Is the HW division today as exciting as it ever has been since 1999

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by Oakland Billy Smith, May 20, 2019.



  1. Oakland Billy Smith

    Oakland Billy Smith Active Member banned Full Member

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  2. bandeedo

    bandeedo VIP Member Full Member

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    ffs, youre really campaigning for wilder hardcore. in 45 years of following boxing beyond casual level, this is the worst era in hw division i personally have seen. others may have seen worse.
     
  3. 22JM

    22JM Boxing Addict Full Member

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  4. Matt0029

    Matt0029 Member Full Member

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    . I kind of agree I think its worse than the klitschko era
     
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  5. N17

    N17 VIP Member Full Member

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    No, it's been poor for a while. The only difference recently is..

    When Klitschko was around (actually both Brothers) there wasn't any competition, there wasn't any debate, there wasnt a real argument to be made for another heavyweight.

    People made cases for fighters more in hope than real belief they could beat a Klitschko.

    So now we have 3 Heavyweights (maybe a couple of others too) that some fans could make a solid case for being the best, there's debate, there's arguments, there is genuine discussion.

    That's all, we just have more of a spread, its a thinner spread of the crap to be honest.

    You only have to go back to Lennox Lewis and he would have iced all three of AJ, Wilder and Fury on the same night.
     
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  6. Glassbrain

    Glassbrain Well-Known Member Full Member

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    This era has the potential to be great, there's 3 established top heavyweights and a bunch of talent chomping at their heels. The only question is if the fights can actually get made, if they can then we get more fights like Joshua vs Whyte, Joshua vs Klitschko & Wilder vs Fury.
     
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  7. bandeedo

    bandeedo VIP Member Full Member

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    i should clarify, i was speaking strictly talent level. you could argue the hw division has never been more popular, thats another debate. but the guys i see fighting for titles, are just horrible. even if i thought they were any good, i wouldnt be able to tell how good, cause they dont want to fight each other. i think aj is the best of the bunch, all the rest would get beat by any legitimate champion of the past. he also holds all the cards, cause hes good enough to still be around when the others get tied up in their mediocrity.
    but, if aj gets his ass beat by any one of these guys, then i dont know wtf im talkin about.
     
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  8. On The Money

    On The Money Dangerous Journeyman banned Full Member

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    Certainly more money floating about recently than was the case in the Klit era. They need to fight each other though, not the Breazeales and Schwartzs.
     
  9. PunchersChance.

    PunchersChance. Active Member banned Full Member

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  10. Rockradar

    Rockradar Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Yeah I'm excited about watching Wilder, Joshua, Fury, Ortiz, Parker, Povetkin, Pulev, Whyte and Usyk all fight each other.
     
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  11. George Crowcroft

    George Crowcroft Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Ye but they're not so it's a bit of a hollow dream init
     
  12. dinovelvet

    dinovelvet Antifanboi Full Member

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  13. CarlChilders

    CarlChilders Member banned Full Member

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    I agree. The era is so bad that people get excited over Tyson Fury landing 86 punches in 12 rounds against a old Wlad and landing 84 punches in 12 rounds against a no skill Wilder. If you landed 86 punches back in the 90s you were booed. Tyson landed around 190 against James "Bone Crusher" Smith and people booed. Fat Foreman landed 188 against a skilled undefeated Holyfield, He landed 225 against the power punching Tommy Morrison. Hell in Foreman's last fight against Briggs when Foreman was pushing 50 he landed 280 punches.

    The decline of the heavyweight division started in the early 2000's and has gotten worse. But hey the casual fans seem to think this era is better. We all know how knowledge the casual boxing fan is.
     
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  14. Rockradar

    Rockradar Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Well, were bound to see a few if not a lot of those names square of against each other some time soon. Some already have and they've been exciting to watch.
     
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  15. kirk

    kirk l l l Staff Member

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    For me, it has the most potential excitement for the division since Ive been a fan (only since 02)

    Theres never been three 'kings' of the division that each make for event of the year type matchups with eachother (well... I suppose when LL, Wlad and Vitali were all near the top, but Wlad and Vitali neutralized eachother a bit because you knew they would never fight eachother)

    Then you have Usyk planning and preparing his eventual assault on the division.

    AJ vs Fury
    AJ vs Wilder
    AJ vs Usyk
    Wilder vs Fury 2
    Wilder vs Usyk
    Usyk vs Fury

    For me personally there has never been as many big fights to make as now.

    But... as if to encapsulate modern boxings current culture of managing risk to an extreme degree down into a single division, the heavyweights almost personify that mentality and in doing so almost ruin what the division could be.