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By Jake Donovan - Barring a crazy ending that fails to produce a winner or a superior fighter, chances are that the last man standing in this weekend***8217;s unification bout between Sergey Kovalev and Bernard Hopkins will be viewed by most in the sport as the best light heavyweight in the world.
That means history will repeat itself in the light heavyweight division.
For years, Roy Jones Jr. was regarded as the best light heavyweight in the world, while Dariusz Michalczewski ***8211; and Zsolt Erdei after him (with Julio Gonzalez wedged in between) - was recognized as the division***8217;s true lineal champion.
The closest the division came to clarity was in 1998, when HBO pursued a Jones-Michalczewksi showdown. The purse demands of Michalczewksi ***8211; who would have been required to travel abroad to the United States from Germany ***8211; exceeded the fair market value for such a fight, thus leaving light heavyweight splintered for more than a decade.
Michalczewski and Erdei spent their respective lineal championship reigns holed up in Germany facing largely second-rate competition. Meanwhile, Jones fought exclusively in the United States, as did Antonio Tarver and Bernard Hopkins after him.
Joe Calzaghe broke the trend in 2008, traveling from Wales to Las Vegas to face ***8211; and beat ***8211; Hopkins, followed by a points win over Jones later that year. The unbeaten Welshman could have been the one to finally provide divisional clarity, but instead decided to call it a career, believing there was nothing left to accomplish following a lengthy reign at super middleweight and two lucrative wins in the United States over future Hall of Famers. [Click Here To Read More]
That means history will repeat itself in the light heavyweight division.
For years, Roy Jones Jr. was regarded as the best light heavyweight in the world, while Dariusz Michalczewski ***8211; and Zsolt Erdei after him (with Julio Gonzalez wedged in between) - was recognized as the division***8217;s true lineal champion.
The closest the division came to clarity was in 1998, when HBO pursued a Jones-Michalczewksi showdown. The purse demands of Michalczewksi ***8211; who would have been required to travel abroad to the United States from Germany ***8211; exceeded the fair market value for such a fight, thus leaving light heavyweight splintered for more than a decade.
Michalczewski and Erdei spent their respective lineal championship reigns holed up in Germany facing largely second-rate competition. Meanwhile, Jones fought exclusively in the United States, as did Antonio Tarver and Bernard Hopkins after him.
Joe Calzaghe broke the trend in 2008, traveling from Wales to Las Vegas to face ***8211; and beat ***8211; Hopkins, followed by a points win over Jones later that year. The unbeaten Welshman could have been the one to finally provide divisional clarity, but instead decided to call it a career, believing there was nothing left to accomplish following a lengthy reign at super middleweight and two lucrative wins in the United States over future Hall of Famers. [Click Here To Read More]
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