The Myths of Heavyweight boxing

Myth #1 : Heavyweight division is weak and has no talent.

Fact: The only accurate way to measure the strength of the division is by counting the number of elite fighters in that respective division, at their peak. Ideally, you should have one ultra-dominant fighter and several guys that could give him a run for his money. That however leaves it to us to define what an elite fighter is.

Proposition: An elite fighter shall be a fighter with appropriate physical dimensions, physical gifts, amateur background and sound technique. As amateur boxing is by itself very similar to pro boxing, achievements such as olympic medals and world boxing championship titles shall heavily influence the labeling of the athlete as elite.

The Elite list:

#1. Wladimir Klitschko - Heavyweight Olympic gold champion, fought in a weight class above his natural weight, due to a doping fiasco with his older brother. Ideal physical dimensions (Weight, height, reach), great punching power, average chin, high hand speed and excellent footwork. Undisputed champ with all the belts except the wbc belt. Ring magazine champ, just past physical prime. Scheduled to fight #2, Pulev

#2. Kubrat Pulev - Excellent amateur background (2008 AM Euro champ). Near ideal physical dimensions, technically sound, good chin, knows how to fight tall, good hand speed and good footwork. Undefeated, dedicated, passed the Thompson test and gave the giants Ustinov and Dmitrienko first and second losses respectively. In physical prime. Scheduled to fight #1, Klitschko.

#3 Alex Povetkin. Olympic heavyweight gold champion, kickboxing world champion. at 6'2 he is on the shorter end of the ideal size spectrum. Very solid chin, very good hand speed, above average punching power, very good technique, average defence. Fought #1 while undefeated (UD LOSS), former wba paper champ, in physical prime.

#4 David Haye. Silver medal in WABC, his only loss to another elite fighter. Undisputed cruiserweight champion (debatable, several names that he should have fought were not fought). Good physical characteristics, 6'3 but very solid reach, very fast hands, possibly the best reflexes in the division, solid head movement, second best punch power in the division. Former wba paper champion, the only man in the last 10 years to give #1 a run for his money (despite fighting an ultra defensive, tight fight). 2 losses, one early in his career to a journeyman, second to #1. In his physical prime, although his body appears to be injury prone.

#5 Odlanier Solis. Olympic gold medalist, arguably one of the best and most technically sound fighters that ever competed in that weight class. Like Povetkin, his height is lacking but he compensates for it with a great reach, as well as supremely fast hands and solid punching power. While elite on paper, Solid has lost the most important fight of all : A fight with himself, and allowed to let himself go. Most commonly referred to as "the fatass", la sombra is best known for having his knee collapse under his enourmous fat body after a temple shot by Vitali Klitschko. Age wise at the peak of his physical prime, but his body could be confused with that of Oprah in boxing trunks.


The good/very good list


#6 Tyson Fury. Perfect physical dimensions, solid punch and seemingly limitless stamina (A rather rare trait among heavyweights), Fury is lacking in the chin department (he was however able to take his own uppercut without getting knocked out). Many would argue that Fury is not elite, but I believe that his sheer size, tenacity, ability and willingness to fight dirty, incredible reach and fearlessness make him a formidable foe. While the first 5 on my list were elite, this man can be labeled as very good. At the very peak of his physical prime.

#7 Mike Perez. Potentially mentally damaged by the horrific outcome of his fight against Abdusalamov (god help him recover), he is a highly skilled undefeated cuban, with one draw that many think could have gone either way. Considerably below ideal height, he has a solid reach, good punching power, good discipline and very fast hands. he is a technically skilled fighter, and is currently fighting #8 on my list. At the peak of his physical prime.

#8 Bryant Jennings. Turning pro at 24, with no amateur career worth mentioning (aside from doing extremely well at golden gloves with such limited experience), this man is a bit of a boxing prodigy, in a sense that he wasn't groomed to be a boxer, he just has a natural talent for it. Below the ideal height, he compensates with freakishly long reach, solid defense, good skills and average punching power. At his absolute peak physically, scheduled to fight #7.

#9 Carlos Takam. An incredibly physically gifted fighter (the guy is a tank), with a solid amateur background (multiple first place finishes on large scale AM events and representing his country in the olympics), very good chin and the kind of build that favors come forward style of boxing. He is of decent height and reach, lacks the killer instinct and was arguably lost against Perez. His lone loss comes early in his career and at this point, he looks to be in his absolute best shape. At his physical peak, no fight announced as of now


#9 Tony Thompson. The ageless grandpa, the bane of british glass, this man has proven time and time against that betting against him is a very bad idea. 4 losses are worth mentioning, with 2 of them against the #1, one against #2 and one against a very good up and comer, Tony is a solid B level fighter that filters out the trash, removing the last shreds of hope from the paper elites like Solis, and smashing the pseudo-dominators such as Price. Way past his physical prime, and as such rated so low, he is still a force to be reckoned with, and a true test to anyone that wishes to make a claim for boxing superiority.

#10 Bermaine Stivern. Below the ideal height, solid reach, very good punching power and timing. A big strong boxer with a very solid chin, underrated defence and good footwork. Biggest flaw: lackluster attitude towards preparation, cost him a fight against a well known journeyman, D. King. Undefeated since then, 2 solid with against Areolla, current WBC champ. At the absolute physical peak but most likely will waste it as he is with don king.

#11 Vyacheslav Glazkov: Solid fighter, the kind that has no one quality that really stands out, but where a combination of good qualities make him a formidable opponent. Bronze medalist in the olympics, silver in the world AM tournament, Glazkov has very good technique, good punching power, but below average physical characteristics that would be more fitted for a man a weight class below. Wins over Adamek, a hard fought draw with Malik Scott (a fight many thought Malik Won) and a masterful performance against a once a bright up and comer, Thor Hammer, the man is a solid B level fighter in his absolute physical prime. His amateur losses were to Solis and a walkout "loss" to Kubrat Pulev.

#12 BOOOOOMB SQUAAAAD. One of my favorite fighters, the bronze bomber, Wilder is a physical phenomenon, at 6'7 and a staggering 87 inches of reach, this man is a mountain of hard trained muscle and shiny chin glass. Devastating punching power and poor punch resistance make this giant an incredibly entertaining fighter to watch. His power of intimidation is unrivaled, and he is capable of knocking people out without touching them (Scott). Seems to be completely fearless, with remarkable hand speed and a very good promotional company, this man could either be the next Mike Tyson, or the next David Price. Scheduled to fight for the wbc crown held hostage by the octogenarian don king, this man is in his absolute physical prime.




Myth #2 : Real dangerous fighters are avoided while the scrubs get to fight for the belts.

Fact: there is some truth to that claim, when it comes to wba paper title. However, for the last 10 years, every proven challenger was given a shot.

Wladimir Klitschko, when he is not busy working out his chest and arms to improve his hugging techniques, has relentlessly faced every dangerous up and comer. His current reign of terror and boredom claims two of my elite list's finest as victims (Haye and Povetkin) and he is scheduled to fight the third, Pulev. The titles (all 128 of them that he has) are for the taking, all you need to do is beat someone of worth to be noticed.

 

Myth #3: Heavyweight division is at its weakest

Fact: A categorical statement like that is easy to disprove logically, all one needs is a counterexample.

As early as 10 years ago, the titles were in the greedy, bloody hands of don king. His marionettes were interchangingly holding titles, while carefully avoiding each other. I am talking about Chris Byrd, Lamon Brewster, John Ruiz and Hasim Rahman. Now almost all the titles are in the hands of W. Klitschko, that keeps fighting all the top up and comers, avoiding no one. One undisputed dominator >> 4 separate belt holders, even if one of them holds a questionable win over the current dominator.

Myth #4 : Heavyweight is bad because all top americans are playing bball/football. If those fine gentlemen were to switch to boxing, they would immediately destroy ALL, making Wlad Klitschko look like a rag doll in the mouth of a raging bull terrier.

Fact: Most top americans are avoiding pain and suffering that comes with brutal sports like heavyweight boxing. Even if we take the shameful dives of Lebron and pretend they never happened, we still have a fine example of a footballer that turned pro, Seth Mitchell. It took a grotesquely fat Areolla only 2.5 minutes to knock out the proposed savior of the division.

and last but not least

Myth #5: Heavyweight division will be rejuvenated when Klitschko retires.

Fact: Wbc belt has been left vacant by the older Klitschko just recently and we already have a ridiculous mess around the title. Areolla got an unfair crack at the title just for being mexican, and no other merits. We have god knows how many mandatories, that were selected in no particular order, a champion that is not fighting despite being in his physical prime, because his now impotent promoter is incapable of milking it, but from old memory is still trying (Like a 95 year old man with an 18 year old woman, he has no use for her but its nice to have her around), silver belts, purse bids that drag on for months on end... When Klitschko will retire, you will all miss him, and every hug you give to your male friends will bring a tear to your eyes.

 

:good

 

This post of mine was influenced by a long conversation with a jamaican boxer at my gym, that said that boxing hasn't been the same since Mike Tyson. I was shocked to find out he didn't even know who was the top fighter after Mike retired, and was hard pressed to remember who Lennox Lewis was :rofl

 

precisely. hence the sudden interest in soccer in united states, since team usa actually made it pretty far.

 

location location location

 

I watched every major fight since 2001, followed olympics, trained with pros and fought in the ring.

What are your credentials?

PS: Haye is elite, like it or not. His attitude may turn off the fans, but when he is in the ring, he is phenomenal