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By Jake Donovan - Two heavyweight fighters. One heavyweight fight. At stake, the top prize in the sport’s most storied division.
Once upon a time, it wasn’t a matter of if the revolution would be televised, but who would ultimately become the highest bidder. Nobody in their right mind would turn a blind eye to a good heavyweight matchup, never mind one that will officially crown a king.
Alas, this is no longer your grandfather’s heavyweight division. It’s not even your older brother’s heavyweight division. His era just saw their champion – Lennox Lewis – inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame this past weekend.
Stateside boxing fans in this era are lucky (or unlucky, depending on your viewpoint) to even get a major heavyweight fight to grace their television screen. Exhibit A comes in the form of zero interest offered from major players HBO and Showtime to get involved in Saturday’s vacant lineal heavyweight title match between Wladimir Klitschko and Ruslan Chagaev.
Six years ago, Lewis was set to defend his crown against Kirk Johnson in an event slated for pay-per-view. The bout was no great shakes on paper – certainly not pay-per-view worthy on its own – but was to be paired with a Mike Tyson fight, with the intention to somehow drum up interest for a Lewis-Tyson rematch. [details]
Once upon a time, it wasn’t a matter of if the revolution would be televised, but who would ultimately become the highest bidder. Nobody in their right mind would turn a blind eye to a good heavyweight matchup, never mind one that will officially crown a king.
Alas, this is no longer your grandfather’s heavyweight division. It’s not even your older brother’s heavyweight division. His era just saw their champion – Lennox Lewis – inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame this past weekend.
Stateside boxing fans in this era are lucky (or unlucky, depending on your viewpoint) to even get a major heavyweight fight to grace their television screen. Exhibit A comes in the form of zero interest offered from major players HBO and Showtime to get involved in Saturday’s vacant lineal heavyweight title match between Wladimir Klitschko and Ruslan Chagaev.
Six years ago, Lewis was set to defend his crown against Kirk Johnson in an event slated for pay-per-view. The bout was no great shakes on paper – certainly not pay-per-view worthy on its own – but was to be paired with a Mike Tyson fight, with the intention to somehow drum up interest for a Lewis-Tyson rematch. [details]
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