It's b/c they've done away w/ legitimate #1 contenders. This is an effin farce now. Holyfield, McCall, and Rahman are on their way to becoming #1 contenders and they haven't even beaten anyone in the top10, let alone the current #1 contenders in the respective organizations of the belts they're going after. This is why belts keep switching hands. Boxers get to hide the fact that they aren't top tier HWs by padding their resumes w/ wins vs. weak competition. AND THEN they get title shots against guys that did the exact same thing. So what you get is B-level fighters stripping B-level fighters of belts every other title defense. Do you think that it's a coincidence that Wlad is still champion, having clearly dispatched all his opponents in title defenses, when he's the ONLY CURRENT HW that actually had to beat ANOTHER top tier HW to earn his title shot? He proved his skill vs. a legitimate contender, while the majority of the other HWs are "proving" themselves against B & C-level fighters, which in the end, shows us nothing about how good they actually are. Contenders should fight other contenders. Simple as that. I have nothing against any fighter wanting a title shot or getting one. But if you really think you DESERVE it, then beat the #1 contender that's already standing there, waiting his turn. What sense does it make for a HW to beat a guy rank #15 and then to be bumped to the #1 spot? All that means is that he's, at worst, the 14th best HW. I'd even accept a boxer beating a Top 5 guy in the sanctioning body's own, perverted ranking system, but to grant #1 contender status to someone for beating someone that's not even Top 10 is ridiculously stupid. I could go on and explain how this would benefit everyone by getting rid of the underqualified hype jobs, but I've said enough. I hope McCall, Holyfield, and Rahman all lose horrendously lopsided fights and retreat quietly into the night.
It isn't that bad, people are just looking to the American fighters all the time though. As you said, living in the past.
It's underrated b/c the supposed "top guys" are only called the "top guys" b/c they keep getting title shots by beating crap opponents, not b/c of skill. The real top guys are stuck getting bumped down the rankings by these #1 pretenders and never get a chance to prove themselves against the best. This would be like if the WW division kept giving title shots to Sharmba Mitchell & Arturo Gatti while Miguel Cotto & Paul Williams getting getting bumped back. In this case, Gatti & Mitchell would be seen as the "best" in the WW division, and since they're actually B-class fighters, people would start to believe that the entire division was made up of B & C-class fighters. By not having contenders face off, we never find out who's really the top tier of the division. Other than Wlad, who's a definite, no-doubt-about-it, A-class HW? We can't answer that b/c we don't see them fight quality opposition that can give us an accurate gauge of their abilities. And as a result, the HW''s appear to be a division of journeymen & B-class fighters, when a couple of these guys could probably rise up to A-class status by fighting each other.
Very good point . . . but the problem really is it's just goddam boring. The Hypes outweights the actual performances of these fighters in the ring. That's why it sucks and fans continuosly lose interest. :yep
Because there champion fights bums and hype jobs and then ducks hard fights. Wlad is a disgrace to the sport and now that he has ducked Povetkin makes him look like the coward he is.
I'd say the only standout eras that beat this current division are Ali's & then Lewis' in that order. Even my all time favorite HW fighter Louis fought in a very weak period overall. Same with Marciano, Holmes, Dempsey, Tyson, etc, etc.
