Heavy weight division is dead, just because none of the titles are in US?

Question

This happens in every sport I guess, when your favorites are not winning you tend to say that the sport is dead or it's not interesting anymore. Is it the same for boxing?

Answer 1

That doesn't mean the divison is dead, after tonight there will be a unified Heavyweight Champion for the first time in a decade.

Answer 2

People have indeed been saying the heavyweight division was dead, off and on, since the mid-80's. There was so much talent in the weight class in the 70's, that if you remember that era at all, nothing since has been close. Holmes was a beautiful fighter, and an impressive champ in his time, but he had a long stretch when he never had a worthy challenger, and then, when he was past his prime, he got beat by Spinks twice in close decisions and blown out by Tyson, so that tarnishes his legacy. Boxing fans my age and older, who remember Holmes always remember him as one of the all-time greats--perhaps the greatest jab in the history of the weight class. But casual fans or younger fans who don't watch film don't have the perspective on him.

There have been no heavyweights in the past 25 years who measure up to Ali, Frazier, Foreman and Norton, and after those four guys, the talent in the heavyweights back then ran much deeper. Tyson should have ended up moving into that elite class, but he fell apart and became a sideshow. Holyfield and Bowe had three wars, but watch those fights and then watch the three Ali-Frazier fights and you can see why they never captured the imagination the same way. Lennox was an extremely talented, gifted fighter, but he lost a couple of times to completely second rate fighters.

I have to admit, I am not very knowledgeable at all about the current crop of heavies. I have seen some film of the Klitschos. They are impressive fighters, and I suspect the majority of the reason that people say that the division is dead is due to the fact that the champions are all non-American fighters and hence, don't get any of the coverage over here that an American or Canadian/English Champion would get. And, of course, there is just the fact that   no crop of heavyweights again is likely to match up to that  golden age that still looms so large in the minds of many fight fans.

Answer 3

yeah the heavy weight division is dead right now in my oppinion. i think it began to fall apart when mike tyson was lost. i wish there was boxers that puts exciting fights and puts fast paced fight like tyson did,

Answer 4

Yes. People say it all the time. They say the division is dead since Ali and frazier. Some say after Tyson and Holyfield but they don't recognize the ability and excitement of watching the talented and dominant Russians fight. Klitchko maskaev ibragimov. They are all great fighters to watch and the division is probably better without the American heavyweights that are out today.

Answer 5

Watch the fight this weekend on HBO. It may not be the biggest names that ever graced the ring, but anytime we have boxing on TV it is a great thing.

If you want to read about this fight head on over to http://www.fightjunkie.com/predictions they have a write-up on the fight and also a forum where you can go and chat about this and many other fight related stuff.

Answer 6

It's not so much that none of the titles are in American hands, it's that there just isn't much talent at heavyweight irregardless of who has the belts.  Lennox Lewis wasn't an American heavyweight, but he was a talented, dominate force in boxing, so he was universally respected, and with him, the division he ruled was respected.  He had guys with talent to match his skills against, and some of them weren't American, but during his reign as champion, nobody disrespected the heavyweight division or linked the decline in heavyweight talent to a lack of Americans.  Nobody certainly considered the heavyweight division "dead".  

The problem with today's heavyweight division is two fold.  Lack of talent is one part, It's hard to respect a "heavy weight champion" if you know guys on the street who would have a legitimate chance of KOing the guy wearing the belt.  But the diluting effect of the alphabet soup sanctioning organizations and the fact that six different guys are wearing six different"championship belts" tends to lessen the value of the title.  It simply isn't respectable, so nobody respects today's heavyweights, be they American or otherwise.  "The", meaning singular, one, and only one, "Heavy Weight Champion of The World", was once the most coveted title in sports.  Greed and politics cheapened it with multiple reproductions instead of the real thing.

Tomorrow that starts to change for the better.  I applaud both Klitschko and Ibragimov, it is long over due that an attempt at a unified champion in heavyweight boxing has been approached, and hopefully their example will be followed by the rest of the "title holders".  What they are doing is almost unheard of in modern heavyweight boxing, they are showing true championship metal and legitimizing the worthless belts they hold by fighting each other.  Who ever wins tomorrows fight between the two will be the most respected heavyweight in the world, and the loser will be a close second.  Tomorrows loser will have more creditability and respect that the other title holders, because he did what a true champion does, he fought the best.  The belts, and the organizations backing them are meaningless, it's the fighter and his desire to "be the best in the world" that define a "champion".  In spite of marketing, sanctioning bodies or politics, there will always be only one champion, and the public will recognize the best in any division, belt or no belt.

The Heavy weight division is alive and well, and tomorrows fight between two title holders to unify two of the belts is an indication of it getting healthier.  I am excited about a heavyweight fight for the first time in a long time.  It feels alive to me, and d**n good too.

Answer 7

no heavyweight boxing was dead 15 years before the titles left america.

It started dying when other pro sports like the world's five main football styles, athletics and bodybuilding started taking numbers away from boxing.

By the 1980's the division had shrunk numbers and styles, we were left with upright head hunter, which is why little Mike had a field day amongst them.

And it died when the 1990's guys proved they were unable to keep the title away from fat old 45 year 1970's museum relic george foreman.

Since then it is deader than dead.A bare division of shambling sloths with two punch combo's who get beaten by blown up middleweights and circus freaks.

And that's just finding nice things to say :)

Answer 8

That's how I've felt the past few yrs. But there will be an American heavyweight who'll bring all three titles home. Hopefully SOON!