Heavyweight Unification Critical To Boxing's Future

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

The long standing barometer for boxing’s health has long rested with the man on top of the heavyweight division. The World’s Heavyweight Champion has always held stature as the paramount figure in the world of sports. From the days of John L. Sullivan to the Lennox Lewis Era, when a Heavyweight Championship Bout loomed, it demanded world attention and dwarfed the dominant spectator sports, including football and baseball, until the moment of the opening bell.

Boxing draws nourishment from the Heavyweight championship of the world. John L could “Lick any man in the house”. The total domination of the Great Boilermaker Jim Jeffries terrorized the heavyweight class for six years and the search for a Great White Hope to eclipse Jack Johnson bore headlines year after year.

Dempsey made the transition from slacker to stardom during his seven year reign. America grew to love the humble Louis as he mirrored America’s fundamental decency during his reign before and during the searing years of World War II.

We loved the real Rocky and cheered lustily for Floyd the night he demolished Johansson and brought the cherished title back to the United States. Then the great Ali revitalized the heavyweight division and the sport of boxing, creating endless headlines as he accomplished miracle after miracle. Ali birthed opportunities for battler’s in all weight classes as America and the world paid attention the handsome and valiant Champion who changed both boxing and the world. [details]

[Animal Squabbs]

Shannon Briggs needs to become champ because people will want to watch him fight. He actually talks and has a personality unlike Valuev and Klit and the Ibragimovs and Liakovich and Byrd and Maskaev etc

[Addison]

Truly an important message.

[Shanus]

Shannon Briggs needs to become champ because people will want to watch him fight. He actually talks and has a personality unlike Valuev and Klit and the Ibragimovs and Liakovich and Byrd and Maskaev etc

But Briggs sucks, that's why he won't become champ.

[hemichromis]

Shannon Briggs needs to become champ because people will want to watch him fight. He actually talks and has a personality unlike Valuev and Klit and the Ibragimovs and Liakovich and Byrd and Maskaev etc

so does audley but that doesn't mean we want him to be champ

Klit needs to challenge them all, i can't envision anyof the current crop beating him.

[Nightmare5150]

Interesting article. All that talk about the past, then we finally get to today and it's all about Klitschko. When he gets KO'd again (and you can feel it coming, it's inevitable), then who the hell will be boxing's savior? Samuel "I defeated an old and fat James Toney" Peter? Besides, Lennox Lewis proved that it takes more than a unified heavyweight champion to save boxing.

[RAESAAD]

Seems like everytime a fighter wins a title he has to fight some top "ranked" so called contender.......Or get stripped.I for one liked the Brock/Klit fight because I truly believe W. Klit is the man at the moment and also thought Brock had a chance and desevred a title shot.However there are waaay too many so called champs.....real boxing fans know Wlad is the man even if he did take the easy road= Bryd.**** Wlad did not want to fight Brewster again but Sergie did and whatever happened, happened any which way you cut it....these "so called champs" need to fight each other befofe we can find a "true" champ.........Oh BTW like Lennox was.Wlad is the most skillied no doubt but Oleg,Briggs abd I hate to say it Valuez could......and I did say could KO Wlad if **** went wrong.HW=a ****ed up division for now.

[Animal Squabbs]

But Briggs sucks, that's why he won't become champ.

He is a champ, but he can also beat Maskaev and there he is a unified champ. I dont know if he can beat Peter or Klit, maybe not Valuev, but he is still exciting to watch. When the casual fan sees a big muscular guy with blonde dreadlocks and KO power telling someone he is going to dig their ****in eyes out as the heavyweight champ they are gonna wanna watch.

Klit is at the top, but that whole "YYYYYYYES UUHHH, I train a rrrrellly hard for dis fites, I wanted to sshhooooow hem dat I have good punch." **** is boring and he always looks exhausted and has a boring style.

[Hitman932]

wouldnt it be beautiful if both champs were ordered to fight a mandatory unification or be stripped!

[grayfist]

I have greater confidence in the sport's resiliency.

From 1979 to early 1986, the heavyweight division had champions with names like John Tate, Mike Weaver, Michael Dokes, Tony Tubbs, Greg Page, Gerry Coetzee... those were not and still aren't household names.

The household names of that period were Sugar RAy Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler...

Lower weight divisions managed to pick up the slack.

In 1994-95, while Lennox Lewis was licking his wounds and titles were owned by the likes of Oliver McCall and Frank Bruno, a Lightweight named Oscar de la Hoya started to really pull in ever bigger and bigger crowds. And the opponents he faced started getting names for themselves.

A middleweight out in Pensacola Florida named Roy Jones Jr. wasn't doing too bad either.

It seems to me that whenever paucities of talents occur at the top, the lower ranks shine and carry the sport through the tough times.

Right now, tickets for De la Hoya and Pacquiao fights are hotter than any that the Heavyweights have been able to offer. Part of the attraction is that the two are stars who have gone up to the fans' level of expectations when it comes to excitement; but of equal weight is that the two have not been all that averse to facing great opponents.

While the heavyweights have traditionally been the megastars of boxing, I don't think boxing can die without stars in that division.

Boxing shall however be soon dead if matches that fans want are not made. I read an article, I believe it was here on BoxingScene, that ended with the line, "If you make the matches, they (the fans) will come."