Will Unification really clarify the mess of the HW division?

[El Gamo]

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=6432&more=1

Heavyweight Clarity Will Not Be Found In Unification Bouts

26.03.06 - By Dan Horgan: Today in boxing, it is popular belief that the cure all to the dreadful heavyweight division is a unification tournament which would wipe out all of the division’s troubles. This would make perfect sense if the four best heavyweights in the world all had belts, but that’s where the problem lies.

The heavyweight division right now is obviously a mess, and it seems that with every fight, the mess gets bigger and bigger. Who the best heavyweight in the world right now is anyone’s guess, and we certainly don’t seem to getting closer to finding out. So a unification tournament seems like the most logistical thing to do, letting one man, and one man alone stand as champion. In boxing however, in order to be considered a true champ, one has to earn their belt, and as of right now, the “champions” of the division have no legitimacy in holding those trinkets high and saying that they are the best.

It’s almost comical how the heavyweight belts have been dished out as of late, as not one of the champions today have actually taken their belt from a defending champion. Take Hasim Rahman, for example. How many champions in boxing today have three legitimate, unavenged losses to guys who are still active and world ranked? John Ruiz, Oleg Maskaev and David Tua, all still active and ranked, have gotten the best of him, yet he still calls himself the champion of the world. In my opinion, if it weren’t for the help from some people getting him underserved shot after underserved shot (and eventually the chance to fight journeyman Monte Barrett who he won the “interim” belt against), Rahman wouldn‘t be ranked let alone have a belt.

Similar criticism can be made about the other champions in the division. As far as I'm concerned, Nikolay Valuev’s title was simply a gift, as he won controversial decision after controversial decision until he finally got his shot against John Ruiz and was again almost handed the fight. Chris Byrd won his trinket against a way past his prime Evander Holyfield, and Lamon Brewster caught Wladimir Klitschko at the lowest point of his career to win his vacant title.

So I beg the question: How in the world would having a unification tournament prove who is truly the best? Would the winner of this tournament really claim supremacy over everyone else in the division? There’s no way!

With contenders such as Calvin Brock, Sam Peter, Sultan Ibragimov, and Ruslan Chagaev, who needs titles? Personally, I feel that none of the championships in the division today are legitimate, so what would a unification tournament really do? Will combining four paper championships form a real one? Boxing fans need to stop calling for a unification tournament and start pushing for quality match ups, as putting the men who are truly the best in with each other will decide who indeed is the best heavyweight in the world.

[ono]

I think its more to do with the overall standard of the divison so i agree that a tournament wudnt realy do anything to boost the profile of the heavies. At best, we would just know who is the best of a very average bunch IMO.

[yoitsdan]

I disagree,I think the tourney is the last throw of the dice IMO for this generation of heavies, and is welcome, as long as the tournament is delivered in the right way. How could it not improve the profile, for it to be on literally millions of tv screens, sold in hundreds of countries, delivered with a stronger, faster and better brand than we've ever seen in boxing history. In theory the idea is brilliant, as long as it is kept credible and does not betray proper boxing fans, then it should be a success, and the future of boxing. It's win win, even if it goes horribly wrong, we can just go back to the old way of doing things, which still sucks a**, but it can't get any worse, can it? We will know who'd the best, and whoever that is can be the poster child, the saviour, whatever you wanna call him. The real question is, do the fans really need one heavyweight who they can call the best? I sure as hell don't.

[Wacko3205]

In the end...I actually am starting to warm to the way that the division is headed right now...theyr'e all starting to fight each other now & that's what I've been wanting for the past 3-4 years.

I think that the division is going to bulk up this year & everything is going to turn around.

Once the heavie's purses start dropping for facing shat fighters then I think it will all turn around.

Maybe the Superfighter tournament will turn things around. You never know.

[ono]

In the end...I actually am starting to warm to the way that the division is headed right now...theyr'e all starting to fight each other now & that's what I've been wanting for the past 3-4 years.

I think that the division is going to bulk up this year & everything is going to turn around.

Once the heavie's purses start dropping for facing shat fighters then I think it will all turn around.

Maybe the Superfighter tournament will turn things around. You never know.

Am not so sure i cud sit thro a full tournament with todays heavyweights. I think i would be asleep after the first rounds.

[AdamGB]

Once the belts are unified it dosn't matter who's got it. Its the fights it would produce that matter. People would be going after 1 belt again instead of the shambles we have now.

Fuck give the unified belt to Audley Harrison or some other C class fighter... once guys starting coming through the ranks and becoming manditory to fight for it it won't matter who had it.

No doubt it will get split though, stupid Alphabet organistations will want their money...

[El Kabong]

More rivalries will help the division. Big battles that live up and past the hype will help the big men out. Basically the big boys have to come to fight more often we need more Vitali-Lewis and less Byrd-Williamson

[FLH2o]

Dan Horgan,
That is some nonsense you have written. To say that a unified championship would be no more legit than the current state of affairs is ridiculous. For that matter, why don't we just give everyone a belt? It is also a cop out to paint a picture of all the belts being equally illegitimate. Come to think of it, I don't understand exactly what's in question. Is it not clear to everyone that we need to take all the belts, throw them in a pile and have Lamon Brewster fight Chris Byrd for all of them? Who cares that there are other worthy challengers? I should hope there are! That's the POINT of having 1 beltholder, so the guys without belts can take shots at the guy with belts FOR THE F#CKING BELTS!

[SalTheButcher]

big vladdy and the ibragimovs are unstoppable


i know sultan is, i hope timor is, so he can put an end to calvin brock

[Purist]

I like the each Champ thing in other divisions. But I hate the guys who take advantage of only their belt and never go after anyone else. Something Mayweather does. name one time he;s held two championships? He's content with just one and the HBO exposure. But PBF isn't p4p the best to me. I would put someone like Pacquiao in that place. Winky was dominant at 154 at 160 not yet, barerra was good at 130, I wouldn't say dominant but he unified against peden(something Mayweather has never done so he's on there. Mayweather cleaned out the Lightweight champs but him not fighting Casamayor at super featherweight is a real to with me as far as Mayweather is concerned. But Mayweather isn't number 1 p4p. if he was then he would be fighting Baldomir so he could at least SAY that he beat the champ at 147 which is 2 weights above where it began. He hasn't even risked against someone like Vernon Forrest.

Lets look at his list

Jesus Chavez(before his prime)

Hernandez(past his prime)

Famoso hernandez(in between before and during)

Corrales(good fight but limited and never used his size, I won' use the weight drained excuse because Mayweather deserves credit) But afterwards... Castillo. And since Castillo.. he has fought no one. Gatti wasn't a risk because of the styles and he is fighting Judah only because Judah keeps his title on a technicality.

Mayweather is NOT number 1 p4p. Barerra is. Look at his loss to Pacquiao and he comes back and beats Morales(who's beaten the likes of a prime Hernandez and Jesus Chavez) and unifies against peden. Tell me something Mayweather has done even remotely close to that.

[SalTheButcher]

I won' use the weight drained excuse because Mayweather deserves credit

and gatti also has NO ability against a skilled boxer

gatti is so unable to deal with technique, but he can eat punches reletivley well

[FLH2o]

Big Wladdy is NOT unstoppable.

Big Wladdy is the most talented, but he's glass and has had stamina issues.

Saying Brewster caught him at "the low point of his career" is garbage.

What made it the low point other than getting KOd?

[Jody Lane]

Once the belts are unified it dosn't matter who's got it. Its the fights it would produce that matter. People would be going after 1 belt again instead of the shambles we have now.

F*** give the unified belt to Audley Harrison or some other C class fighter... once guys starting coming through the ranks and becoming manditory to fight for it it won't matter who had it.

No doubt it will get split though, stupid Alphabet organistations will want their money...

Cool click on the comment that the title would get split by the organizations after it is unified. How else do you explain PBF vs. Judah for a title after Judah lost his last fight (and supposedly all the titles).

[Wacko3205]

I like the each Champ thing in other divisions. But I hate the guys who take advantage of only their belt and never go after anyone else. Something Mayweather does. name one time he;s held two championships? He's content with just one and the HBO exposure. But PBF isn't p4p the best to me. I would put someone like Pacquiao in that place. Winky was dominant at 154 at 160 not yet, barerra was good at 130, I wouldn't say dominant but he unified against peden(something Mayweather has never done so he's on there. Mayweather cleaned out the Lightweight champs but him not fighting Casamayor at super featherweight is a real to with me as far as Mayweather is concerned. But Mayweather isn't number 1 p4p. if he was then he would be fighting Baldomir so he could at least SAY that he beat the champ at 147 which is 2 weights above where it began. He hasn't even risked against someone like Vernon Forrest.

Lets look at his list

Jesus Chavez(before his prime)

Hernandez(past his prime)

Famoso hernandez(in between before and during)

Corrales(good fight but limited and never used his size, I won' use the weight drained excuse because Mayweather deserves credit) But afterwards... Castillo. And since Castillo.. he has fought no one. Gatti wasn't a risk because of the styles and he is fighting Judah only because Judah keeps his title on a technicality.

Mayweather is NOT number 1 p4p. Barerra is. Look at his loss to Pacquiao and he comes back and beats Morales(who's beaten the likes of a prime Hernandez and Jesus Chavez) and unifies against peden. Tell me something Mayweather has done even remotely close to that.

But Mayweather is fighting Judah now...& before Baldomir...you rated Mayweather highly & you also rated Judah highly...right?

Mayweather is P4P the best & Mayweather does deserve his props. Something that Mayweather has done that Barrera hasn't...he's faced durable fighters & he hasn't lost yet & he's still shutting them all out.

It's just so weird to hear you saying all this...especially now that he's fighting Judah...what's going on here?

[SalTheButcher]

Big Wladdy is NOT unstoppable.

Big Wladdy is the most talented, but he's glass and has had stamina issues.

Saying Brewster caught him at "the low point of his career" is garbage.

What made it the low point other than getting KOd?

well brewster got to hit a vladdy too tired to hold his hands up