The Heavyweight Champion Of The World

Don't forget "no 15 round title fight limit"....a fact that angers and rankles me as much today as it did when "the powers that be" first decided to *******ize title fights making them 12 rounds.

 

When you have 4 champions in the division,,,,you have none

 

We are living the era of the greatest specimens modern sporting has ever seen. Wlad brought home $24 million for a single fight. Wlad performed for the 18th, 17th and 8th largest paying audiences in this history of the sport and these were no Aztec Stadium free ticket stuffings or Poo Grounds busting the gates. This is truly the best of all eras.

 

When you have the Color Line Champion or the Mob Controlled champion, you have none.

 

There's several reasons a big one of course the fragmentation of the title, having sometimes as many as 3 or 4 belt holders doesn't help.
However to me the main reason for people's interest and the general popularity of the heavyweight champion depends on the champion and what type of fighter he is.
The fighters the OP mentioned Dempsey, Louis, Marciano and Ali all had one thing in common as fighters, they were spectacular and charismatic.
Even back then was the heavyweight champion as well received and popular when he became Tunney, Sharkey, Schmeling, Carnera, Braddock, Walcott, Charles,Patterson or Johansson?
It's no coincidence that for a short spell in the eighties there was huge interest when Tyson was blazing a trail to the title and wiping out contenders, and 30 years later everyone still knows him.

 

The late 80 s I loved. Tyson made the division red hot again. People with no interest in boxing were commenting on his life, it brought the heavy weight title back in to the public eye no doubt s.

 

Do you even have to ask! 4-5 'champions', a top 10 'contenders' list among the four or five bodies that has only 5-6 repeats???? In other words, we have 40-50 'top 10 contenders' in each division?? MONEY! I don't even watch boxing anymore. I've said this before; when dad (who had me into sports by age 5) and I went to the barbershop there was always a Ring Magazine on the table to look at before our turn. At that time we ALL knew who the top ten CONTENDERS were in every division. Of course you now have a new division every 3-5 frigging pounds...MONEY! Let me count that up for a moment....110 'world champions' and based on my previous contender breakdown, we now have, roughly, 300-400 'top ten contenders'??? My math may be wrong but you get my point. Sadly I've all but written off boxing today and it breaks my heart.

 

Boxing is being run as a business. Back in the 1980's someone realized having multiple champions would bring in huge revenues. It's been all downhill since.