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There are no excuses left any more.
Not for Hasim Rahman or John Ruiz or Chris Byrd or Lamon Brewster. Not for any of the reigning heavyweight champions or their promoter, Don King, either. There aren't even any for most of the heavyweight contenders without a championship portfolio, like James Toney or Calvin Brock or Samuel Peter. There is always some excuse for Wladimir Klitschko and his sly manager, Shelly Finkel, but that is beside the point now because the heavyweight door has been thrown open and it matters not who steps through it as long as someone does.
With the surprising announcement that World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko had decided to retire less than a week after tearing a ligament in his right knee that postponed for the fourth time his scheduled Nov. 12 fight with Rahman and probably cost him his title, the dank and dormant division got a breath of fresh air because none of them can hide like mushrooms any longer.
They can make excuses. They can squabble over money. But they can't hide any more because none of them is worth a dime without the others and there's no third party out there where any of them can hold out hope for big money gained as much by avoidance as confrontation. [details]
Not for Hasim Rahman or John Ruiz or Chris Byrd or Lamon Brewster. Not for any of the reigning heavyweight champions or their promoter, Don King, either. There aren't even any for most of the heavyweight contenders without a championship portfolio, like James Toney or Calvin Brock or Samuel Peter. There is always some excuse for Wladimir Klitschko and his sly manager, Shelly Finkel, but that is beside the point now because the heavyweight door has been thrown open and it matters not who steps through it as long as someone does.
With the surprising announcement that World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko had decided to retire less than a week after tearing a ligament in his right knee that postponed for the fourth time his scheduled Nov. 12 fight with Rahman and probably cost him his title, the dank and dormant division got a breath of fresh air because none of them can hide like mushrooms any longer.
They can make excuses. They can squabble over money. But they can't hide any more because none of them is worth a dime without the others and there's no third party out there where any of them can hold out hope for big money gained as much by avoidance as confrontation. [details]