By Gav Duthie: Its arguably taken 20 years but the heavyweight division, the fulcrum of boxing, is something to get excited about again. It has been two decades since the all American showdown between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson (Nov 1996) which put Evander at the sports summit.
Heavyweights have always been the torch bearers of boxing and with todays popularity of UFC the resurgence of heavyweights can help boxing immensely. Since the Tyson era the division has been dominated by three people, Lennox Lewis and the Klitschko brothers, Vitaly and Wladimir which has lead to disenchantment with the heavy hitters.
Unlike many I’m a fan of all 3 but in any sport if one person/team dominates for too long it becomes stale. Fans need the unexpected, 50/50 fights, knockout artists, slugfests and rivalries and I think we are at the start of something great. The talent may not be the same as the 90s but the similarities are there.