heavyweights today

[man]

i realise that for the first in a very long
time i am not nostalgic for some earlier
era. right now we have it all.

great times indeed.

[candyslim]

I think so too. It's arguable whether the top guys can compete for quality with some that have gone before, but it's extremely competitive with potentially fascinating matches everwhere you look.

The only problem being how reluctant today's contenders and pretenders are to fight each other compared to the glory days of the seventies.

[oogiebe]

Agreed. And hopefully the Ruiz upset of AJ will teach the top guys that "marinating" is just financially dangerous.

[tiny_acres]

Agreed. And hopefully the Ruiz upset of AJ will teach the top guys that "marinating" is just financially dangerous.

no joke
Screw marinating for years. Just get in the ring and fight. Damn they blew 100 million missing out on Wilder or Fury

[HomicideHenry]

I honestly don't think the division is bad as people are acting. The media just backed the wrong horse in their hero worship that's all. The division is actually improving imho.

Fury, Wilder, Ruiz, Whyte, Usyk, Hunter, Joshua, Parker, etc--- is certainly a better mix of guys than Valuev, Chagaev, Ibragimov, Liakovich, etc--- and let's not get TOO damn nostalgic for the 80s or 90s there was guys like Marvis Frazier, Scott Frank, Peter McNeeley, etc around in those days.

[KiwiRider]

The second wave of heavies is coming.
Pulev, Povitkin, Takem, Ortiz are just about done- making way for;
Hunter, Joyce, Kownacki, Uysk, Dubois etc
By this time next year we will have lots of interesting matchups as the new wave enter the top tier for their chance at glory.
The most interesting part is the wide range of styles these up and coming guys have.
Just take a look at the ages of the top 25 guys, we are about due for a bunch of retirements
http://boxrec.com/en/ratings?offset=0&s ... eavyweight
Heck, even Kevin kingpin Johnson might retire

[KiwiRider]

Agreed. And hopefully the Ruiz upset of AJ will teach the top guys that "marinating" is just financially dangerous.

Yeah, marinading is too risky for the HW division. One punch can change everything.

[dagilechia]

This era is not much better, if any, than the Klitschko's era- Wlad, Vitali, Haye, Valuev, Povetkin, Chagaev, Peter, Briggs, Rahman, Maskaev, Liakhovich, Ibragimov, Byrd, Brewster, Sanders... very comparable to what we have now

the coming of Hrgović and Usyk + other prospects from amateurs will maybe make it significantly better though.

[oogiebe]

This era is not much better, if any, than the Klitschko's era- Wlad, Vitali, Haye, Valuev, Povetkin, Chagaev, Peter, Briggs, Rahman, Maskaev, Liakhovich, Ibragimov, Byrd, Brewster, Sanders... very comparable to what we have now

the coming of Hrgović and Usyk + other prospects from amateurs will maybe make it significantly better though.

I like today's scene. Very competitive. Not just some giant robot beating underwhelming competition fight after fight. Not superstar studded, but real exciting. Hrgovic and Usyk (yeah yeah) will only make it better.

[jamamb]

the weekends result added a very interesting rematch

[oogiebe]

the weekends result added a very interesting rematch

It did. For me it brought AJ back a step or two into the top tier "pack" and added Ruiz into the mix at the top as well. Four very different HW's in style; attributes; etc.

[Tony1244]

These guys may not be as talented as Ali, Lewis, or Holmes or as talented as Louis or Marciano P4P.

But what they are is entertaining and competitive, and ain't nothing wrong with that.

[oogiebe]

These guys may not be as talented as Ali, Lewis, or Holmes or as talented as Louis or Marciano P4P.

But what they are is entertaining and competitive, and ain't nothing wrong with that.

Amen brother!

[DrDuke]

Agreed. And hopefully the Ruiz upset of AJ will teach the top guys that "marinating" is just financially dangerous.

That's the first thing I though after Andy had nailed AJ.

[KiwiRider]

I was only joking about Kevin Johnson retiring

[JohnMcMinn]

I've been excited about the potential of the division for a couple of years now. Hopefully after Saturday that potential will start to be realized. There are some top talents out there, some talents who just need their big break (like Ruiz before Saturday), and some exciting prospects. If promoters get past this fight marination nonsense and obsession with undefeated records we could have some really great fights in the near future.

[SenorPipino]

I've been excited about the potential of the division for a couple of years now. Hopefully after Saturday that potential will start to be realized. There are some top talents out there, some talents who just need their big break (like Ruiz before Saturday), and some exciting prospects. If promoters get past this fight marination nonsense and obsession with undefeated records we could have some really great fights in the near future.

I think fans are also obsessed with undefeated records.

And if the fans are unaccepting of a blemish or 2 on a fighter's record, then it's understandable that promoters are going to huge lengths to minimize risks.

[JohnMcMinn]

I think fans are also obsessed with undefeated records.

And if the fans are unaccepting of a blemish or 2 on a fighter's record, then it's understandable that promoters are going to huge lengths to minimize risks.

That's a good point. If there's more money to be made because fans prefer undefeated fighters then promoters will follow the trend.

[SportsRatings]

I think the HW scene today is great and getting greater.

The top ten is SOLID, the most solid it has been in a long time. And then there are a lot of up-and-coming fighters like Hrgovic, Ajagba, Yoka, Joyce, Dubois, Demirezen, and they're moving along faster.

We almost had an all-time classic "tournament" of the top four fighters, but the Fury-Wilder draw and now the Ruiz upset scrapped that, but, it really just made things more interesting that there's no clear guy at the top. Especially that there's not TWO clear guys at the top who refuse to entertain the possibility of fighting each other, like we had in the Klitschko days.

In about 15 years fans will look back and say "the HW scene today sucks, remember the late 2010s/early 2020s when we had Fury, Joshua, Wilder, Ruiz, Whyte, Ortiz, plus a half-dozen young dudes all trying to be The Man?"

[oogiebe]

I think the HW scene today is great and getting greater.

The top ten is SOLID, the most solid it has been in a long time. And then there are a lot of up-and-coming fighters like Hrgovic, Ajagba, Yoka, Joyce, Dubois, Demirezen, and they're moving along faster.

We almost had an all-time classic "tournament" of the top four fighters, but the Fury-Wilder draw and now the Ruiz upset scrapped that, but, it really just made things more interesting that there's no clear guy at the top. Especially that there's not TWO clear guys at the top who refuse to entertain the possibility of fighting each other, like we had in the Klitschko days.

In about 15 years fans will look back and say "the HW scene today sucks, remember the late 2010s/early 2020s when we had Fury, Joshua, Wilder, Ruiz, Whyte, Ortiz, plus a half-dozen young dudes all trying to be The Man?"

Wouldn't surprise me in the least.

[JohnMcMinn]

Especially that there's not TWO clear guys at the top who refuse to entertain the possibility of fighting each other, like we had in the Klitschko days.

Definitely. I'm glad that there seems to be several potential "flip a coin" fights out there, not just one or two guys dominating everybody.

[Tony1244]

I think the HW scene today is great and getting greater.

The top ten is SOLID, the most solid it has been in a long time. And then there are a lot of up-and-coming fighters like Hrgovic, Ajagba, Yoka, Joyce, Dubois, Demirezen, and they're moving along faster.

We almost had an all-time classic "tournament" of the top four fighters, but the Fury-Wilder draw and now the Ruiz upset scrapped that, but, it really just made things more interesting that there's no clear guy at the top. Especially that there's not TWO clear guys at the top who refuse to entertain the possibility of fighting each other, like we had in the Klitschko days.

In about 15 years fans will look back and say "the HW scene today sucks, remember the late 2010s/early 2020s when we had Fury, Joshua, Wilder, Ruiz, Whyte, Ortiz, plus a half-dozen young dudes all trying to be The Man?"

You sound like a man who understands patterns. The 1970s were a HW heyday but at the time, the old-timers thought the present day guys were jokes.

[oogiebe]

[/b]

You sound like a man who understands patterns. The 1970s were a HW heyday but at the time, the old-timers thought the present day guys were jokes.

Correct. My dad and all his friends dogged Ali/Frazier/Norton/Foreman as they compared them to Louis; Marciano; etc. Great point.

[candyslim]

Time was Cassius Clay was written off as a big mouth joke with little talent

[Gnome]

I can only agree with the other posters - the heavyweight scene is great at the moment. I think a lot of people cack on it because of snobbery.