By Don Colgan
On June 9, 1978, Larry Holmes and Kenny Norton met at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in a WBC Heavyweight Championship bout that would determine, for all intents and purposes, who would lay claim to recognition as the best heavyweight in the world. Ali was on a permanent decline, losing and ultimately regaining the WBA crown in a forgettable series with Leon Spinks. No one at ringside for those two bouts, Ali’s marvelous legend notwithstanding, would confuse them with Norton, Holmes or any of the top flight heavyweights contending to succeed Ali as the recognized preeminent heavyweight in the world.
Holmes shaded the valiant Norton with a majority verdict, capturing the championship by out slugging Kenny in an epic 15th round. Had the bout been a 12 round contest, Norton would certainly have retained the championship.
For the next seven years, Holmes established a dominance rivaling that of Cassius Clay/Ali in the middle and late 1960’s. His 20 successful title defenses were marked by knockout victories over Shavers, Mike Weaver, Gerrie Cooney, Marvis Frazier, Scott LeDoux, James “Bonecrusher” Smith and Renaldo Snipes. He got off the canvas against Shavers and Snipes and withstood thunderous left hooks from a courageous Cooney. The division had thinned since it’s halcyon days in the late 60’s and early 70’s yet when anyone asked the question “Who is the Heavyweight Champion of the World” there was only one answer. The Easton Assassin, Larry Holmes.
Not Michael Dokes or Mike Weaver. Not Gerrie Coetzee, Greg Page or Pinklon Thomas.
The same could be said of Tyson. Before his flameout, he was, indisputably, the “Baddest Man on the Planet” from 1986 to 1989. It was that singular recognition of supremacy that had elevated the world’s heavyweight championship into the most recognizable title in the world. When there was a heavyweight championship bout, all else stopped. Baseball, football, hockey & basketball were afterthoughts when the heavyweight title was on the line.
Different boxers held alphabet versions of the crown. From Ali to Holmes to Tyson to Holyfield, we all knew who the real champion was!
Today there is no titan in the heavyweight ranks. Since Lennox Lewis abdicated the throne three years ago and the once indomitable Tyson ceased to be a viable contender, the ranks of the heavyweight division have suffered a dilution unmatched since the Ali/Frazier/Holmes era. When there was once Jerry Quarry, there is now Chris Byrd. Where there was Oscar Bonavena, there is now John Ruiz. Where there was Ron Lyle, today stands James Toney. Nuff said!
It is a fair statement that the current crop of contending heavyweights would not have cracked the top ten in 1970. Ruiz and Toney are journeymen, along the lines of a 1975 Chuck Wepner. Joe Bugner would have handled both with absolute ease. Yet amidst the quagmire that the once proud heavyweight division has become, there is a champion who can lay claim to dominance.
His name is Vitali Klitschko.
Neither James Toney or the inept Ruiz have acquired a shred of credibility as claimants to the heavyweight crown. Ruiz is, without exception, the least talented heavyweight to ever lay claim to even a portion of the heavyweight championship.
His decision victory over a beyond faded Holyfield has less significance than Texan Donnie Fleeman’s knockout victory over a shell of Ezzard Charles in 1959. The fact that Ruiz has become a multiple titleholder renders a statement about the dearth of heavyweight talent in 2005. Toney can still fight, yet his salad days as an outstanding middleweight contender and thrilling puncher are long behind him. As a heavyweight he is an imposter, not a contender.
Klitschko is the most physically dominating heavyweight in the world. His unorthodox, lumbering style is not attractive to watch. From the vantage point of punching power and pure strength, there is not a heavyweight near his equal. His TKO loss to Lennox Lewis was the signature moment in establishing his credentials as a leading heavyweight contender and the rightful heir to Lewis’ championship. Many thought Vitali was positioned to stop the champion had he not been sliced. The Briton was badly staggered in round two, again in the third canto and was punished for most of the first five rounds. Cut badly around the eyes and beginning to tire, Klitschko began to let Lewis back in the fight, taking punishment in rounds five and six. Would an unmarked Vitali have ended Lewis’ reign? The titleholder had taken the bout on short notice and, in his prime, would have had little difficulty with the Ukrainian. Yet Klitschko was overpowering Lewis and was positioned to halt him, probably within ten rounds. Lennox Lewis had gotten lucky on June 21, 2003 in Los Angeles and he knew it.
Any questions about Klitschko’s heart, after his WBO title defense surrender against Chris Bryd five years ago, were answered that night. Those who consider Bryd the premier heavyweight in the world today are in denial as to what took place the evening he met Klitschko. The WBO titleholder manhandled Bryd, out muscled him at nearly every turn and gave him a thorough pounding for seven of the nine rounds, building a decisive points lead.
Had the bout continued to its conclusion the torn rotator cuff suffered by Vitali could have ended his career. No one questioned Willie Pep’s courage after he retired on his stool with a dislocated shoulder the night Sandy Saddler regained the featherweight crown in their third title bout in 1951. Klitschko was on his way to a lopsided verdict or late round stoppage in a contest that was no contest. Byrd’s contention that he had outfoxed and outlasted Vitali are nonsense and he poses even less of a threat today than he did five years ago.
Klitschko will stop James Toney within ten rounds. If Toney if out of shape, as he was again Ruiz, he is in danger of absorbing a fearful battering. Vitali would crush Ruiz inside of five heats. Bryd is a skillful boxer/puncher and a viable contender yet the giant Ukrainian would inexorably wear him down and halt him inside schedule.
Thirty five years ago the heavyweight division was a showcase of great champions, titleholders to be and contenders who would have been champion today. You can’t compare James Toney to the Jerry Quarry who banged Ron Lyle around the ring for 12 rounds and kayoed Earnie Shavers in one heat. Both Lyle and Shavers would have been champions today. Perhaps Vitali would have cracked the top ten in 1970. He certainly wouldn’t have been a champion.
However, it isn’t 1970, it’s 2005 and Vitali Klitschko is the real champion.
