When, in your opinion, did the Heavyweight title lose it's glory?

I feel it loses its lustre whenever the division is visibly weak and has a bunch of guys flapping around that are clearly worse than the previous generation.

We are in a glacial period in boxing right now. Last era's old dinosaurs like Povetkin, Pulev, Chisora and Charr are still somehow at the top level.

The widely acknowledged big 3 - AJ, Wilder and Fury - all have their own problems.

Fury fluctuates in weight like a yoyo and looked as weak as semolina pudding against Wallin. Wilder's boxing skills are widely ridiculed and he frequently has spectacular come-from-behind KO's because that's just about the only way he can win. AJ was looking promising even though he's more about size and power than breathtaking skills. Promising, that is, until an obese Mexican rolled off the couch and beat his head in.

There's some considerable young talent waiting in the wings (Usyk, Dubois, Hrgovic) and in this I include AJ's conqueror, Andy Ruiz. My hope is that in two years time, this time, there will be a new standard set.

 

1976.

Letting Ali win decisions in anything remotely close. Not forcing rematches with those close calls----Norton/Young/Shavers. But we the fans did get the Inoki match. Anyone remember the Lyle Alzado match? Afterwards it became a sport dominated by the 2 big promoters King and Arum. Look at all the garbage that happened since. And those guys had the power to never let the newly formed organizations like the IBF and the WBO become viable. But they sure didn't, did they?

 

That's a good post. Ali was a only a couple more favourable decisions away from being the Canelo of his day.

 

It's been diminished in levels. All good answers so far. Split titles played a large role, 15 round fights going away.
The biggest blow in my opinion was Bowe throwing away his title belt rather than face his rival (Lennox Lewis) true boxing had already lost some of its luster in general by 1992 but that was a golden opportunity to get prestige back.
That would have been a legendary match. Bowe/Lewis were evenly match in every way. England vs USA both undefeated, same size, both in their prime etc. They could both really fight.
That was it.

 

It's a shame because yes it hurt boxing. It hurt Muhammad Ali even more. Ali made a lot of money for the game, he was the face of the game. By this time he was universally loved after defeating Foreman and Frazier in Manila. His skills were eroded by this time. They were just grasping for The echoes. Have they let him just lose the title organically the way it was supposed to happen he may not have gotten quite as sick. He kept fighting because he was champion and he thought he could still hang on to it.
The boxing establishment did it for selfish reasons. Money always money

 

Well, you can definitely say it lost its glory during the post Lewis era. Wlad defending his titles on Eurosport is proof of that. It was a dark time for HW boxing.

Thankfully the glory has been restored now and the division is as popular as ever. Joshua vs Ruiz II is going to be massive and will one of the biggest fights of the last 40 years according to Eddie Hearn.

During the K-era it was all the small guys selling PPVs. Now its the big boys as it should be. Even second tier guys like Whtye and Parker are fronting big PPV shows.

 

When they gave credence to all those other belts. Someone mentioned Bowe throwing the belts out and that seems accurate to me

 

So one Heavyweight (Joshua) is gassed in 7 rds. One slaps when he punches when he gets excited ( Thus he exposes his true skill level) and looks more amateurish than Tyrell Biggs, Tefilo Steven's did during their AMATEUR career. Wilder) Fury is a big, slow fisted, slow footed, rudimentary skilled giant who's only saving grace is the fighters today have no real clue how to defeat his awkwardness. Are these the great athletes your going on about? Because none of them, not one would've been ranked in the top 10 in the 70's

 

Because here is your list of vaunted TOP TEN heavyweights from the 1970's...

Jose Ibar Urtain
Jose Luis Garcia
Mac Foster
100 year old Henry Cooper
Oscar Bonavena
140 year old Floyd Pattterson
Jack Bodell
Joe Bugner
Jose Roman
Chuck Wepner
Henry Clark
Larry Middleton
Randy Neumann
Duane BObick
Stan Ward
Howard Smith
Johnny Boudreaux
Kallie Knoetze
Alfredo Evangelista
CHAMP Leon Spinks
Ossie Ocasio
Domingo D'Elia
Lorenzo Zanon
Leroy Jones

 

And as I said before, none of the top 3 -4 heavyweights in the world today would've been ranked in the top 10 in the 70's. A pretty sad commentary on the level of skill shown in boxing rings today.... Obviously your more impressed with body builder physics than actually fighting skills. But as was just shown a basically skilled but fat fighter completely schooled a body beautiful media hype. Who basically quit when the water got hot. Skill level usually trumps muscles with fighters over 200 lbs. Its unfortunate some you don't get that.

 

Please regale me with the stories of the skills of

Jose Ibar Urtain
Jose Luis Garcia
Mac Foster
100 year old Henry Cooper
Oscar Bonavena
Jack Bodell
Joe Bugner
Jose Roman
Chuck Wepner
Henry Clark
Larry Middleton
Randy Neumann
Stan Ward
Howard Smith
Johnny Boudreaux
Kallie Knoetze
Alfredo Evangelista
CHAMP Leon Spinks
Ossie Ocasio
Domingo D'Elia


I'm all ears.

 

No. We have allot of contender who should not be contenders. Lots of contenders who really do not know how to fight. With the 12 round max distance no great need to show up in world class condition. A complete mess.

 

Yet you folks will wax nostalgic about an era when Don C0ckell was was a #2 heavy. That guy wouldn't break the top 50 today.

And about the 70"s you had 4 or so good fighters, some amateur swingers and a bunch of god awful filler. As much as I love Frazier he peaked 13 months into the decade and went steeply down hill. He was merely a name for the duration of his career.

 

1976 had nothing to do with it.

Close decision wins by a reining hwt champion did not begin in 1976.

Hwt champions having exhibitions did not begin in 1976.

The destruction of hwt boxing began after Ali retired with the multiple splintering of titles.

When you have more of any one thing that thing becomes worth less...cheaper. Many champions since this period should never have been champion. Along with the multiple hwt titles came many multiple contenders. Many contenders since this period should never have been termed a contender.

All this leads to a heavily watered down talent pool.

Add to this the elimination of the championship distance so this same watered down talent pool does not need to be in that great of condition to fight for the very watered down championships.

A complete mess which over time has even watered down the fan base. The fan base no longer understands what great boxing, the skill set that constitutes great boxing skill, is all about.

 

Ditto Morlocks!! That why I continue to visit ESB classic when I can and own over 30 hours of classic boxing from circa: 1920-1980.