Can Steve Cunningham Save the Cruiserweight Division?
Steve Cunningham is nicknamed “USS Cunningham” because of his time spent in the United States Navy. However, he might earn the nickname thanks to his latest mission – rescuing the cruiserweight division from obscurity. When he regained the IBF cruiserweight championship on June 5 by stopping Troy Ross in the fifth round, he brought a much-needed element of class and quality to the cruiserweight division. The question now becomes if he can add lustre to the division or if it will continue to be stagnant.
As with the heavyweight division, the cruiserweight division is at an all-time low in terms of popularity in the United States. The majority of the top fighters in the division are European. Even top American fighters like Cunningham fight a high percentage of their cruiserweight title bouts in Europe. For example, Cunningham’s fight against Ross took place in Neubrandenburg, Germany even though he is American and Ross is Canadian.
Certainly, the cruiserweight division doesn’t have the history of the heavyweight division – or most other weight classes. It only became a weight class until 1980, when Marvin Camel defeated Mate Parlov for the inaugural WBC championship at a weight class in between light heavyweight and heavyweight. The weight limit has changed for the class throughout its history. It was originally 195 pounds but was dropped to 190 pounds until 2003, when it was raised to 200 pounds.
The cruiserweight division has received a bad rap from boxing fans and experts since it was started more than 30 years ago. The weight class is most often referenced when someone uses the phrase “puffed up cruiserweight” to describe an undersized heavyweight. This reputation isn’t without merit – many boxers have used the cruiserweight division as a stepping stone to become a heavyweight. Current WBA heavyweight champion David Haye is a former cruiserweight titlist, as is current heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek. However, the most famous former cruiserweight is Evander Holyfield, who was the first undisputed champion in the late 1980s before moving to heavyweight glory.
In fact, Holyfield’s reign as cruiserweight champion sparked a brief renaissance within the division. The division has had some other name fighters as champions since then including Bobby Czyz, Virgil Hill and James Toney. However, most of these fighters have either been former super middleweights and light heavyweight stars looking for one more title on the downside of their careers or younger fighters preparing to move up to heavyweight.
What the division needs is an influx of talent willing to stay in the cruiserweight division. Cunningham might be the most talented fighter to dedicate himself to the cruiserweight division in some time. He’s a former National Golden Gloves champion who first earned the IBF cruiserweight title by beating Krzysztof Wlodarczyk in a rematch of their earlier fight in May 2007. Cunningham lost the cruiserweight title in a controversial split decision to Adamek in December 2008 before Adamek vacated the title to move up to heavyweight and Cunningham claimed the vacant crown against Ross.
After the fight against Ross, Cunningham said that he was interested in unifying the cruiserweight division. While this is admirable, it also is problematic since the two biggest names who are currently champions would also be rematches for Cunningham. Wlodarczyk is currently the WBC champion and a third fight between the two might not have much interest. The WBO cruiserweight champion (and the fighter generally considered to be at the top of the division along with Cunningham) is Marco Huck. He’s fought Cunningham in the past as well, with Cunningham having stopped Huck in December 2007.
Cunningham’s ability to add excitement to the cruiserweight division is directly related to the ability of other fighters in the division to raise their game. However, it might be a moot point. In news that is not surprising from an historical perspective, Cunningham said that while he wants to unify the cruiserweight championship, he’s also not ruling out a move up to heavyweight.
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