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Jim Amato's Commentary: Today's Heavyweights

posted by Kathleen Holland on April 10, 2008, in Features

Story by Jim Amato

I was in a bad mood today...Why am I mad ? Well I had a lousy day at work. I have a strained relationship with my girlfriend. I'm moving from my house to a one bedroom apartment that nobody will ever compare to a room at the Ritz. I have money going out about twice as fast as it's coming in. BUT...What really pisses me off is the state of the heavyweight division today. In a word it Sucks.

That's right, with a capital S...I for the life of me cannot think of one heavyweight out there that excites me in the least. Also I can only think of one major heavyweight fight in the last few years that was really a barn burner. That was Liakhovich vs Brewster. Wladimir Klitschko who is regarded in most circles as the best heavyweight on today's scene looked horrible against the over rated Sultan Ibragimov. Wlad knows that he has a chin of china so he adopted a safety first mentality. Ho hummmm...That made a John Ruiz fight look like the Thrilla In Manila. Speaking of Mr. Ruiz, it's hard to believe he is still the hunt. Good God how much punishment can a fan take ? Sam Peter knocked out Oleg Maskaev which was no surprise. Oleg hardly has Jake LaMotta's whiskers. OK, am I supposed to get goosebumps in anticipation of a second bout between Chagaev and Valuev ? Not hardly...when that fight comes on I'll pull out a tape and watch real fighters. As I watch the faded flickering films of real heavyweights like Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Ron Lyle and of course Ali and Foreman. It saddens me greatly to see today's 'talent. These heavyweights today may be bigger and stronger then ever but they have few fundamentally gifted boxers. Add to that, the fighters today have no charisma. The division is void of any thrills and chills. It has been said in the past that boxing is as good as the heavyweight division is. If that is true then boxing is in a world of trouble ! JIM AMATO

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