Isn't at all the lack of competition against the two champions, but the stuck in the middle heavyweights like Arreola,Solis,Haye,Chagaev,Povetkin,Helenius etc aren't making big fights with eachother. In the 70s we had non-champions making stellar fights (IE. Ron Lyle, Ken Norton, Earnie Shavers) Todays heavyweights think they're gonna have it handed on a plate, little do they know they're being handed the ass whipping and awakening of a lifetime going into the Klitschko fights without twelve round experience. Povetkin vs. Chagaev and Helenius vs. Liakhovich is a good step up for all men, even if Liakhovich is shop worn at this point. Probably the best thing that happened to Arreola was losing to Adamek, I'm guessing he learned more from that than ANY of his wins, Adamek is just a seasoned championship fighter, don't be surprised when he lasts against Vitali due to experience.
He will last vs Vitali. He will adapt to the fight and survive a good fight because of his experience and iq. What we need is top 10 fighters fighting each other without the easy payday fights. These figthers that are already proven are just trying to keep their records pretty instead of fighting for glory and the fans. I kind of think that has something to do with the safety of the fighters they try to maintain nowadays...
And they're diminishing. Wouldn't surprise me if Povetkin found a way to lose against Chagaev, whereas had he been taking on the real tests he'd beat the most heavies around.
I think the problem is that there isnt any gate keepers or real journeymen.. There is two champions (who wont fight eachother for obvious reasons), a bunch of contenders/prospects (who wont fight eachother, because they want a fight against one of the two cash cows) who are fed with cans.. Ofcourse it is a bit rough said, there is some fights between some decent fighters here and there.. But generally it is like i mentioned above..
These boxers aren't marketed right. There's a general lack of interest in non-title fights. One solution is to create regional titles that are credible. There ought to be one recognized American or North American title that is better than the rest. Then you have these 2nd-tier American heavyweights fight for that title and the publicity that goes with it. For example this upcoming IBF eliminator (Thompson/Chambers) shouldn't just be an eliminator, there should also be a regional title on the line. In Europe, the regional titles aren't credible either. The most widely recognized European heavyweight title has had the following previous owners....Sosnowski, Fraudley, and now Dimitrenko. For his upcoming defense, Dimitrenko is fighting (snicker) Michael Sprott. I think there is some other Euro title, but it is also passed around among Sauerland, Universum, and Frank ******, and isn't to be taken seriously either. Heavys need credible regional sanctioning bodies that put on worthy fights that groom challengers for title shots.
Boytsov-Chambers Arreola-Povetkin Haye-Adamek Helenius-Fury Switch them however you like, Awesome matchups and eqaul or better than any other division.
i agree with u here: Haye just got a shot at Klits after beating old guys-didnt face any decent HW before it. same with solis beating austin they need to face each other
been saying this for years my man...people always say what all time greats have the brothers beat..how can they beat atg if the other top contenders dont fight each other??ali.tyson.lewis.holyfield all had defining fights against guys who beat the same people they did..it dosnt happen today and is killing the hw division and giving silly wankers ammo saying the klits havnt beat any decent...its pretty silly really
Love this thread. Couldn't agree more. I've stopped getting excited about the K brothers' fights, not because I dislike them, but because their fights are rarely competitive. But there are some fantastic matches to be made between the rest of the top 15. David Haye should get some fights going. Might help his legacy. He should fight Arreola. I would love to see Kevin Johnson fight anyone besides the K brothers. Adamek would probably have competitive fights with most of the division. Chambers too. But its like you said. Everyone is treated as a prospect. They don't fight guys that are ranked close to them. Its fight the K brothers or fight journeymen. This is what is killing the division, not the Wlad or Vitali.
Not to start a **** storm, but its really another myth that the 70's heavyweights were fighting each other out the ass. Most top ten fighters of the 70's Fought few other contenders outside of the top three or four. Quarry never fought Foreman, Bugner, Young, Bonavena, ect. Foreman never fought Bugner, Bonavena, Shavers, Eills, Foster, Patterson, ect, ect. Ever heard of Eddie Chambers? He's fought 6 other top ten fighters in 6 years and will be fighting another top ten guy (Tony Thompson) soon. And thats as good as any non-champion of the 70s.