by Tom Donelson
The cruiserweight division has long been excluded from polite or even impolite conversations, but this division is boxing's hidden gem. Don King's recent show in Madison square Garden proved once again what should now be an obvious fact - the cruiserweight is the best big man division in boxing. Forget the heavyweight division. While the heavyweight division continues its hard earned decline into utmost mediocrity, the cruiserweights have been producing exciting fights on a consistant basis.
Look at the top ten of the cruiserweights division. These are excellent fighters, all of them are true contenders for any title plus one undisputed master, O’Neil Bell. I should say the undisputed master for the moment. What makes this an intriguing division is that these fighters are evenly matched and no one can take for granted who would win a particular match up.
Only confrontation in the ring settles the matter. So Bell may be the master now but his reign is precarious. Champion Bell could easily become ex-champion Bell in his next fight (which is scheduled with the undefeated Steve Cunningham) - that is how balanced this division is.
The most recent bout between O’Neil Bell and Jean “The Marksman” Mormeck demonstrated this point. Off from pounding Wayne Braithwaite for 12 rounds, Mormeck was the heavy favorite going in the bout and considered the main man of the division.
In the first five rounds, the fight went according to script. Mormeck was pounding Bell and at times appeared to have the Jamaican fighter in trouble. The Frenchman moved forward, unfazed by Bell's jabs and clubbing rights. Mormeck's defensive skills deflected much of Bell's attacks and it was looking rather bleak for Bell.
Then in the sixth round, Bell adjusted his tactics as he jabbed more from the outside and Mormeck's failure to get to Bell early in the fight proved the decisive factor in the fight. Bell could now take advantage of Mormeck's major weakness- his endurance.
Mormeck has in the past slowed down in the later rounds and for Bell; this was the break he needed. Mormeck’s attack slowed and suddenly his defense became vulnerable. Bell’s rights kept finding a home on Mormeck’s face and his jab constantly found its range. Mormeck's defense went from deflecting and slipping punches to blocking punches with his face.
Mormeck stayed on the ropes, hoping to lure Bell into a slugging match on the inside. Too tired to pursue Bell, Mormeck was now reduced to looking for the one blow to end it. As for Bell, he occasionally obliged the Frenchman desire for on the rope fighting, but he even out dueled the Frenchman on the inside in the second half of the bout.
When Mormeck went down in the tenth, it was the first time that he tasted the canvas. Bell's unorthodox style and guts in surviving the early onslaught allowed him to persist into the latter rounds. Mormeck’s weakness of wilting in the latter rounds clashed with Bell's ability to stage late round comebacks. Bell's endurance proved the critical factor.
What makes the cruiserweights the best division in boxing lies in the depth of the division plus the fact that the top guys are willing to fight one another. When was the last time sanctioning body champions in the heavyweight division actually fought one another? In the cruiserweight division, they often fight one another.
As for the skill level, just compare the O’Neil Bell bout with Mormeck with any of the heavyweight championship fights over the past three years. There is no comparison. Remember Byrd-Williamson? We saw twelve rounds of posing with less punches being thrown in the entire fight, as compared to one round in the Mormeck-Bell conflict. Or does anyone remember Rahman-Barrett? For that matter does anyone really care to remember? The best you could say about that bout is that it could cure insomnia; it was that boring and bad.
Of course any fight with John Ruiz was always a guarantee to send boxing fans screaming and now we have the giant version of Ruiz in the Russian “Beast of the East.” Does anyone even care about the heavyweights anymore? Maybe if best of the heavyweights would borrow a page from the cruiserweights and simply fight each other, we might start to care again.
Showtime has been the main supporter of the cruiserweight division and they have made the right matchups to showcase the best that this division has to offer.
For many years, critics have slammed this division but while slamming it, they failed to see the beauty of what was occurring. Excellent fighters producing great fights after great fights, often in ignominy and in the face of indifference.
