Why isn't Lewis/Golota/Briggs/Bowe, etc. TEMPTED....

[Lance Uppercut]

with the exception of Lewis, those guys all suck now. (Lewis might too, but that has not been confirmed like the other fighters listed.)

[jamiebhoy]

The Duke

[Nameless]

and BOwe should have never come back after his brain bleeding, the guys who did give him a licence didn't have all their mind and it is a disgrace to boxing to put his life in danger for the sake of spectacle.

[Kev]

It seems that in the heavyweight division that the fans are never pleased with the here and now.

When Holyfield was around he couldn't punch, when Lewis was around he boxed too much and had a weak chin, and I'm sure people had issues with Bowe and Tyson as well

Lyle, you're pretty consistent in your defense of the HW division, and for that I gotta give you some credit. Especially in the face of the general consensus, which is that the division is CRAP (and I'm part of the general consensus).



On the other hand, maybe it's all relative. Maybe the HWs only look so bad because there are other divisions that are SO MUCH BETTER. So in comparison, the HWs look like shit.

And yet... when you compare today's crop of HWs with those of past eras, I think you're doing the past HWs a disservice. Holyfield, Lewis, and Tyson in their peaks were head and shoulders above any of the HWs in the Top 10 today. Only the Klitschko brothers could probably hang with those guys, and I'm not sure I'm sold on the "post-comeback" Vitali just yet. It's the Klitschko brothers... and then a bunch of "roadkill."

And it's too bad, too. 'Cause a lot of people (the casual fans) only watch boxing when the big boys fight. We need someone to shake things up.... SOON!

In defense of Lyle with the exception of the 70's fightfans have always harkened back to an earlier era when heavyweights were good.

In the 80's when Tyson was at his peak everybody said at the time that it was a weak division, when Holyfield came along and Tyson went inside against it was a weak division hence why Foreman came back. Then during the Lewis prime when both Tyson and Holyfield were fade it was again seen as a weak division then Lewis left and we were left with Vitali and again a weak division.

I'm 35 and cannot recall a time in my memory when people said the heavyweight division was stacked and strong.

It was literally only in those golden 70's with Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Norton etc and few years earlier to Liston and Patterson when the heavyweight division was seen as strong.

[rjj tszyu]

It seems that in the heavyweight division that the fans are never pleased with the here and now.

When Holyfield was around he couldn't punch, when Lewis was around he boxed too much and had a weak chin, and I'm sure people had issues with Bowe and Tyson as well

Lyle, you're pretty consistent in your defense of the HW division, and for that I gotta give you some credit. Especially in the face of the general consensus, which is that the division is CRAP (and I'm part of the general consensus).



On the other hand, maybe it's all relative. Maybe the HWs only look so bad because there are other divisions that are SO MUCH BETTER. So in comparison, the HWs look like shit.

And yet... when you compare today's crop of HWs with those of past eras, I think you're doing the past HWs a disservice. Holyfield, Lewis, and Tyson in their peaks were head and shoulders above any of the HWs in the Top 10 today. Only the Klitschko brothers could probably hang with those guys, and I'm not sure I'm sold on the "post-comeback" Vitali just yet. It's the Klitschko brothers... and then a bunch of "roadkill."

And it's too bad, too. 'Cause a lot of people (the casual fans) only watch boxing when the big boys fight. We need someone to shake things up.... SOON!

In defense of Lyle with the exception of the 70's fightfans have always harkened back to an earlier era when heavyweights were good.

In the 80's when Tyson was at his peak everybody said at the time that it was a weak division, when Holyfield came along and Tyson went inside against it was a weak division hence why Foreman came back. Then during the Lewis prime when both Tyson and Holyfield were fade it was again seen as a weak division then Lewis left and we were left with Vitali and again a weak division.

I'm 35 and cannot recall a time in my memory when people said the heavyweight division was stacked and strong.

It was literally only in those golden 70's with Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Norton etc and few years earlier to Liston and Patterson when the heavyweight division was seen as strong.

The thing is you can look back at the 90s (especially early to mid) and say in hindsight that it was a very strong division, whereas I just don't ever see people saying that about todays crop!

[VictorCharlie]

Tyson going to prison really screwed up what could have been a great HW period. Tyson/Lewis/Holy/Bowe/Mercer/Morrison/Moorer all would have been either in their prime or not to far from it to provide great fights. Some of these we did get but a lot we either didn't get at all or one of the fighters had started into decline. I mean it may not be Ali/Foreman/Frazier/Quarry etc but its not that far off either.

[JonnyFolds]

Did quarry ever win any of those fights?

I think of these guy and I put Norton in there instead.

Tua is fighting in July or Sept apparently. He didn't look too bad in his last fight, but it's really been a while..

[jamiebhoy]

Re the HW division of the 70's, I am 45 and I remember watching a lot of fights at this time, I believe part of the reasion we hark on about the 70's being the best era for HW's is partly nostaligia. It was the first time that people could watch fights at home in colour and we had the legacy of Ali getting everyone stirred up. When Ali was gone we kept waiting for the replacement which obviously never come. There were a lot of good fighters in the 70's and there were the return matches and rubber matches you wouldn't get these days.
Having so many belts hasn't helped, we oldies were spoiled by watching the best and not being subjected to a bunch of second rate fighters haggling over a title that everyone knows doesn't really make you a bona fide WC.
Not to say the 70's scene wasn't good but maybe it wasn't THAT good after all.A lot of what is said is with hindsight and by the next generation, not many people moaned when Tyson arrived, he was exciting and brought something new, now it's all "well Tyson was never that good"

Wonder what they'll be saying about Pacman in 20 years, let's talk about it then