Photo courtesy of Pavel Terekhov – By Eric Torres: As a true fan of boxing I have come to realize that we are indeed facing a crisis in the heavyweight division, which was at one point a staple in the sport. We have seen the balance of power in boxing shift to the welterweight division and in my opinion that is the most competitive division in boxing. You have a series of superstars in that division fighting each other or at least attempting to sign fights with each other. That brings excitement & lets the imagination run ramped with thoughts of tremendous fights.
In my opinion this is something that the heavyweight division lacks and to be honest with you, we had that opportunity with the proposed Klitschko vs. Haye fight. The heavyweight division is lacking that special character that fascinates us and that makes us want to tune in. We had a chance to witness a fight straight from a movie scenario, such as the scene in rocky 3 when Rocky was taunted by Mr. T’s character Clubber Lang until he got his fight. That scenario played out in real life with Haye confronting Wladimir almost anywhere he went. Haye got his shot and in the process jolted the heavyweight division with buzz to a point of excitement that has not been seen in some time.
I understand that Wladimir did not want to wait on Haye’s back injury to get better, which only would have been an extra few more weeks, but for the fans he should have, rather than fighting Chagaev which was God awful and boring.
I feel that Wladimir some how not only cheated us the fans of one of the more intriguing matches the heavyweight division has seen in some time, but I believe he cheated himself the notoriety he so craves from the world. Regardless of whether Wladimir would have knocked Haye out in one round or not, it would have brought a new fan base to a sport that is so interdependent on existing fans and new fans.
I hope now that a few weeks have past since Wladimir’s boring and uneventful fight with Chagaev is over, he has hopefully relfected on his status with the world, read the critics reviews of that fight and realized that we as a public want to see the fights that intrigue us, not bore us. I am tired of Wladimir always saying he is going to fight who is next in line, when in actuality he should be fighting guys like Arreola or Haye who stimulate a stagnant division.
These two names bring that excitement and get our imagination going again. That is what the heavyweight division is in need of, not only to become competitive with the other divisions, but to bring the sport a much needed boost. Sometimes as a fighter you need to to whats best for the sport and not what you think is best for your agenda. I feel that Wladimir did what was best for his agenda, not us the fans & we are who support the sport.
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