Will There Be a Heavyweight Tournament?
Don King says that he wants to hold a series of bouts, resulting in one undisputed heavyweight champ, who'll hold all of four major belts. As he promotes all four of the current champions, he should be able to do this. He did the same thing back in the 80's and the result was Mike Tyson. While I think that none of the proposed four (Brewster, Byrd, the Rahman/Toney winner, and the Ruiz/Valuev winner) are anything to get excited about (Brewster is probably the best of the lot), a single, recognized heavyweight champ is what the division needs.
While I was a fan and admirer of Vitali Klitschko, I think that his uneventful reign was very damaging to the credibility of the sport. He simply did not fight enough. The stories of his injuries (which often had several versions), particularly his career-ending knee injury earlier this month (some say meniscus cartilage tear, some say ligament tear), has provided his critics with a great deal of ammunition. Had he fought and beaten a few serious contenders, he could have restored some of the glory of the heavyweight division. We fans were left with the impression that he was a malingerer, rumored to have been floored by his sparring partners, and too craven to face Rahman (which I really want to doubt, as on paper, Vitali should have been able to thrash him).
Like a great many of you, I'm more excited about upcoming lower-weight-class fights than any of the upcoming battles between Don King's lumbering hulks. Sigh......
If it's available, I will try to watch Johnny Ruiz's fight with Nikolai Valuev, if for nothing else than the freak-show appeal of Ruiz trying to use his "punch and hold" tactic against the seven-foot "Beast from the East".
The potential kink in King's plan will be Wladmir Klitschko, who isn't under contract with King. He beat Samuel Peter (King's up and coming heavyweight) recently, and, as the number one contender in the WBO and IBF, is in line for mandatory challenges with both Chris Byrd (whom Wlad has previously KO'ed) and Lamon Brewster (who previously KO'ed Wlad). I don't know how all of this will shake out, but I don't think that Wladmir has the chin to win consistently against quality opponents. My prediction is that, if King has his way, and the" tournament" is held, Brewster will come out on top.
I also predict that unless this happens, lower-weight-classes will continue the recent trend of "out-earning" the heavyweights.
While I was a fan and admirer of Vitali Klitschko, I think that his uneventful reign was very damaging to the credibility of the sport. He simply did not fight enough. The stories of his injuries (which often had several versions), particularly his career-ending knee injury earlier this month (some say meniscus cartilage tear, some say ligament tear), has provided his critics with a great deal of ammunition. Had he fought and beaten a few serious contenders, he could have restored some of the glory of the heavyweight division. We fans were left with the impression that he was a malingerer, rumored to have been floored by his sparring partners, and too craven to face Rahman (which I really want to doubt, as on paper, Vitali should have been able to thrash him).
Like a great many of you, I'm more excited about upcoming lower-weight-class fights than any of the upcoming battles between Don King's lumbering hulks. Sigh......
If it's available, I will try to watch Johnny Ruiz's fight with Nikolai Valuev, if for nothing else than the freak-show appeal of Ruiz trying to use his "punch and hold" tactic against the seven-foot "Beast from the East".
The potential kink in King's plan will be Wladmir Klitschko, who isn't under contract with King. He beat Samuel Peter (King's up and coming heavyweight) recently, and, as the number one contender in the WBO and IBF, is in line for mandatory challenges with both Chris Byrd (whom Wlad has previously KO'ed) and Lamon Brewster (who previously KO'ed Wlad). I don't know how all of this will shake out, but I don't think that Wladmir has the chin to win consistently against quality opponents. My prediction is that, if King has his way, and the" tournament" is held, Brewster will come out on top.
I also predict that unless this happens, lower-weight-classes will continue the recent trend of "out-earning" the heavyweights.
posted by Paul at 5:09 AM
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