Wherever you read, the general consensus is that this is the worst period of heavyweight boxing ever. Looking at some of the potential matchups out there, i would have to disagree. Even the much hyped 70s was not really all that much better than the current squad we had depth wise. Sure, there is no Ali, Frazier, Foreman, but there are a pretty good bunch of fighters. THe only problem (or the biggest problem) is that the fighters just do not want to fight each other. I think the problem is that challengers are not prepared to fight each other and fight regularly. People put the blame on the champions fighting once a year but clearly, none of the challengers (and i mean none) are prepared to put it on the line and fight decent fighters.
If the challengers were all fighting say 3 or 4 real fights per year, the scene would be exciting. Vlad Klitchsko, supposedly the next big thing could fight Corrie Sanders rematch, David Tua, John Ruiz. If he won those three, it would set up a huge fight with Lennox Lewis. Chris Byrd just narrowly outpointed Oquenda in his only fight last year. He should test himself against Vitali Klithsko (rematch), James Toney, Corie Sanders. If he won those three, a Lennox Lewis match would be well accepted. Mike Tyson is not a patch on what he used to be but if he fights say Corrie Sanders, Roy Jones Jr and David Tua he would instantly become a big name fighter again. Some of the up and coming talent is Audley Harrison, Juan Carlos Gomez, Dominic Guinn and Joe Mesi. They could all fight each other once to settle who is the best and the winner would legitimately deserve a shot at Lennox Lewis, particularly if they followed it up with wins over Fres Oquenda, Kirk Johnson, Michael Moorer.
If you look at the actual quantity of fighters that are out there, there are so many good matches that could be made but arent (usually due to fear of taking risks or lack of confidence in ones ability or most importantly boxing politice). It really is a shame because this could be a truly great era if the boxers actually fought each other.
If the challengers were all fighting say 3 or 4 real fights per year, the scene would be exciting. Vlad Klitchsko, supposedly the next big thing could fight Corrie Sanders rematch, David Tua, John Ruiz. If he won those three, it would set up a huge fight with Lennox Lewis. Chris Byrd just narrowly outpointed Oquenda in his only fight last year. He should test himself against Vitali Klithsko (rematch), James Toney, Corie Sanders. If he won those three, a Lennox Lewis match would be well accepted. Mike Tyson is not a patch on what he used to be but if he fights say Corrie Sanders, Roy Jones Jr and David Tua he would instantly become a big name fighter again. Some of the up and coming talent is Audley Harrison, Juan Carlos Gomez, Dominic Guinn and Joe Mesi. They could all fight each other once to settle who is the best and the winner would legitimately deserve a shot at Lennox Lewis, particularly if they followed it up with wins over Fres Oquenda, Kirk Johnson, Michael Moorer.
If you look at the actual quantity of fighters that are out there, there are so many good matches that could be made but arent (usually due to fear of taking risks or lack of confidence in ones ability or most importantly boxing politice). It really is a shame because this could be a truly great era if the boxers actually fought each other.
