Boxing Beat

The welterweights rule—and why it doesn’t matter

 

 

By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor

veryone knows that boxing isn’t what
HE: used to be. Its popularity has fallen

off the map on the mainstream sports
market and it has, unfortunately, become
more known today for its controversies and
tragedies than for the art that it is.

When you look at the state of boxing
today though, the question has to be
asked, why? Why is boxing in such bad
shape publicly? After all, the welterweight
division right now is close to the best it’s
ever been—there is Showtime’s wildly
entertaining middleweight tournament and
people still have a taste for the big fights, as
was evidenced by the 1.25 million PPV buys
for the recent Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto
bout.

While the heavyweight quality could
be better, the lighter divisions have been
regularly producing some of the best fights
seen in years, and there is an incredible list
of talent right in the primes of their careers,
headed by the two best the two guys who are
basically 1 and 1A in terms of the world’s
best: Pacquiao and the undefeated Floyd
Mayweather. After them there is a very strong
supporting cast just a cut below in Cotto,
Juan Manuel Marquez and the veteran Shane
Mosley.

Regardless of what type of boxing
you like, right now there is something for
everyone in the welterweight division and

.
AW DPORTS,

European fighters who can barely speak
English and who rarely, if ever, fight in Las
Vegas, it becomes increasingly difficult to get
the average American boxing fan to charge 50
or 60 bucks on his credit card to watch those
guys fight.

Plus, the Eastern European fighting
style isn’t exactly geared towards the action-
oriented American sports fan either. There
isn’t a ton of speed in the heavyweight
division anymore and many have labelled
boxing as “boring” now with the population
of the clutch and grab style.

It’s safe to say that the heavyweights
of today don’t exactly measure up to those
of the previous generation, and at the very
least there isn’t even one transcendent
personality that has captured the attention
of the mainstream public, in the mould of
say, an Ali or a Tyson. Pacquiao has come
close, but he isn’t a heavyweight, and he isn’t
American, so he doesn’t garner the same type
of mainstream fame Stateside that those other
names have.

As most are probably already aware,
the diminishment of the prestige of
the championships has also been a big
contributing factor to the decay of boxing.
It’s been years since we’ve seen a true,
undisputed heavyweight world champion, and
the alphabet soup that is the titles today is a
major problem.

There was a time when being the
world heavyweight champion was widely

“It’s safe to say that the heavyweights of today don’t exactly measure
up to those of the previous generation, and at the very least there isn’t
even one transcendent personality that has captured the attention of the
mainstream public, in the mould of say, an Ali or a Tyson.”

those just below it. While Pacquiao-Cotto
was 12 rounds of fast and furious action with
seemingly unlimited speed and no shortage

of power punches, the previous bout between
Mayweather and Marquez was just as good,
although in a different way. Mayweather
showcased why he’s the best pound-for-pound
fighter on the planet by putting on a clinic
defensively and basically avoiding punches at
will no matter where he was in the ring.

So, if everything seems to be going
swimmingly with the welterweights, then
why doesn’t boxing enjoy the same popularity
and appeal it had in the late “80s and most of
the ‘90s?

The number one reason? The lack of
an iconic heavyweight division. Right or
wrong, the popularity of boxing, or at least
the popularity of boxing in North America,
tends to hinge on the heavyweights. When
the average guy thinks of boxing, they thing
of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Mike
Tyson and Evander Holyfield; not many think
of guys like Marvin Hagler or Ray Robinson.
So what links all of those above names
together? They’ re all easily identifiable, they
were all undisputed heavyweight champions
at some point in their careers and they are all
American.

It may not be politically correct to say
so, but most casual sports fans don’t care
all that much about Vitali and Wladimir
Klitschko, no matter how great or how
dominant they are. With the heavyweight
division primarily controlled by Eastern

considered to be one of the biggest
accomplishments in all of sports. Now, I get
asked from time to time who the heavyweight
champion of the world is and my answer is,
“Which one?” There are so many governing
bodies, all with their own “world champion”
in each weight class that it makes everything
so convoluted and confusing that even the
most passionate and dedicated of fans have a
tough time following what’s going on. When
you have Fighter A taking on Fighter B for
one of Fighter A’s three titles but not any of
Fighter B’s two championships, that’s only
natural.

That’s a big problem that is a long way
from being solved. Boxing has reached a state
now where the titles aren’t even a minor part
of the fight anymore. Whenever two of the
sport’s biggest names clash, it’s all about the
two of them; whichever championship they’ re
fighting over is barely even mentioned.

So, as bad as it sounds, until a
heavyweight comes along with the brash,
self-promoting personality that can make
casual sports fans care about him again, and
care about the world championships again,
boxing will continue to plod along at its
current state, and most fans will miss out on
classic fights like Pacquiao vs. Cotto.

It’s a shame that the public is always
focused on the negative sides of boxing, even
if boxing largely did the damage to itself.
There’s so much there to appreciate, but we’re
a long ways away from a second coming of
the glory days.

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