Shut up writers! Today is the heavyweight golden age! by John Carter Jan 26th 2008

Look, don't blame me for the following article, writes Editor Ian McNeilly.  BBN tries to be equitable and democratic.  Different opinions are what makes debate interesting.  I don't agree with everything John Carter says.  If you want to respond, use the comment facility at the bottom... Ladies and gentlemen, in this year of 2008, a very strange and perplexing situation has unfolded! Something inexplicable which demands an explanation! Confused? Let me spell it out. Across the world, within the past 20 years or so, in every sport and athletic endeavour known to man, world records have been continually broken. From athletics to gymnastics, sailing to skiing, mountaineering to swimming - human feats of strength, skill, endurance and speed are at an all time high. Every men's track and field world record (with the exception of the 30,000m (1981) and the 4x1500m relay (1977), has been smashed since 1990, (with most of the records being set this decade).  ALL men's swimming world records have been broken this decade. All world weightlifting records have been smashed since 1995. Men are stronger, faster, fitter and possessed of more athletic prowess, endurance, skill and technique than ever before in the history of the human race. The records speak for themselves. If you don't believe me, look it up! But wait……! According to the majority of the writers, commentators and armchair experts, there's one exception to all these proven and undeniable facts and figures! Yes! Incredibly, rather than following suit with all the achievements and superior athleticism associated with every single sporting event known to man, HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING IS GOING BACKWARDS! Now, if that ain't a strange and perplexing situation then I don't know what is! The division is weak! The champions are mediocre! Things ain't what they used to be! On and on it goes, ad infinitum. Am I really the only person on this planet who is SICK AND TIRED of hearing it? There is an old saying – ‘everyone is entitled to an opinion'. Ok, well, I do a lot of reading up on astronomy (no, really) - it's something I'm quite interested in. However, how much do you think my opinion on it is worth compared to a man who has spent his entire life devoted to the study of the complexities of time and space and the mysteries of the universe? Do you think my library-book educated theories on the realities of quantum physics are valid? Should I give my opinions about it in the letters page of the ‘New Scientist'? And if so, should I expect my opinions to be taken seriously? Let me put it another way – 99% of all boxing writers, commentators and armchair experts have never put on a pair of boxing gloves or fought in a boxing ring in their lives. I, however, have been actively boxing since 1976, firstly as an amateur, then later as bare knuckle, unlicensed and sparring partner for pros, which I pursue to this day. (Never turned pro myself though. Sex, drugs and rock & roll waylaid me!) I also own a boxing library of hundreds of hours of fights on video. Therefore, I consider MY opinion on boxing and boxers to be just as considered, valid and educated as the next man. And, considering my passionate interest in boxing, as a spectator, and involvement in, as a participant, I believe my credentials/opinions to be vastly MORE worthy than the majority of said writers, commentators and armchair experts who are out there in the public domain busy denouncing the sport I love. This is a site devoted to British boxing and the editor has been kind enough to let me write this article. Therefore I can't really get into the world scene as much as I would like, and make the comparisons I wish to make, but the yardstick applying to heavyweight fighters today, and in particular, the Soviet fighters, applies to the top British heavyweights too, namely, Skelton, Williams and Sprott. Without doubt, these three men are the best heavyweights this country has ever produced, and with all due respect to the fighters of yesteryear, they simply would have pulverized everyone you could name since records began. The only name from the past that could have lived with them would be Frank Bruno, but Frank too, comes from 80's – the era that ushered in a new, superior breed of heavyweight fighter. Would you care to disagree with me? Do you favour a 190lb Henry Cooper against a 260lb Danny Williams? Or a 208lb Joe Frazier against a 245lb Wladimir Klitschko? Or what about a 180lb Rocky Marciano against a 230lb David Tua? And it's not only about the sheer size and strength of these heavyweights today. Training techniques, diet, and conditioning all account for the superiority factor too. Even a fringe contender like Ray Austin, at 6'6" and 250lbs, would have wiped out the heavies from the alleged ‘golden eras'. To underestimate these men today is a travesty. And as for Skelton, his lack of sheer boxing skill should not take away for one minute the fact that he is one immensely powerful and well conditioned man, who fought a great fight against a superb champion in Ruslan Chagaev, a man, who at 230lb, is considered a small heavyweight these days! He should be applauded for his great effort. Size, strength, conditioning and technique are the main reasons why this drama is unfolding. The boxers today, and especially the men from the Soviet countries, are simply bigger, stronger and better conditioned than their counterparts from the division 30+ years ago, never mind 40+ years ago when the majority of heavyweights barely made 200lb. Make no mistake, this is a golden era for heavyweight boxing. With more and more exceptional Soviet boxers coming through, there has never been a more exciting and compelling time to be a heavyweight boxing fan. Coming up shortly is a fight between two of the best heavyweights of all time, Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov, which promises to be the fight of this or any other century. Also Oleg Maskaev against Samuel Peter is approaching. Maskaev is probably the most under-rated of all the champions. He looks slow and awkward but is in fact a very good boxer who hits with concussive power. Or maybe you should ask Hasim Rahman , the conqueror of Lewis, who has twice been dispatched by the man, about that. You should all be rejoicing that you're alive in this era to be able to witness these fights at first hand! Plenty of you will be in disagreement with me over this article and I'm anticipating a rush of emails confirming this. Bring it on! I look forward to doing verbal battle with you! Just before you do though, look again at the logic of the situation as I have outlined in the first part of this article, and see how absurd it is to consider that the heavyweight division is somehow not what it was.  It's not only incredibly disrespectful to the fighters themselves but also so wide of the mark it's laughable. I could go on and on, and perhaps if I am allowed to, I will expand upon this article. For now though I'll leave you with the truest and wisest words ever spoken about boxing, aptly delivered by a preacher! Namely, George Foreman to Larry Merchant (one of the great armchair, sorry, ringside, experts of all time) - ‘You don't know boxing Larry, you only talk boxing.' Remember them the next time you hear the division being slated.

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I was wrong to call you stupid Jan 31st 2008, 11:25:45 by Did the editorial board fail to notice that, with the deepest humility, I made the strong recommendation that this pestiferous pervert have his brain inspected? Send the text of that scallywag's postings to any psychiatrist in Britain, and I'll wager that they will suspect a case of pseudopsychopathic schizophrenia. Anybody who would make the preposterous claim that a mediocrity like Ray Austen would have "wiped out" a great boxer like Joe Louis is obviously suffering from chronic perceptual abnormalities. Joe Louis not only knocked out Buddy Baer, who was about the same size as Ray Austen, but the videos clearly show that Buddy Baer's boxing skills were superior to Ray Austen. And in those days men trained to go 15 rounds. Please accept my humble apology for having called that raving lunatic "stupid," schizoid would have been a more appropriate adjective. (Ed. comments: With all due respect, my editorial powers do not extend to having people undergo psychiatric assessments of any kind. Otherwise Kev Taylor would be first in the queue ;-) )   what an idiot Jan 30th 2008, 09:59:45 by jbslegend fungus, you think youre pretty funny with your schoolboy comments eh? you should thank the gods of boxing that im not standing in front of you cos if i was you'd be eating through a straw for the next 6 months. nobodies with big mouths like you are commonplace on the net, unfortunately theres not much that can be done about that. too much freedom allows weak, simple minded cowards like yourself to have their say. now go back and watch eastenders and be a good boy before i get really angry and track you down and spank you like you deserve. or maybe youd like that?!! better not - think what i'll do from now on is ignore you like you dont even exist. so carry on son - i wont be reading anymore. i got better things to do than to hang around this page corresponding with morons. adios amigos! glad you enjoyed the article!   stupid is as stupid does Jan 29th 2008, 21:54:24 by fungus The reason I have to call you stupid "from a million miles away" is because you aren't standing in front of me. To claim that heavyweights today are "better conditioned" than their counterparts from 30 years ago is so blatantly ridiculous that the editor should have contacted the local constabulary and had you remanded for psychiatric evaluation. The last time I remember two heavyweights going toe-to-toe in a hard fought 12 rounds was David Tua and Ike Ibeabuchi. To compare that great fight with the pathetic performance by fat-ass Skelton and the Uzbeki blubber-boy, is simply a travesty. Your comments are an abomination before the Gods of boxing, and you sir should repent of your wickedness. (Ed. comments: Now THAT is funny! Calling someone 'stupid' is a bit out of order - though you may think the comments are stupid...hope you understand the distinction. Now play nicely!)   sorry for not being robust! Jan 29th 2008, 12:20:21 by jbslegend ian im all for intelligent debate and im not having a pop at rocco. the other guy wound me up a bit i guess. he is exactly the sort of person im talking about who hasnt got a CLUE about boxing and i tire of hearing the worthless views his sort come out with - especially when he has to start name calling (the safe option for all cowards on the internet) as for my comment about 'i know im right' concerning rocky and tua. ok - maybe i shouldnt have said that. but hell, im 100% convinced i am right! in fact you could replace the name 'tua' with douglas,tyson,holyfield.lewis,klitschko. and a hundred others. contrary to opinion i have the GREATEST respect for rocky and all fighters. my only desire is to get things in perspective. but for debates sake - i'll take that comment back! sorry rocco. mr fungus got my back up! (Ed. comments: Good lad, John...keyboard warriors are a curse!)   fungus by name, fungus by nature Jan 29th 2008, 06:02:28 by jbslegend your name suits you well my friend. youre real brave calling me 'stupid' from a million miles away on the internet. as for your comments. theyre too idiotic to even comment on. do yourself a favour and start watching netball instead of boxing. rocco, if you want to believe in old rocky - be my guest! i know im right about this. if that sounds concieted, well, i could care less. (oh...and i would re-read the history books before you start talking about rockys chin). (Ed. writes - Now, John, don't rise to the bait so easily, my man - your first comment is fine but you need to be a little more robust - and writing 'I know I'm right about this' doesn't do you many favours...make or indeed reiterate some points would be my humble advice!)   Hi again Jan 28th 2008, 17:13:10 by rocco Rocco here, yes admitedly, a masive Marciano fan, but for a reason... Listening to what Fungus said....and appreciating it to be fair...Tua was 230lbs, 5'10", and with a 70" reach...not massive by anyones standards....i myself would stand 7" above him, and yes, i have watched a few fights of his...he has boxed well, and yes, a handfull to most...but with respect, they tend to walk backwards....and allow pressure to get to them...and when he lost his 3 bouts...his opponents didnt let that happen. Yes, Marciano was no purists boxer, his skills lacking in the European stand-upright posture, but as for his chin, resilliance and stamina, i think we are talking about a fighter in Marciano that is more than capable of handling the extra pounds...especially, with fungus' comments, adding a few unsightly pounds.... A 200lb Marciano at 5'!0", 69" reach, would have been tooo much for Tua....Sorry Carter.   fat heavies and stupid writers Jan 28th 2008, 09:54:26 by fungus Take Joe Louis put 30 pounds of unsightly fat on him and you have a typical modern heavyweight, minus the talent and boxing skills. The only reason these fat heavies go into boxing is because they are too lazy to make it in other professional sports which provide a bigger and better income potential. These days British heavies are the fattest of all. By the way, did this stupid writer get paid to write these stupid things? (No, John's opinions came free of charge! - Ed.)   well Jan 28th 2008, 07:41:42 by h3sky About time we someone write with a bit of sense we are all fed up about people talking about boxers of the past versus boxers of today. Just get on with enjoying the ones we have who are very entertaining. By the way even John Ruiz would have beaten most of the old so called heavyweight greats.   me again Jan 28th 2008, 03:09:30 by jbslegend just wanna pick up on something adamdaly said - the reason why todays heavies arent percieved as glamourous or as huge stars is quite simple. the majority of people gather their information about boxing from the mainstream media - specifically tv and newspaper but especially the daily press. Heavyweight boxing is given ZERO coverage by todays press. therefore the average guy in the pub hasnt even heard of klitschko,ibragimov etc. people like ali, tyson etc were built into household names simply by daily press coverage. why its being blanked i do not know but thats how it is. the charisma of todays men is just as great as it ever was. each brings their own presence to the ring. youve got a 7 foot tall giant contender in valuev, but theres no mention of him in the disgrace that is the 'sun' - blame the press for a lot of todays ignorance   the infamous writer replies! Jan 28th 2008, 01:56:10 by jbslegend john carter here. thanks adamdaly. a voice of reason! as for rocco-youre obviously a big rocky fan(the name gives it away!) but tua would have blown him away with ease. rocky was tough, sure, but he was barely a cruiserweight active in an era of very small fighters. watch the old films again. im not meaning to be disrespectful to any fighter. but rocky, louis, walcott etc, simply were too small to have survived in todays era. small men(under 215) have to have something very special going on skills-wise to contend in this era of huge, powerful heavies (men like byrd,holyfield,jones) straight ahead fighters like the 3 mentioned would have no chance. as for tua - you obviously havent seen much of him. on his night he was a serious handful. i can feel another article coming on!   Rocky va Tua is a good anology Jan 27th 2008, 15:10:24 by adamdaly I have to agree with the author on many points. Tua would have been a nightmare for Marciano. Stronger, iron-chinned, carries his punch late into the fight..exactly the type of fighter Rocky would have trouble with. I'm not saying Tua wins but it's not a foregone conclusion that Rocky would win. A lot of people look back on past era's with rose tinted spectacles and maybe fighters like Brock, Areola or Chambers would have been stars in the past but this is a new era with many technically sound, hard working and dedicated big men from the former soviet union. These are big talents and just because they aren't huge stars, doesn't mean that they couldn't hold there own in previous eras. The heavyweight division is not in a state, the top boxers just aren't as glamourous as before. Anyone who has ever boxed can appreciate just how good Wladimir Klitschko and guys like Povetkin are.   Hmmm....Rocky Marciano vs David Tua? Jan 27th 2008, 07:57:23 by rocco Rocky Marciano 49(43)-0-0... vs David Tua??? Are we living on the same planet?..(Excuse the pun) A 180lb fighter who was undoubtedly one of the hardest hiting heavyweights of his generation....against David Tua?...Im sorry...i will have to say that again...David Tua?..I think that your insults are not only offensive to Marcianos emory, but you should consider your position as a writer. To compare someone of Marciano's calibre with someone like Tua; perhaps you should ask Tua himself if he could have beaten Marciano, i think there's only you who would be surprised at the answer.   Different... Jan 26th 2008, 15:18:00 by steve_wellings Not exactly the general consensus amongst Boxing fans but an entertaining spin none the less!