By Ivan Ivanov: All weight classes are equal in their importance for boxing and the heavyweight division is the most equal of all. Right now the hierarchy is clear and the Klitshkos are cemented at the top, but Vitali is semi-retired and Wlad is 37, so we are looking for the next big thing. The harder we look, the less optimistic we get. If there is a new big talent out there, he is a well kept secret. There is a vacuum in the division for competitive contenders and a good heavyweight could make a lot of money. Back in the old days when there was only one champion there was a crowd of evenly matched top boxers who had to wait for years to get their chance. Today there are enough titles to go around but there are not enough worthy champions to go around for the titles.
One of the reasons for this could be that boxing is losing talent to other sports. Boxing is a hard way to make a living and only a handful of boxers are earning decently. All the rest have put their health on the line waiting for financial independence and it’s a big gamble. Team sports like basketball, baseball, football and soccer are more rewarding to a larger number of people and they start paying handsomely right away if you are any good. You don’t even have to be a champ to get paid, second and third place get medals too and that means big bucks in the corporate world. Every other team gets paid as well. It’s no secret boxing is a poor man’s sport and the standard of living has improved dramatically all over the world. It’s not easy to convince young people to go everyday to a gym where they are likely to be confined into a fenced enclosure (the ring) and get hit. Because everyone gets hit in boxing and sometimes the best get hit more since they fight better opposition. Kids who have no idea what’s it like to go hungry and fight for a nickel are not likely to choose sweat, blood and pain as a way to get by.
The politics in the paid ranks present another hurdle to young talent. The best do not fight the best because there is no way to make promoters/boxers take certain a fight. Everybody wants big money fights. If a boxers comes from a small country and has little fan following, no one cares how good he is. He is being avoided not so much for his skills but because”he doesn’t draw a dime”. This is the new “iron curtain” in boxing, it shuns such boxers from good pay days and they can not develop. They can’t even train right if they have no money for good coaches and sparring partners.
There are decent reserves of talent in the amateur ranks. It may be hard to understand what makes amateurs tick and why they box at all, but there are good reasons. This could be the subject of another article, because amateur and pro are in it together and people who discriminate amateur boxers should know better.
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