05.05.05 – By Christopher Dawson: Chris Byrd probably knows this, but he came along in the wrong time era. At a time when the average heavyweight is 6 foot 3 inches and 240lbs, Byrd is an oddity, in that he started his career in the amateurs as a middleweight. Talented enough to win a gold medal in the 1992 Olympics, Byrd immediately set out for bigger game (weighing 200lbs in only his fourth professional fight). Keep in mind, that in the early to mid 90’s, Evander Holyfield was heavyweight champion, and Byrd would only be at a 2 inch height disadvantage, equal weight (Holyfield weighed in between 210lbs and 215lbs during his prime), and only a 1 inch reach disadvantage.
Mike Tyson and Michael Moore were other smallish heavyweight champions during that time. You could see why Byrd felt more confident about facing off against men that would be very similar in size to him.
Imagine if you would, how Chris Byrd may have done, if he had fought during the time period of Jack Johnson. Byrd is as big or bigger than many of those men, and his skill level and agility would have made him a threat to out box any of those men.
He would have been competitive against Joe Louis’s era and Marciano’s too. Ali’s generation was just too talented, and he would have been destroyed by Holmes, but after Tyson’s assertion, Byrd had a very good chance at physically competing with only a minimal disadvantage over his opponents.
That takes us to today, where the four of Byrd=s biggest named opponents were 6’7 1/2inches 245lbs (Vitali Klitschko), 6’6 238lbs (Wladimir Klitschko), 6’2 244lbs (Ike Ibeabuchi), 6’4 238 (Andrew Golota) and 6’6 270lbs. Byrd went 1-2-1 against the big men. He=s as slick a boxer as you are ever going to see in the heavyweight division. His best performance to date is probably the total schooling that he gave to an in shape and motivated David Tua. Byrd won by unanimous decision.
Byrd won his first major heavyweight title (if you count the WBO as “major”) against Vitali Klitschko, when Klitschko – ahead on all score cards at the time- quit due to a rotator cuff injury. He lost it in his very next fight against Wladimir Klitschko, Vitali’s brother. That all took place in 2000, Byrd had to wait 2 more years to get a shot at a legitimate major title. His chance would come against Evander Holyfield. Holyfield had already began showing major signs of decline by 2002, when he faced Byrd, however, his showing against Hasim Rahman in June of 2002 was impressive, and looked as though the “Real Deal” had resurrected his career. Byrd out boxed Evander rather easily. His critiques called him “boring.”
Byrd took on prospect Fres Oquendo in his first defense of the title. Byrd seemingly took Fres lightly, and Oquendo went in with a good game plan (to not pursue Byrd, but make him come to you). It appeared that Byrd’s reign would be short. Oquendo would do much better than expected, in a bout that was so bad, some fans might have thrown in a John Ruiz tape, just to break up the boredom.
Byrd has also fought a close fight with Andrew Golota, that could have gone either way.
His most recent fight was a boxing clinic against a surprisingly spirited Jameel McCline. Byrd’s heart was tested in the 2nd round, when McCline landed a haymaker against the ropes. Byrd went down, and got up at about the 6 count. He was definitely hurt, but he came back stronger. Landed several more crisp, clean combinations (even rocking Jameel and nearly KO’ing him late in the fight). Byrd won a split decision (it should have been unanimous).
Chris has proven that he can compete with men his size and a bit larger, and that on the right night, when he=s at his best, he can compete with the giants of today.
He continually tries to adapt his style to be more exciting, by standing and trading more, by slugging back when he gets tagged (where he would have dodged and ducked when he was younger). He tries to be entertaining.. He’s a nice guy outside of the ring. He’s always been a class act, and he’s very well spoken when doing work on shows like ESPN’s Friday Night Fights.
This is a special fighter, and we should appreciate him while he=s here. Defensive specialists are never revered when they are in their primes. It’s only after – near the end of their careers- after they have long retired, fighters like Willie Pep, Billy Conn, or Pernell Whitaker become truly appreciated.
Unlike most of the top fighters in the heavyweight division, Chris Byrd has shown guts and courage by facing top young fighters such as Ike Ibeabuchi, Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko and David Tua when very few other fighters had any interest in fighting those four men. His record is 2-2 (1) against those top fighters.