01-23-2015, 11:08 AM
After the Klitschko snorefest, boxing should welcome Wilder - especially Fury
Jan 21, 2015 13:46
New WBC champion has breathed new life into the heavyweight division
Wilder is determined to unify the heavyweight division
Boxing should welcome the coronation of Deontay Wilder - most of all, Tyson Fury.
The newly-crowned WBC champion has breathed life into a heavyweight division that became a snorefest under the Klitschko brothers’ rule.
That is not to decry the achievements of the Ukrainians. They have dominated the sport’s most glamorous division because they were simply too good for the rest.
But the ring’s greatest gladiators have been defined by their rivalries.
The refusal of Wladimir and Vitali to face one another has made for a decade of one-sided contests - denying the world of a conflict of historic significance.
Fury and Wilder has the potential to be a classic rivalry
It is the equivalent of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Joe Frazier making a gentleman’s agreement to avoid each other during the golden era of the heavyweights.
Or a pact between Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran to go their own way.
Siblings’ reluctance to come to blows is wholly understandable - but it does not make for good sport.
What’s more - the Klitschkos’ legacies will always be tempered by the fact that neither man tested themselves against the one opponent most likely to challenge their dominance.
Wilder has returned the heavyweight title to America for the first time in eight years.
That he did so on the day that Ali turned 73 last weekend, just added to the sense of poignancy of the 29-year-old’s coming of age.
His victory over Bermane Stiverne at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand felt like the dawning of a new era for the sport.
The Klitschkos’ stronghold has been challenged.
America has a charismatic champion to put its weight and support behind. It has a champion who is saying all the right things.
The man who used to work in the kitchens of restaurant chain Red Lobster wants to unify heavyweight boxing - and we will see if he is as good as his word.
Calling out Fury in the immediate aftermath of his world title triumph was a promising start.
For the first time in a long time the division has a rivalry to get its teeth into that doesn’t involve a Klitschko.
Fury is the mandatory challenger for Wladimir’s WBO strap - but Wilder represents a faster route to a world title. He also represents a cross-Atlantic rivalry to compare with Lennox Lewis’ battles with Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson.
Fury - who has so far spent his career calling out world champions - now has one ready and waiting to respond.
And boxing will be all the better for it.
Jan 21, 2015 13:46
New WBC champion has breathed new life into the heavyweight division
Wilder is determined to unify the heavyweight division
Boxing should welcome the coronation of Deontay Wilder - most of all, Tyson Fury.
The newly-crowned WBC champion has breathed life into a heavyweight division that became a snorefest under the Klitschko brothers’ rule.
That is not to decry the achievements of the Ukrainians. They have dominated the sport’s most glamorous division because they were simply too good for the rest.
But the ring’s greatest gladiators have been defined by their rivalries.
The refusal of Wladimir and Vitali to face one another has made for a decade of one-sided contests - denying the world of a conflict of historic significance.
Fury and Wilder has the potential to be a classic rivalry
It is the equivalent of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Joe Frazier making a gentleman’s agreement to avoid each other during the golden era of the heavyweights.
Or a pact between Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran to go their own way.
Siblings’ reluctance to come to blows is wholly understandable - but it does not make for good sport.
What’s more - the Klitschkos’ legacies will always be tempered by the fact that neither man tested themselves against the one opponent most likely to challenge their dominance.
Wilder has returned the heavyweight title to America for the first time in eight years.
That he did so on the day that Ali turned 73 last weekend, just added to the sense of poignancy of the 29-year-old’s coming of age.
His victory over Bermane Stiverne at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand felt like the dawning of a new era for the sport.
The Klitschkos’ stronghold has been challenged.
America has a charismatic champion to put its weight and support behind. It has a champion who is saying all the right things.
The man who used to work in the kitchens of restaurant chain Red Lobster wants to unify heavyweight boxing - and we will see if he is as good as his word.
Calling out Fury in the immediate aftermath of his world title triumph was a promising start.
For the first time in a long time the division has a rivalry to get its teeth into that doesn’t involve a Klitschko.
Fury is the mandatory challenger for Wladimir’s WBO strap - but Wilder represents a faster route to a world title. He also represents a cross-Atlantic rivalry to compare with Lennox Lewis’ battles with Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson.
Fury - who has so far spent his career calling out world champions - now has one ready and waiting to respond.
And boxing will be all the better for it.
