by David P. Greisman
The heavyweights, in a cyclical occurrence, had of late become an easy target, with so much derision of boxing’s marquee division being published that, had the sweet science its own Spiro T. Agnew, its pundits would be labeled alliteratively as “nattering nabobs of negativism” and “hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history.”
Forget, though, the disgraced former vice president’s insult of the media as “an effete corps of impudent snobs,” for our criticism was correct. Heavyweight boxing was that bad, stuck in what this scribe termed “title blight,” and the saving grace of unification seemed an impossible distance away.
Another year is just about over, an addition twelve months of four beltholders, of whom none of the titlists can yet make an undisputable argument that he is the true heavyweight champion. Bouts are now being scheduled for 2006, and there is still little certainty that the second half of this decade will bring a tournament to crown a king from the jester pretenders.
Yet in the distance is a glimmer of hope, a sign of heavyweight restoration on the horizon, dawn that gives permission to suspend self-protection and live again.
After a period in which Vitali Klitschko, Chris Byrd, Lamon Brewster and John Ruiz held voluntary defenses between long periods of inactivity, they are now mandated to face the cream of the crop, the top contenders, an important directive despite the relatively shallow talent pool.
In November, Klitschko will make his first appearance since stopping Danny Williams in December of last year, opposed by former champion Hasim Rahman.
December brings us the much-maligned Ruiz, although it actually brings “The Quiet Man” to Germany to face undefeated seven-footer Nicolay Valuev.
After a snoozer with mis-mandatory DaVarryl Williamson, Chris Byrd has been rumored to be in negotiations for an all-Michigan showdown with skilled scientist James Toney.
And Lamon Brewster has been the one true source of excitement, knocking out Andrew Golota in May in less than a minute, and then going into hostile territory to kayo mandatory Luan Krasniqi in a thriller.
Waiting in the wings is Wladimir Klitschko, whose victory over Samuel Peter guaranteed him a shot at either Byrd or Brewster. Add in Calvin Brock and the aforementioned Peter, Toney and Krasniqi, and the sum is a division ripe and nearly ready for its resurgence.
It is the competition against number one contenders that hopefully foreshadows a tournament in the near-future, a lack of repeat offenders Fres Oquendo and Andrew Golota, names recycled by promoter Don King but regurgitated by viewers nauseated by the wretched bouts being offered.
The champions have hurt their own market values, and the public shall no longer dish out hard-earned money for pay-per-views with bland, voluntary defenses. Klitschko’s first attempt at PPV, his beatdown of a bloated Danny Williams, sold a dreary 120,000 buys. Byrd and Ruiz have bristled at the paychecks they’ve received from King, much smaller than their contractual minimums, a consequence mostly due to their sleep and rage inducing styles. And Brewster, King’s heroic “Cinderella Man,” was sent ungratefully to Germany as a sacrificial lamb to face a hometown hero on Max Schmeling’s hundredth birthday.
Fans will no longer be fooled into following faux champions, and their clamoring is finally hammering in its point.
There are, of course, sticking points. Should Klitschko get by Rahman, it is still doubtful that he will want to negotiate with Don King, preferring instead his claim as “people’s champion” instead of unification. And there’s no guarantee that King would stick to his promises and pit his beltholders against each other.
Then there’s the James Toney steroids issue.
Hypothetically, say Toney stays active and signs to fight Chris Byrd, despite Byrd’s yawning travesty against Williamson. Should Toney win and advance into a heavyweight tournament, at some point, he may be in line to fight for the WBA title belt.
Except he can’t, or at least cannot until mid-2007.
After testing positive for a banned substance following his April unanimous decision victory over John Ruiz, the sanctioning body punished the triumphant trash-talker with a two year suspension preventing him from contending for their championship.
Obstacles aside, the negativity, hysterics and hopelessness finally got the best of this columnist, and for the minimum of a moment there will be a respite from recalcitrant rambling.
In the meantime, and hopefully for a long time, I look eagerly for the heavyweight restoration on the horizon, a warming cure for this title blight.
The 10 Count
1. Instead, I may complain about my beloved Washington Redskins, but not within these confines. But like my dear boys in burgundy and gold’s performance against the New York Giants, the country of Thailand was essentially shutdown and shut out this weekend in promoter Oscar De La Hoya’s “Boxing World Cup.” Never mind the two non-televised undercard bouts, which Thailand split with Mexico, as the four title bouts aired on HBO Latino and De La Hoya’s “Boxeo de Oro” program saw the Mexicans victorious in a clean sweep.
2. Leading off was WBO junior flyweight titlist Hugo Cazares against Kaichon Sor Vorapin, a bout that ended in the sixth round when Cazares rose from a knockdown to put Sor Vorapin down for the count. Earlier in the round, Sor Vorapin had floored Cazares with an audibly forceful right cross, but Sor Vorapin’s wildness caused missed punches, allowing Cazares ample time to regain his senses. The final blow was a short, seemingly normal straight right, but it alighted on Sor Vorapin’s right cheekbone with enough force to end the bout early.
3. The second fight was a battle for the vacant WBO junior featherweight belt between Daniel Ponce De Leon and Sod Looknongyantoy, and at first glance, it appeared to be a wretched mismatch. Ponce De Leon had four inches on Looknongyantoy, whose 61-inch frame is exceptionally short for the weight class. Looknongyantoy also appeared to be giving up a large weight advantage on Ponce De Leon, another advantage for the heavy-handed Mexican. But the opening rounds made this seem like an even-smaller man’s Miguel Cotto-Ricardo Torres, as Looknongyantoy landed power shots, including a lead right hook that put Ponce De Leon on the canvas in round two. Looknongyantoy had the speed advantage over a man whose punches looked to be even slower than Jose Luis Cruz, the tune-up bait that Shane Mosley sleepwalked past in September. Ponce De Leon recovered, though, using repeated left hooks to the body to sap Looknongyantoy’s strength and slow his work rate, resulting in a dreary unanimous twelve-round decision.
4. Things picked up again in fight number three, a bout in which Jhonny Gonzalez challenged WBO (sense a theme here?) bantamweight titlist Ratanachai Sor Vorapin. Gonzalez had shown a questionable chin in the past, and was cautious in approaching the champion, who was peppering him with left crosses. But in the third, Gonzalez took advantage of a ducking, shorter opponent and threw left uppercuts, flooring Sor Vorapin twice. By the time the bell rang to end round six, Gonzalez has dropped Sor Vorapin once more, and in-between rounds, referee Robert Byrd was eyeing the bloodied champion. Twenty-two seconds into the seventh, Gonzalez had Sor Vorapin pinned against the ropes, covered up but taking punishment, and Byrd wisely stopped the fight.
5. The main event took a fighter who should have rightfully been a main eventer by this point in his career, Fernando Montiel, and made him look little like the future star he was supposed to be. Montiel went twelve tough rounds with Pramuansak Posuwan, appearing lost and lethargic before surging in the second half of the fight to take the decision. Since losing to Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson in 2003, Montiel has worked to regain his junior bantamweight title (WBO, of course), but has failed to recapture his once-prominent standing. Montiel may have called out the other titlists in his weight class afterwards, but in the meantime he has squandered the case for stardom now being offered to fellow 115-lb. titlist Martin Castillo.
6. It was indeed a busy week for Oscar De La Hoya, beyond his Boxing World Cup, which, presuming truth in the Golden Boy’s intention to hold future team events, could not have gone to any country but Mexico, the home country of much of his shows and events’ target audience. Aside from the World Cup, though, Golden Boy Promotions announced fight dates for three of its corporate partners slash stable members, Shane Mosley, Marco Antonio Barrera and De La Hoya himself.
7. In a battle of faded former champions, Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas will meet on February 25, a bout that would have been fantastic five years ago, but now will do little but gauge just how far the duo has dropped. Vargas’s past two victories were tame performances against Raymond Joval and Javier Castillejo, while Mosley had more trouble with David Estrada and Jose Luis Cruz than he should have.
8. One month later on March 25, Marco Antonio Barrera will step up to lightweight to challenge stable mate Jesus Chavez for the IBF lightweight title. On paper, this is a fantastic match with potential for Fight of 2006, and is the most lucrative fight for “The Babyfaced Assassin” outside of rematches with Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao.
9. De La Hoya is tentatively scheduled for a May 6 challenge for Ricardo Mayorga’s WBC junior middleweight belt, a fantastic feat considering that he hasn’t won a fight at that weight class since May of 2003. It will be curious to see if this is an actual De La Hoya comeback, or another bait and switch like the one that produced Marco Antonio Barrera’s September pay-per-view.
10. Random Observations: Was amused by the synchronized ring card girls at this weekend’s Boxing World Cup … How biased was color commentator Raul Marquez’s scorecard during the Montiel-Posuwan bout? … Correctly typing the last names of the Thai fighters was the most challenging effort since Almazbek Raiymkulov burst on the scene … Fantastic graphic comparing Posuwan’s hematoma with the Hasim Rahman’s growth after the Evander Holyfield fight … The relative calm of an obviously pro-Mexican crowd proved that the fans are ultra-intelligent when it comes to knowing the difference between a good fight and a bland showing by good fighters … Now that I’m taking a respite from bashing the heavyweights, what in the world will I write about?
