Seven years since the last heavyweight unification bout...

[Derranged]

im pretty sure that wlad would fight any one of the title holders, they just dont want any part of him, he cant make them fight him.

I disagree. You know its very hard to unify belts. Plus I dont think King will put any of his champs in with Wladimir because he doesnt own him. He wont unify unless Wlad is out of the picture, or at least that's the rumor.

[badblood]

A unification is on the horizon.

[BrooklynBomber]

... okay, you could call it three because Big Len was dropping them but still consider rightfully as The Man, so it makes no odds. He was dull at times, but you knew where you were with Big Len.

But I'm wondering why we're all accepting that there's no unification bouts over THREE YEARS since Big Len packed it in? I know politics and promotions play a big part in it, but it's killing off the sport at the most mainstream end. Shouldn't we be DEMANDING that at least two of the titlists fight each other?

Stuff like Wlad vs. Briggs or Wlad vs. Peter (okay, before he had the IBF, I know...) prove nothing as neither clearly have/had any real chance to beat Little Klit and it says more about Wlad's plummeted stock than the opponents that anyone believed they could. The fact that we're in an age of ex-Lewis opponents (Briggs getting his shot nearly a decade after meeting Big Len, and the mediocre Rahman holding onto his paper crown) shows how bad things have got.

It's not UNREASONABLE to ask that with the division possessing four separate title belts (or three, if that's your preference) that at least TWO of those titlists should have fought each other for some sort of idea as to how the division will go forward. HBO promoted Rahman-Toney as this, but in real terms it meant nothing. Rahman got the belt out of the ring, Toney shouldn't even have been fighting for it, having only just come off a failed drugs test. And in terms of belts, then it's really just the WBC belt changing hands (or not). We need those trinkets married in combat.

I'm not a fan of belts over all else, but we need to know where we stand. Screw fighting mandatories and voluntary defences... become THE champ, THEN take on the routine challenges.

Shut up Anorak, as long as they bring fights like Sergey/Brewster and Wlad/Peter I like what I see.
Anyway, not eveyrthing is so bad, and I even envisioned a possible unification root for the next years or so.
If Peter beats Toney, and then most likely will beat either Moskaev or Rahman, and Wlad gest by Briggs, the rematch between these two will finally settle the question, its not so impossible or far fetched, really. And the fight will be competative too. After that, possible unification of winner of Sergey/Brewster is also possible. I ignore Valuev, let him bum around with sub par competition.

[BrooklynBomber]

I disagree. You know its very hard to unify belts. Plus I dont think King will put any of his champs in with Wladimir because he doesnt own him. He wont unify unless Wlad is out of the picture, or at least that's the rumor.

I think that king only got Valuev at the moment, so its not so impossible.

[Derranged]

I think that king only got Valuev at the moment, so its not so impossible.

He still has Rahman, Rahman was gonna leave but ended up staying, I think.

[DiegoFuego]

... okay, you could call it three because Big Len was dropping them but still consider rightfully as The Man, so it makes no odds. He was dull at times, but you knew where you were with Big Len.

But I'm wondering why we're all accepting that there's no unification bouts over THREE YEARS since Big Len packed it in? I know politics and promotions play a big part in it, but it's killing off the sport at the most mainstream end. Shouldn't we be DEMANDING that at least two of the titlists fight each other?

Stuff like Wlad vs. Briggs or Wlad vs. Peter (okay, before he had the IBF, I know...) prove nothing as neither clearly have/had any real chance to beat Little Klit and it says more about Wlad's plummeted stock than the opponents that anyone believed they could. The fact that we're in an age of ex-Lewis opponents (Briggs getting his shot nearly a decade after meeting Big Len, and the mediocre Rahman holding onto his paper crown) shows how bad things have got.

It's not UNREASONABLE to ask that with the division possessing four separate title belts (or three, if that's your preference) that at least TWO of those titlists should have fought each other for some sort of idea as to how the division will go forward. HBO promoted Rahman-Toney as this, but in real terms it meant nothing. Rahman got the belt out of the ring, Toney shouldn't even have been fighting for it, having only just come off a failed drugs test. And in terms of belts, then it's really just the WBC belt changing hands (or not). We need those trinkets married in combat.

I'm not a fan of belts over all else, but we need to know where we stand. Screw fighting mandatories and voluntary defences... become THE champ, THEN take on the routine challenges.

depressing, isn't it? makes you really appreciate Lewis when you look at all the pretenders in the division right now

[Southpaw Stinger]

depressing, isn't it? makes you really appreciate Lewis when you look at all the pretenders in the division right now

I'd kill to have a guy like Lewis or Tyson in their primes now to unify the division. At the moment the only guy in the division is Wlad and I've got no interest in anyone else.

[mECHsLAVE]

I'd kill to have a guy like Lewis or Tyson in their primes now to unify the division. At the moment the only guy in the division is Wlad and I've got no interest in anyone else.

Wlad would have been facing the winner of the Rahman/Maskaev 2 fight if not for pure incompetence of the judges at ringside for Rahman-Toney. Now we have to suffer through yet ANOTHER rollie-pollie title shot from Toney, which accomplishes absolutely nothing towards unification. Wlad had the plan to fight the winner Rahman, after he got Maskaev out of the way. You could see how pissed Manny was when the bogus scores were announced.

And as always, King isn't letting anyone have a shot at his guys without iron-clad future options. And there is no pressure on him to do so until the other two are unified. That's why the division was so ****ed by that Rahman-Toney bull**** draw.