By Ja Lang G. Greene
Calvin Brock continues his journey toward the heavyweight championship of the world this weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina versus the tough veteran David “The Boss” Bostice. The match is for the vacant IBA Continental Americas Heavyweight Title. Brock, currently 26-0 with 21 of those wins by way of knockout, looks to put an emphatic exclamation point on the end of 2005 by winning his first title, in a year that he has defeated Clifford Etienne (KO3), Jameel McCline (UD10), and Butterbean conqueror Kenny Craven (TKO4).
Brock, who is the only heavyweight ranked in the top ten by the WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO sanctioning bodies, looks to further catapult himself in the next batch of rankings and possibly secure a title fight by next summer. There is already an agreement in place for Brock to face David Tua in January of 2006 if he doesn’t succumb to the upset bug against Bostice.
David Bostice (35-9-1) is not a pushover. He survived a rocky childhood growing up on the streets of Los Angeles and has used boxing to stay away from the trouble that continues to plague many youths involved in gang activity. Throughout his near 10 year pro fight career, Bostice has earned victories over Alfred “Ice” Cole, Zuri Lawrence (who recently upset McCline), and Cisse Salif. Bostices’ losses for the most part have been credible; Wladimir Klitschko, Tim Witherspoon, Francois Botha, Lou Savarese, Jeremy Williams, and Brock’s stable mate Malik Scott. Bostice is currently ranked in the top 100 in the division.
In every sport, there is always the question, who is the next big thing? For instance, in professional basketball when Michael Jordan was still in the prime of his career, analysts were trying to find the next great one. There was Harold Miner, Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, and now LeBron James who were supposed to fill the void. The sweet science is no different, as the heavyweight division has been looking for an heir apparent since the early 90’s. The heavyweight division has suffered many setbacks that keep the division wide open and somewhat lackluster at times.
Boxing Scene writer, James Blears, touched on this subject in his article “Will there ever be another Great Heavyweight Champion.” Over the past 15 years Riddick Bowe, Ray Mercer, Michael Grant, Dominick Guinn, Ike Ibeabuchi, David Tua, and Hasim Rahman to name a few were all deemed to be the next prospect to rejuvenate the weight class.
Calvin Brock has quickly become a media darling with his background, amateur pedigree, and personality. He has a chance to etch his place in history, if he can avoid some of the pitfalls that hindered other challengers like being rushed, showing up out of shape, prison time, inactivity, and sloppy performances.
If Brock can defeat Bostice and secure the fight with Tua, the journey to the top will continue. If he can get by Tua, the only person that would be able to stop Brock from getting a title shot is Don King.