14.04.04 –By Luke Dodemaide – Eighteen Months ago, Wladimir Klitschko was the hottest heavyweight prospect in the world, now he is a lonely man contemplating retirement after a third shock knockout defeat, this time to the hands of LA native, Lamon Brewster.
Wladimir Klitschko is 6’ 7 feet of muscle, so stunning that he is probably comparable with the mythical Greek gods that commanded the earth thousands of years ago. And according to the script, Wladimir was the man who was going to command the Heavyweight division into the post Lennox Lewis era.
It just seems no one handed Lamon Brewster the script, because in round five, Brewster rose and demolished the leading man like he was a bit player.
With Wladimir out, the Heavyweight division is on the search for someone new to play lead role. There are contenders, but none that would captivate the talent scouts looking to fill this role. The heavyweight division needs a hand, it needs a shining star to brighten the gloomy tunnel that is the current heavyweight division.
The division is so weak we have former middleweights winning heavyweight titles
( Roy Jones Jnr ) and sadly beating on the divisions ageing legends ( Toney TKO Holyfield ).
Another fact boxing purists have to start getting used to is John Ruiz is now a two time heavyweight champion of the world.
After watching Wladimir’s destruction, I sat down on my couch and contemplated men to fill the void left by Lennox Lewis. I thought to myself Who has the skill, courage, determination and charisma to lead the Heavyweight division out of this black depression?
I thought through the names, Chris Byrd, Andrew Golota, Vitali Klitschko, James Toney, Juan Carlos Gomez, Joe Mesi, Audley Harrison, John Ruiz, I scanned their skills, looked closely at their resumes, hunting for the right man for the job.
I thought, the division needs someone young, someone strong, someone charismatic and powerful, but then I got to a point where I realised, ‘hang on… this man does not exist.’
I looked through the ageing division and noticed that even the prospects are getting old, not one is under 30, Audley Harrison is 32, Mesi 30, Golota 36, Sanders 38, Chris Byrd 33. As Marcellus Wallace famously put it in Pulp Fiction-
“This business is filled to the brim with unrealistic mother f_kers, mother f_kers who thought their ass aged like wine”. Marcellus, played by Ving Rhames, sat down and told a gallant contender, played by Bruce Willis, “Thing is Butch, right now you got ability, but painful as it may be, ability don’t last. Now that’s a hard mother f_kin’ fact of life, but it’s a fact of life your ass is gonna hafta get realistic about.”
Now I know it would be unfair to sit down with the contenders and say this, but fact of the matter is, right now it appears true. The smoke is now clear after Lewis’ retirement and as hard as I look, I feel like I have more chance of sighting Osama Bin Laden than the heavyweight saviour.
There is no young Muhammad Ali’s, no young Mike Tyson’s, no young Evander Holyfield’s waiting in the wings. Boxing purists have been predicting this dark age for years, and now I feel as though it is upon us.
Whether you like it or not though, heavyweight boxing will soon elect it’s first leader since Lewis departed earlier this year. On April 24th Corrie Sanders, 38, (39-2) takes on Vitali Klitschko,32, (33-2).
Both fighters fed off the once powerful train that was Wladimir Klitschko, Corrie Sanders for beating him and Vitali Klitschko, for being his big brother.
But now with the Wladimir Klitschko train derailed, does this WBC Heavyweight championship fight lose a little authority?
Suddenly Corrie Sanders doesn’t look so powerful and Vitali Klitschko, a man compared to his brother his whole career, suddenly looks a little more vulnerable, it was only eighteen months ago Wladimir was the recognised ‘better brother’.
But regardless, one will be crowned. Will the new king lead a new era? Or will he be little more than a ‘caretaker’ champion, standing only while the division waits for new royal blood?
Someone must rise up, before our grandest division becomes our gravest.
Any comments, question or queries on this article can be sent to l_dodemaide@hotmail.com