By Gerardo Granados: Wladimir Klitschko (WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO) and Vitali Klitschko (WBC) are the current heavyweight champions, they are the best and they might not have defeated any one worth to be candidate to the hall of fame.
Wladimir and Vitali have lost to average fighters by knockout and Vitali only big name on his record was a past his prime Lennox Lewis who defeated him. Wladimir still allows his older brother to keep the WBC belt, but if Vitali retired or simply was not fighting the low level of opposition that he has been facing, then Wladimir might have been forced to face who ever owned the WBC belt.
Vitali has not fought any real good fighter in the last seven years; are Odlanier Solis, Shannon Briggs, Albert Sosnowski, Kevin Johnson, Chris Arreola, Juan Carlos Gomez, Samuel Peter, Danny Williams, Corrie Sanders and Kirk Johnson great skilled fighters? If he had faced his younger brother years ago he would not hold the WBC belt but instead he will engage against former light heavyweight champion Tomasz Amadek. It is almost unthinkable that Wladimir will ever dare to take the belt off the hands of his older brother.
It is probable that the younger brother will keep on protecting Vitali by not fighting him and a fight between the Klitschko brothers might never take place, they may not be interested to face each other even if the money is right. It is very probable that Wladimir would easily defeat Vitali if he wanted to do so but brotherhood might be the main reason of why we will never know if the older brother would stand a chance against the younger one.
The heavyweight division has turned in to a regional interest championship, the same way as the straw weight division is. Can the reader name the WBC – WBA – IBF – WBO – IBO minimum weight champions? I believe you can not name even one unless by tradition your country has had champions in the lower weight divisions. Ricardo “Finito” Lopez is a hall of fame member but the casual Boxing fans might not know he is a former two division champion or how many title fight did he had (T26-W25(19)-L0-D1), or that he retired unbeaten with only on draw (that he avenged) having a total record of T52-W51(38)-L0-D1.
Once up on a time big heavyweights existed that were well known world wide by sports fans, the boxing fans knew who they were and even their names were mentioned by non sports press. That is on the past now because only in a certain region of the world the Klitschko brothers are well known and followed, but outside that region only a few follow them or care to pay to watch their fights, if a fight of Manny Pacquiao was to take place at the same time of one of Wladimir you can be certain that Pacman would have high ratings world wide and that the Wladimir fight would have been watched only in a region of the world. That by its own might not represent a problem but if the heavyweight champion fails to create world wide interest, then the division might not only be on decline but will be headed in to debacle faster than anyone can imagine.
The welterweight division is the most competed championship by the best skilled, brave and entertaining boxers. You can ask if Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Lloyd Honeyghan, Thomas Hearns, Pernell Withaker, Oscar De la Hoya, Sugar Shane Mosley, Felix Tito Trinidad, Zab Judah, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Miguel Angel Cotto or Manny Pacquiao were the best welterweight champions in the last thirty years and it is probable that more names would be mentioned.
But what if you ask the name of the best heavyweight champions of the last thirty years? Mike Tyson lasted only a few years but his fame has not faded since his glory days, so the rest named should be Larry Holmes, Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko; others who held a belt were WBC: Tim Witherspoon, Pinklon Thomas, Trevor Berbick, James Douglas, Oliver McCall, Frank Bruno, Hasim Rahman, Oleg Maskaev, Samuel Peter and Vitali Klitschko; WBA: Mike Weaver, Michael Dokes, Gerrie Coetzee, Greg Page, Tony Tubbs, Tim Witherspoon, James Smith, James Douglas, Michael Moorer, old George Foreman, Bruce Seldon, John Ruiz, Roy Jones Jr., Nikolay Valuev, Ruslan Chagaev and David Haye; IFB: Michael Spinks, Tony Tucker, James Douglas, Michael Moorer, old George Foreman, Hasim Rahman and Chris Byrd; WBO: Francesco Damiani, Ray Mercer, Michael Moorer, Tommy Morrison, Michael Bentt, Herbie Hide, Henry Ankinwande, Vitali Klitschko, Chris Byrd, Corrie Sanders, Lamon Brewster, Serguei Lyakhovich, Shannon Briggs and Sultan Ibragimov; IBO: Pinklon Thomas, Lionel Butler, Danell Nicholson, Jimmy Thunder, Tony LaRosa, Brian Nielsen and Hasim Rahman.
If the contenders don’t improve and enhance the interest in the division, then the attention of boxing fans will be so damaged that only a second coming of an Ali or Tyson would be able to re-surge interest of the world in the heavyweight division, as for now only a region of the planet takes real interest in the heavyweight division. Wladimir might be able to stay as the undisputed champion as long as he wants to but he is already 35 years old and that must be enough reason for promoters to start showing concern and scout talented new comers because once Wladimir decide to retire who would be interested to watch a championship fight in a division that for a long time has showed to have very few talented fighters?
Professional boxing is business and promoters must take actions to prevent the downfall of a weight division that by tradition was one of the most profitable, and they must start now before it is too late.
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