Heavyweight division is finally picking up

Some say the last 10 years have been pretty boring. They are not wrong - Wlad is a dominant atg that manages to put both his opponents and his viewers to sleep. His much more exciting brother has quit and left Dr Snooze hammer to rule the heavyweight kingdom. There hasn't been any excitement because we knew, long before each match, that the fighters climbing in the ring against Wlad had NO CHANCE. Until now.

We have the following 5 fighters that are exciting as hell:

#1: Povetkin. Hiring a trainer that could actually talk to Sasha and be understood did wonders for this olympic gold medalist/former wba champion. He fought 3 top guys back to back, knocked all 3 out in a spectacular fashion, and does not seem at all phased by the prospect of facing the power hugger again. Right now he is the true #2 in the division and an exciting fighter to watch against anyone.

#2 Wilder. Carefully picking among the weak and the frail, the bronze bomber racked up an excellent record, rivaling that of the finest can openers in the industry. He aced his first big test, in a one sided beatdown of a bewildered Stiverne that seemed determined to make weight rather than train. His anger when he found out that heavyweight division has no weight limit was so intense that he burned out prior to the fight and was unable to show any kind of resistance to the leader of the #bumsquad. Two days ago, Wilder knocked out a highschool teacher, further reinforcing his position as a role model as he reminded the kids to "stay in school". All in all, this enormous, hard punching heavyweight is fun as hell to watch and always brings fireworks to every fight. A solid #3, he can potentially beat any man in the division, which makes this ever so exciting.

#3 Tyson Fury. The only man in existence to out-talk David Haye, this gigantic gypsy is the self proclaimed heavyweight jesus. He has no hangups about his boxing ability and is ever so ready to turn a boxing match into an ugly brawl, in which his heritage offers an enormous advantage. Carefully avoiding any and all big men in the division, Fury secured a mandatory against Wlad is promises it will be a night to remember. I for one believe him and can't wait to see what he can do against someone his own size.

#4 Bryant Jennings. He did the impossible. No, I am not talking about going the distance with Wlad, that was done before. I am not talking about him being able to take Wlad's bombs and shake them off, although that was hugely impressive. What was truly remarkable, is that Bryant managed to convince the ref that bear hugs, while bringing people closer, are not a legitimate substitute for inside fighting, at least not all the time. After that, the fight became somewhat competitive and while losing clearly 8-4, Jennings showed promise and great talent. I can't wait to see the next fight of the Ref-Whisperer.

#5 Anthony Joshua. The man with 2 first names, unphased by the blatant corruption of the judges that allowed him to secure gold during the olympics, moved on to the heavyweight division and has been great. His contribution to boxing is invaluable, as he got us rid of the kingpin, a boxer so awful he made John Ruiz look entertaining. He shows great promise, solid technique and is the perfect size for a heavyweight. He has a powerful promoter that does not protect his fighters (although often buys them questionable decisions/stoppages), so we can expect to see him face top opposition soon.

This is the golden era, ladies and gentlemen. Heavyweight is BACK! :bbb:happy

 

C'mon, when was the last time we were excited about heavyweight fights? This is the first I can remember since the Klitschko-Haye stinker. Ti's a good sign my brethren!

 

This forum may have had these posts in the past, but they were never started by someone that understands boxing as well as I do. Look up my post history on the likes of Helenius, Haye, early version of Povetkin, etc, and you will see that I consistently predicted their demolition.

There is a great difference between then and now.

a. Wlad is pushing 40. He looked vulnerable in his last fight, for the first time in a decade

b. the new lineup of fighters ALL pack a punch. Back then all we had was Haye, and he was way too short to reach Wlad. Here we have guys over 6'6 that can punch with the best of them, and that is exciting.

c. Managers and promoters are smelling blood, due to point a. They are much more willing to throw their fighters in the mix to get to Wlad, as opposed to preserve them. Boytsov, Helenius and Price have shown the promoters that keeping their fighters on a steady tomato diet does not do the body good, and they are taking risks.

Povetkin fought Perez, Takam and Char back to back! When was the last time top guys fought each other like that? This is a great sign :happy:happy

 

Once again, I didn't start those posts about the 5 you mentioned. I had no faith in Povetkin when he was trained by the alcoholic with anger management issues and a napoleon complex. I saw no chance of Chambers bringing excitement because despite fighting and beating top guys, he was too small and too feather fisted. Mitchell I called right off the bat as a stranger to the division that would get exposed, was sceptical about Haye and downright dismissed Helenius after his performance against Chisora.

So, no its not the same. These new guys are all big, all punch hard, and all show promise no one has shown in the past 10 years. Joshua is getting so big Haye is lying about coming out of the retirement again. That alone tells you the division is picking up!