What Happened to the Heavyweight Division?
By Ian “The Boxing Historian” Murphy
Being the Heavyweight Champion of the World used to carry serious credibility. This was absolutely true when men like Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman held that coveted title. Nowadays, with the splintering of the championship into fractured pieces, the term “World Champion” has taken on a new meaning, and that is practically meaningless. With at least four potential “World Champions” at each of boxing’s seventeen weight classes (not to mention minor sanctioning bodies), it is no wonder that there is so much confusion and lack of interest. The Heavyweight division is only a little bit better, as at least Wladimir Klitschko has a legit claim and possesses most of the “trampionship” belts. Klitschko is the “recognized” Heavyweight Champion, as he has in his possession the WBO, IBF and WBA belts, with only the WBC title keeping him from being an undisputed titlist. Despite Klitschko’s success and dominance, the Heavyweight Division is in serious trouble once he retires.
The Heavyweight Division has a dearth of quality fighters below Klitschko and legit contender Alexander Povetkin (whom Klitschko already beat). Deontay Wilder has the WBC belt, but is not really a champion, as he has mostly beaten the equivalent of former high school football players masquerading as fighters. Anthony Joshua is a great athlete and looks like the goods, but is still unproven. Then there is British pretender (I meant contender!) Tyson Fury. A loud and lumbering mastodon who moves in slow motion, the lurching Fury is the type of fighter that would have giant killer Jack Dempsey licking his chops. Too slow to play basketball, the 6’9 Fury (has there ever been a more hilariously ironic name for a fighter?) is able to ply his trade effectively due to a complete absence of fighters that have enough skill to counteract his size advantage. Keeping all this in mind, any boxing fan worth their salt must be asking themselves: what the hell has happened to the Heavyweight Division, and why has the once coveted World Heavyweight Championship become the laughing stock of the pugilistic universe?
These are questions both rabid and casual boxing fans have been asking themselves ever since the retirement of our last truly great heavyweight, Lennox Lewis. The reality is that most of the top athletes that tip the scales over 200lbs are competing in other professional sports. This is more reflective of the American boxing scene than overseas, where there are less options for athletes to make big money. This is why the former Soviet Union has churned out many of boxing’s better big men in the past fifteen or so years. In eastern Europe, most heavyweight boxers are too big for soccer and if they are not proficient in hockey or basketball (none of which have anywhere near the payout of top soccer players), they gravitate towards boxing.
Here in the U.S, it used to be that if you were poor (it did not matter if you lived in rural Alabama or NYC), and you were an athlete who wanted to make a better life for yourself professionally and financially, you had to either play baseball or box. Top baseball players made at least 3x what their counterparts in other sports made, and the Heavyweight Champion made more in one or two fights than the rest made often in their entire careers. After 1990 or so, the popularity of pro Basketball and pro Football reached the same levels as boxing and baseball, (and soon surpassed them) and the money followed suit. In the U.S, no longer does Big Jim have to get his face punched in to make big, big money. He could play in the NFL or NBA and be rich without as much risk to his health.
For American athletes under 200 or so pounds, the options are far more limited, for with that smaller stature, they tend to be shorter as well. A 5’8 160lb athlete is not playing pro football or basketball, and has to be an exception to compete in the NHL or in Major League Baseball. Where is he left to go? Boxing. This is why the lower and middle divisions will carry the sport in the future as they have for the past fifteen years. The caliber of athlete is far superior south of 175lbs than above due to the other major sports poaching boxing’s potential great big men. The result? At least in the U.S, we are left with former college football and basketball players trying to become fighters. So in short, we have athletes, and not always fighters. This leaves the Heavyweight Division chock full at the moment (at best) with more overgrown Adrien “Boner’s (thanks, “Bad” Brad!) than Joe Frazier’s.
Despite the sad state of the Heavyweight Division, there may be hope in the future. Amateur boxing giant Cuba may soon allow many of its top boxers to compete professionally on a more consistent basis. This already happened when athletes from the former Soviet Union started to compete professionally years ago. Now, they are mainstays with great fighters like Sergey Kovalev, Artur Beterbiev, Gennady Golovkin and Vasil Lomachenko being amongst the best we have currently. If Cuba throws their hat in the ring, this could be the influx of new Heavyweights we so desperately need. Imagine boxing having skilled big men again? Like America in the first half of the 20th century, Cuba is a two sport country. Young Cuban men gravitate towards baseball and boxing. Cuba is a small nation, but with only two major sports competing for its top larger athletes, more good heavyweights will make their presence known. Combine that with actual skills that support their athletic base, we might actually see that next Great Heavyweight, and he might be Cuban!
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