Most of these top contenders have either lost against top competition already or they would be such heavy underdogs, it would be hard to get excited about them facing any of the top three. Here’s also something also to think about, Winky Wright has not won a fight since 2006, but still is one of the best Middleweights in the world.
Middleweight is the worst it has ever been. The top fighters do not seem to fight each other and everyone else is just mediocre. Hell, even if the top Middleweight fighters did fight each other, does the division seem like it’s going to be thriving again? Maybe for a small amount of time, but the winner of Pavlik- Williams will most likely move up. If they did stick around, would the division really be that exciting considering there really is no one else besides Felix Sturm? Then let’s say Pavlik-Williams’ winner fights Felix Sturm, then what happens after that? Is there anyone who would provide interest to put the division out of the slump?
Middleweight needs a stimulus package, fast.