Is the Heavyweight Division back in Boxing?

The heavyweight division has been the underachieving step child of boxing for quite some time now. It’s been a long time since you would hear talk about the next big heavyweight boxing match in the break room at work. A lot of people lost interest in the division where the big boys play after Lennox Lewis retired and the division was controlled by the Klitschko brothers, first Vitali and then most recently Wladimir. It was not the Klitschko’s fault that the division had lost the appeal it once had. They are both great fighters who just didn’t have the big name fighters to go against for most of their careers. Then came the emergence of Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. Two young, athletic, powerful and gifted fighters that have captured the imaginations of the casual boxing fan.

 

Anthony Joshua catches Wladimir Klitschko with uppercut (Photo via The Independent)

 

On April 29, 2017, undefeated star Anthony Joshua took on the legend Wladimir Klitschko in the ultimate passing of the torch match. This match was held at Wembley Stadium in London, England where over 90 thousand people filled up the stadium, proving that boxing is far from dead. This was an amazing back and forth contest where both fighters were knocked down and eventually Joshua was able to knockout  Klitschko in the 11th round. This would be Klitschko’s last fight, as he went out like a true champion. The highlights of this fight started to peek the interest of casual American boxing fans.

 

Deontay Wilder and Luis Ortiz stare down (Photo courtesy of boxingscene.com)

 

On March 3, undefeated knockout artists Luis Ortiz and Deontay Wilder faced off at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. There was a lot of hype going into this match-up as both fighters have one punch knockout power. This was a spectacular fight were Ortiz was knocked down three times even though he was able to control a large portion of the fight and had Wilder in big trouble during the 7th round. Ultimately, Wilder got the knockout in the 10th round. Deontay Wilder is now 40-0 with 39 knockouts. Luis Ortiz fell to 28-1 with 24 knockouts. Wilder is a bit wild with his technique but his style, power, and personality are great for boxing and the heavyweight division specifically. This was a quality fight between exciting heavyweights. This will lead to more interest in upcoming heavyweight fights.

 

(photo courtesy of The Daily Record)

 

On March 31st, Anthony Joshua will go against Joseph Parker in another match of undefeated heavyweights. This fight will be held at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales and will be aired on Showtime. Joshua holds the WBA, IBO, and IBF heavyweight championship belts and Parker holds the WBO Heavyweight championship belt. All the titles are on the line in the match-up and all signs point to the winner of this bout fighting the WBC Heavyweight Champion, Deontay Wilder.

One of the reasons that people in the past have lost interest in boxing is that it was too hard to keep up with who the champions are. If the heavyweight division continues on this current path, we will know who the best man truly is. Clarity is what we all want from sports and Premier Boxing Champions is doing a great job of providing that. This may not be the glory days of Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier or Evander Holyfield vs Mike Tyson, but it is an exciting time in boxing. We have a plethora of exciting heavyweights and the division is back. If you are a boxing fan, don’t miss what we have now because you are stuck in the past.

 

 

 

 

Damian Adams

San Diego, California

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1 comments on “Is the Heavyweight Division back in Boxing?

  1. I really hope the heavyweights are back. The fight at Wembley was very entertaining. I’ve always enjoyed the striking power of the heavy and cruiser weights. It seems these fights aren’t very accessible nowadays, at least in the US. I enjoyed the welter and middle weight era of Hopkins, Trinidad, De La Hoya, Vargas etc.

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